February Weather

February Weather in Durham UK

February 2024 Weather at Durham – Very mild and wet

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February 2024 was very mild but generally wet. On the Central England Temperature (CET) scale (since 1658), at 7.8 ºC, it was the second mildest on record, beaten only by 1779 (7.9), and was warmer than the long-term March average.  On the UK wide scale it was the second warmest February since 1884 (6.3) C, after 1998 (6.8C). On Thursday 15th it reached 18.1C at Pershore (Worcs.) and Teddington (west London). It was mostly unsettled, with a cold spell, with some disruptive snow in places, lasting a few days in the north from the 6th; it never quite reached the south, which only really saw the cooler weather for a few days from the 24th. It was also very wet in the south, with many places setting new daily rainfall records, and many locations reaching the February average only half way through the month. Heavy rain on the 22nd caused flooding in the south. Indeed it was the wettest February on record in the south, with 239% of the average; however, parts of Scotland were somewhat drier than average. East Anglia had both its wettest and warmest February on record. 86.9 mm of rain fell on the recording day 17-18th at …

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February 2023 Weather in Durham – Mainly mild, little sign of ‘Winter’

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February banner : valentines heart and a kiss

Durham Weather in February 2023 There was a very mild and dry start to February 2023. It was in fact the 2nd warmest February in Durham since 1844, surpassed only by February 1998. There was little rain before mid-month. The gale of the 16th/17th caused vibrations in the rain gauge due to the fencing it was attached to moving in the wind, causing an error in rainfall total for 17th. It is estimated that the gauge caught 8mm too much rain. The true total for the month was therefore around the 15mm mark. As mentioned, Storm Otto bowled through on 16th/17th giving very strong winds. It was the first named storm of the season. Some damage occured, mainly in Scotland and North East England, with overturned lorries and some damage to gardens and houses. The grassland temperature sum reached 200 degree days on 25th February, 4 days quicker than in February 2022. The temperature remained largely above freezing during February and there was only one day with air frost: Valentines Day 14th February when a minimum of -0.4 degC was recorded. The overall mean temperature of 6.6 degC was a full 2 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. Mean max and min …

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Feb 2022 Weather in Durham – Mainly Mild, Few Frosts

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Durham Cathedral Sunset

Temperature In continuation from January, February 2022 was mainly mild. The mean temperature was 6.0 degC, which is 1.4 degC above the 1991-2020 climatic mean.  The month was still well behind the mildest ever February in Durham though, this being in 1998 (7.6). There was only one recorded air frost, on February 11th, when the thermometer dropped to -1.7 degC. This is unusual for February. The highest temperature was early in the month, 11.7 degC being recorded on the 2nd. This was nowhere near the record for February, which stands at 17.4 degC, recorded on 28th February 2012. The temperature topped 10 degC on nine occasions. The average Tmax for February 2022 was 8.8 degC and the average Tmin was 3.4 degC. Storm Eunice was with us on 17th-18th February, and with various warnings from the Met Office for wind and snow, we escaped with a light dusting on the morning of 18th.   The grassland temperature sum had reached it’s 200 degree day threshold by the end of the month. This is the temperature at which sustained plant growth is evident. This was well ahead of 2021, which had a long cold spring. Rainfall The rainfall total for February was …

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Durham Botanical Gardens 27th Feb 2022

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A beautiful sunny February day saw us visit the Durham Botanical Gardens for the first time this year. There were a few losses because of Storm Arwen in November last year, but the trees largely survived intact. Here’s some highlights from the walk. Latest Durham Photos Posts

February 2021 Weather in Durham – Huge Contrasts

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The racecourse fields, covered in frost

February 2021 was a month of great contrasts. The second half of January 2021 in Durham was cold and had frequent frosts. This set the underlying theme for early Feb. The first week of the month was very wet, with more than 10mm rainfall on 2nd, 3rd and 6th. We then experienced an intense cold period between 7th and 14th. I kept thinking back to February 1991 for a comparison. February 2021 didn’t have as much snow, but was just as cold. Freezing Days and Ice Days have been rare in Durham over the last decade, but this period produced a few of them. The 8th-13th period averaged below zero. The temperature fell to -7.7 degC on the morning of 12th after -6.4 degC the morning before. On the following day, the temperature stayed below freezing all day. The thaw began on the 15th and most of the snow vanished in the next two days. The frigid air imported from the East was swept aside by a strong, mild Atlantic flow. Temperatures were in double figures by the 17th and pretty much remained that way until the end of the month. Spring had well and truly sprung. First half v. …

