Local Forecasts, History & Records
Winter Weather in Durham UK. Winter is December, January and February.
Whilst Winter 1962-63 is regarded as the longest winter, Winter 1946-47 is perhaps remembered as the snowiest. The winters were very different however. January 1947. Cold (2.2C CET), but not excessively so overall. The month is most memorable for the start of a severe, prolonged, and exceptionally snowy cold spell. Although there had been some significant snowfalls in December, and …
An Easterly outbreak, dubbed “The Beast from The East” by the media, dumped a substantial amount of snow on us in Durham at the end of February and early March 2018. When such a weather synoptic occurs, we tend to get plastered in snow here on the North East Coast. Temperatures hover around zero and potent snow showers are readily …
Gritters and Snowploughs battle to keep County Durham roads open Teams across County Durham have been working hard to ensure life in the county is disrupted as little as possible despite snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Gritters and snowploughs were in action last night on all the county’s priority one routes, in addition to priority two routes in the Pennines. …
Fantastic footage from the storm surge that hit the East Coast of County Durham on 13th January 2017. The waves almost completely engulfed the harbour wall. Video by Jack Turton. Here’s more footage from Seaburn near Sunderland. The sea actually looks like it’s boiling. This footage from Mrs Doyle goes fishing.
A fantastic display of nacreous (mother of pearl) clouds occured across NE England in February 2016. These photos were taken above Durham Cathedral and Castle at about 7:15am. These clouds are also known as Polar Stratospheric Clouds Nacreous Clouds are quite rare. They can glow very brightly due to iridescence and are much higher than other tropospheric clouds, a …
December 2015 was easily the mildest December on record. The mean of 7.9 degC at Durham was 3.9 degC above average. Top 5 warmest Decembers in Durham 1 2015 7.9 degC 2= 1843 7.3 2= 1988 7.3 4 1857 7.0 5 1934 6.8 December 19th 2015 featured the highest ever December temperature recorded in Durham. It reached 15.9 degC, a …
The Winter of 1962-63 was one of the coldest ever recorded in the United Kingdom. Here is a summary of the winter as it occurred. How long did the winter of 1963 last? Here’s an excellent video of how it all unfolded, by Scott Richards. December 1962. Cold (1.8C CET), and generally quite sunny, although smog early in the month …
The harsh winter of 1978-79 The winter of 1978-79 was the coldest winter since the infamous winter of 1962-63. Here is a summary of the winter by month. November 1978. Very warm until a northerly outbreak on the 24th. Although it was mild and dry in the south, it was wet and often stormy in the north. Gale-force Northerlies brought …
The coldest since ….. I’ve seen several reports in the newspapers and online saying last winter was ‘the coldest since 1962-63’. This is a little bit misleading. Whilst it had one particularly cold month (December 2010), last winter was not particularly cold overall (if we take the winter months December to February). It’s average was 3.1 degC. This was because, …
This list has been compiled from CET records after we experienced the coldest December for more than a century in Durham. In a climate that has shown a seemingly inexorable rise in temperature, December 2010 came as a huge shock to the system. Christmas Day 2010 ranks third in a series going back to 1772, marginally behind 1830. Coldest Christmas …
The River Wear froze in Durham in late November/December 2010. Here’s a daily weather diary of the period with photographs of the brutal spell of weather we hadn’t experienced for a long time. November/December 2010 25th Nov Snow cover at 0900hrs. 2″ in Ferryhill, 5-6″ in Newcastle. 26th Nov Snow cover continuing. Brighter, with improvement in road conditions …
A diary of the weather from late December 2009 and early 2010. It was a very snowy winter and at times also very cold in Durham. December 2009 – January 2010 Really cold weather kicked in around 17th December 2009 and didn’t let up for a month. Some lowland places had over a month of snowcover between mid December 2009 …