Local Forecasts, History & Records
Yearly Summary of Weather in Durham UK
Here is the data for the year so far, from the official Durham University Observatory at Potters Bank. This is compiled by Professor Tim Burt here January 2025 January was a cool month. January 5th was the wettest January day on record (33.4 mm), beating the previous record which had stood since 12th January 1921 (32.8 mm). Mean daily maximum: …
Has the dry Spring happened before? After the phenomenally dry Spring this year, you might wonder whether this has happened before, and what was Durham’s driest year on record? Normal yearly rainfall in Durham (based on the 1991-2020 climatic mean) is around the 680mm mark. Spaced out evenly over the year, that is about 57 mm per month. But, it …
The latest 30 years means have been published by the Met Office. The period covers the 30 years between 1991-2020 and will be used going forward as a representative of climate norms. The figures show a warming of about 0.3 degC overall, particularly in late winter/spring, with a slight increase in sunshine, but also wetter, particularly the 2nd half of …
The Weather of 2019 in Durham was quite noteworthy, particularly because there were some very warm temperatures and also the second half of 2019 was very wet. Some very mild temperatures in February Once again, the winter was on the mild side, especially in February when the 20 degC mark was breached in the UK for the first time. In …
2017 was the 10th warmest year on record at Durham since 1850, only marginally cooler than 1990 which had a memorably warm summer. The mean maximum air temperature was the 20th warmest on record (since 1900) and the mean minimum air temperature was the 3rd warmest on record, beaten only by 2004 and 2014. The overall warmth of 2017 was …
2016 was the 17th warmest year (9.4°C) at Durham since 1850, 0.1°C warmer than last year. Of the 16 warmer years, nine have been since 2000; in a stationary series, only two would be expected. Only two months fell below the 1961 – 1990 average temperature: April and November. Whilst the decadal running mean for annual temperature has fallen slightly …
For the year as a whole, three months fell below the 1961-1990 Durham average temperature (June, July, September) so, despite a warm end to the year, the overall average (9.3°C) was well down on last year. Whilst well above the 1961-1990 average, it is only just above the average for the last 30 years. 2015 was the 37th wettest year …
For the year as a whole, only August experienced below-average temperatures and overall 2014 was the warmest year in Durham since records began in 1850. Indeed, if the 2014 average temperature (10.07°C) is expressed to two decimal places, this was the first time that the annual average has exceeded 10°C at Durham; the previous records holders (2004, 2011) both averaged …
For the year as a whole, the mean air temperature was 9.0°C, ranking equal 134th in 164 years in Durham. Whereas the 12-month running mean was only 8.2°C at the end of March, temperatures recovered well thereafter. 2013 was another wet year. The total of 764.6mm is the 23rd wettest year on record at Durham since 1850. In terms of …
In summary, as noted at some length, 2012 was easily the wettest year on record at Durham since records began in 1850. The total of 1033mm is remarkable, more than 100mm larger than the previous record in 1872 (914.9mm). In statistical terms, the probability of an annual total this large is something less than 1 in 10,000 – so perhaps …
Following a below-average year in 2010, 2011 was a remarkable transformation: the warmest year on record at Durham, equal to 2004 at 9.96°C (to two decimal places) but 10°C to all intents and purposes! There was a remarkably low number of ground frosts, only 78; only 2002 (71), 2003 (77) and 2004 (67) have had fewer. Only 2000 (19) and …
For the year as a whole, mean air temperature in 2010 (8.3°C) was below average (8.6°C, 1961 – 1990) for the first time since 1996 when the same mean was recorded. It was the 62nd coldest year in Durham since 1850, so not in the lowest quartile. The 2010 mean was the coldest for any 12 – month period since …