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Some Incredible Ice Formations on Potters Bank, Durham February 2021

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Close up of Ice on grass at the side of Potters Bank, Durham Feb 11th 2021

I spotted these photos on Facebook and contacted the owner Zanna Clay, who kindly gave me permission to use them. These photos show fantastic ice formations on the grass and hedges by the side of the road on Potters Bank in Durham. It was caused by passing cars spraying water from the road onto the grass, then freezing, making incredible ice formations.  

Early snowfall in Durham on February 2nd 2021

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I awoke to the following snowfall on the morning of 2nd February 2021 in Durham. There are big hints of a potential ‘Beast From The East‘ scheduled after the weekend and next week. I will of course keep you posted and separate the fact from fiction. Enjoy this little slow-motion video.

The last 5 Februaries Weather in the UK according to Trevor Harley

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2016 An unsettled first half but turning colder in the second half. Overall it was about average temperature; it was warmer than usual in the south, but colder than average in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The lowest temperature of the month is -14.1C at Braemar early on the 14th, the lowest temperature in the UK since February 2012. The highest temperature of the month was 16.0 at Exeter on the 21st. It was a wet month (129% of average), being particularly wet in the west but drier in the east. It was a sunny month, with 122% of expected sunshine. 2017 Quite mild – the ninth warmest since 1910. Particularly mild in the south. It was slightly wetter than average (106%). A dull month (79%) except in NW Scotland, where it was very sunny. After a SW mild start it became colder and anticyclonic from the 4th, with easterly winds and occasional snow. It turned milder from the 13th but stayed quiet until the 21st. Named Storm Doris bought gales to England and Wales on the 23rd, and snow to parts of Scotland. The highest temperature of the month was 18.3C at Northolt and at Kew Gardens in London on …

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Two photos of the frozen River Wear in Durham 1981/82 and 1895.

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Two amazing photos of the frozen River Wear in Durham. The first, credited to Matthew Avery and Helen Avery is of the Cathedral across the frozen river. Although Helen originally thought it was from 1983, it’s almost certainly from a year earlier in the winter of 1981/82. December 1981 and the first half of January 1982 were very severe, particularly 8th-27th December 1981 and 6th-16th January 1982, so this picture was most likely taken in one of these periods (probably December 1981). The blue tint on the photograph makes it look very cold indeed. Here’s a comment from James Clark on the I Love Durham Facebook group. Thanks James 😁 The second one is from Stephen Kitson who says he was given it when the Cock O The North pub closed in April 2005. The picture was hanging in the pub. He was told it was from the 1830’s, but it’s likely to be from a set of photos taken in February 1895 of skating on the river.

February 2020 Weather in Durham – Wet and Wild

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There was a very wild start to February, although it was relatively mild. Storm Ciara over the weekend of 8th/9th brought damaging gusts and flooding. The worst of it passed to the South of us, but there was major flooding in Yorkshire and winds gusted to 93mph in Wales. The River Wear in Durham rose dramatically during the morning of Sunday 9th to peak at 3.05m late on the evening, flooding riverside paths. Wintry showers on 10th-12th. Snowfall for the Midlands, Scotland and Pennines 15-20cm on high ground. Severe drifting on high ground. The next storm (Storm Dennis) arrived on 15th/16th and was similar to Ciara. The river in Durham peaked at around the 3m mark again and the wind was very strong from the West. It stayed above 3m for many hours this time, with riverside flooding again causing problems. Nationally, once again, the south of the country was hit hard, particularly South Wales. Some snow arrived in Durham late in the month on the 24th, but it lasted less than a day. From waking to a 2” covering on the morning, it had all gone by mid-afternoon. That was it for snow really. The third and last big storm …

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