December 2023 Weather at Durham – Overall very mild

December 2023. Overall very mild. The cold spell in November 2023 persisted into the first week. The lowest temperature of the month, -12.5, was observed at Altnaharra on the 3rd; even Cornwall saw some sharp frosts (-4.7 ay Culdrose on the 2nd). There was heavy snow on the 3rd affecting the Lake District, particulaly the Ambleside region., East Midlands, and NE (11 cm depth). Storms (Elin and Fergus) cleared the cold weather on the 9th and 10th and brought much milder weather that lasted for the rest of the month.

Christmas was very mild and damp: with 15.3C at Heathrow and Slough it was the warmest Christmas Eve since 1997. For those of us who like records, this year saw the record highest minimum temperature for Christmas Day in the UK (12.4C, at Exeter Airport and East Malling, Kent).

A severe tornado caused serious damage in the Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester at 23.45 pm on Wednesday 27th, with a hundred homes damaged, in named Storm Gerrit, which also brought strong winds, heavy rain, and disruptive snow to higer ground in Scotland. It was the equal fifth warmest December for England and Wales, with particularly high minimum temperatures, and being particularly mild in the south.

It was also a wet month, the eighth wettest for the UK since 1836; it was particularly wet in northern England and northeast Scotland. It was a dull month except for NW Scotland, and particularly dull in the south, which averaged just 26.6 hours (50%). The highest temperarture of the month was 16.1C at Rhyl on the 23rd. 118.8 mm of rain fell at Kinlochewe on the recording day 16-17th.

https://www.trevorharley.com/2023.html

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