Local Forecasts, History & Records
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 …
The Top 10 Hottest Temperatures in The World Death Valley, California USA 56.7 degC, July 10th 1913 Kebili, Tunisia 55 degC, July 7th 1931 Sulaibiya, Kuwait 53.6 degC, July 31st 2012 Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan 53.5 degC, May 26th 2010 Tarat Tsvi, Israel 53 degC, June 21st 1942 Nasiriyah, Iraq 52 degC, August 3rd 2011 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 52 degC, June 22nd …
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 …
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 …
Not exactly weather related, but some nice pictures from the Durham Lumiére Festival from November 2015. As it happens the weather was very good.
This incredible Shelf Cloud, looking like an alien spacecraft from the film “Independence Day” came in over Durham in July 2015. Although it looked very threatening, on this occasion not much rain fell from it. It’s the best example I’ve seen of a Shelf Cloud in the UK. On 1st July 2015, the temperature hit 30 degC in Durham, …
A 90% Partial Solar Eclipse was visible in the Durham in March 2015. There was a lot of cloud, but the eclipse could clearly be seen. The peak of the eclipse was around 9:30am. The main noticeable thing was a marked drop in temperature and the birds began to roost, thinking it was dusk. Here’s a video taken in Spennymoor, …
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 …
Professor Gordon Manley (1902 – 1980) became the first Head of the Department of Geography at Durham University in 1928. During his nine year term of office, Professor Manley became the Curator of the Durham University Observatory where he did much work in establishing the Durham temperature series as comparable to that of Oxford. Professor Manley’s work at Durham laid …
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 contrast to everything that had gone before, it was the warmest July in Durham since 2006 and therefore the second warmest month on record at Durham since 1850. The absolute maximum (28.4°C) on the 9th was the warmest day at Durham since 18th July 2006. Only 5 days had a maximum below 20°C with 5 days above 25°C. The …