Local Forecasts, History & Records
After 6 months of way above average rainfall in Durham, December 2019 has finally stopped the rot. As has been previously mentioned, the wet sequence started in June and ran all the way through to Novemeber. What usually happens when December is dry is that it’s also frosty. This time, it’s been both mild here and on the dry side. …
As Christmas is over for another year, and we’ve been disappointed by the lack of snow again, we start looking forward to the New Year. What’s sort of weather is normal for Durham in January? Well. looking at the means for Durham, and the extremes, we can see what range is ‘normal. Durham Weather Extremes since 1850 JANUARY Mean Temp …
I was rooting about in the loft the other day and came across an old logbook of mine from when I lived in Ferryhill. It covered the period of late 1990 and early 1991. Immediately I took interest because there was a memorable period of heavy snowfall in February 1991. What is striking was that snow was 15” deep on …
The northern part of the county saw it’s first real snow of the winter on 12th December. It was confined to high levels, but gave a good covering in the high Pennines. Here’s a photo from twitter from the top of Killhope in the County Durham Pennines. More photos from a friend of mine Barry Wilkinson who went skiing in …
Some amazing shots this morning of the sunrise from Wharton Park, with Durham Cathedral silhouetted against the fiery skyline. The day soon turned into a blustery one with showers and gusty westerly winds. Pictures here are courtesy of Kevin Edworthy. Many thanks Kevin for allowing me to use these.
Some nine years ago, we were in the grip of one of the most severe spells of weather to occur in the month of December for over 100 years. Around Durham, the snowfall in December 2010 was very deep. Here’s a selection of local photos taken by Gary Tidbury of the conditions around Framwellgate Moor in Durham.
A good mate of mine just posted these extraordinary photos on Facebook of an ‘Ice Spike’. “This morning I had never heard of an ice spike and if I had ever seen one, would have had no idea what it was and shrugged it off as something strange. A post on another site had a photo of one happening in …
Cold, Wet and Cheerless Once again I have poor weather to report for this month in Durham. There were particularly high rainfall totals again and an incredible dullness that depressed the soul. I know that November is sometimes a cheerless month, but this one has been really rubbish. The weather has also been cold, with depressed maxima by day, although …
When December 2010 came along and hit us square between the eyes, it was a complete shock to the system. There had been no below freezing December in the UK (average below 0.0 degC) since 1890. That’s 120 years. These are temperatures from the CET series (Central England Temperature). The last time the temperature averaged below zero was in February …
Here’s a graphic released by the Met Office, attempting to illustrate the wet weather we’ve had in the first half of November 2019. Now, the first half of November has been pretty wet. In fact 85mm of rain has fallen on Gilesgate since the start of November, continuing the soggy 6 months we’ve had. I looked at the map and …
This is archived content that used to be on the Met Office website, but isn’t anymore so I decided to resurrect it for posterity, adding my own comments and adaptions. It’s a page to refer to when people talk about the harsh winters of 1946-47 and 1962-63, the two UK winters that are used as benchmarks for how bad winter …
Discovered this one today, via Facebook (credit Julian Harrop and the Beamish Archive). It shows a guy cycling through floodwater in 1950 (unknown exact date). The riverside was a bit different then. The bus shelters can be seen to the right of the photograph (Gypsy Queen, Diamond and Hammel bus stops). Some of the worst floods ever in Durham …