Local Forecasts, History & Records
January 1987. This month saw an exceptional cold spell resulting from an easterly airstream which began in earnest on the 9th, with cold air starting to feed in from the 7th. Before that here was a wet start to the month. Then the maximum at Aviemore was -5C on the 8th and 9th. On the 9th, an anticyclone anchored over …
2006 was a remarkable warm year, the second warmest on record at Durham since 1850, only a negligible 0.02°C cooler than 2004. Every month except March was above average, with the year as a whole 1.4°C above the 1961-1990 mean. The warmest ten years at Durham are now as follows (to two decimal places): Year and average temperature 2004 – …
September 2006 Another one for the record books, September 2006 is the warmest September on record, beating September 1729 in the CET series. This record had stood for 277 years up to this year, and was the longest running record of any ‘warmest month’. September 2006 was also the warmest September in Durham, with an average of 15.9 degC. Recently …
July 2006 This month has created history as it is the warmest month on record. The records go back to 1850 at Durham, and this month has beaten July 1983 to the highest monthly mean temperature. To put things into perspective, the average temperature for July 2006 is 2 degC above that recorded as an average for July 1976, a …
Only 1990 and 1949 have rivalled the last four years for warmth. The extraordinary warmth of the last few years is reflected in the fact that, if we take the average of every 10-year period (1850-59, 1851-60, etc.), then the last decade (1996-2005) is the warmest on record and the first to average 9.5°C. As it happens, the coldest ‘decade’ …
This was one of my favourite weather photos from Durham City. It was taken on the way up the steps into the Durham University Students Union building (Dunelm House) in New Elvet. The sun was going down behind Durham Cathedral. That was the last I saw of the sun that night as I disappeared into The Durham Beer Festival being …
2004 was another remarkably warm year, the warmest on record at Durham since records began in 1850, the mean of 9.95°C beating the previous highest (2003) by 0.05°C. It was quite a wet year too, the total of 726mm ranking 110th in a series of 153. There were far fewer hours of bright sunshine than normal, however; the total was …
Amateur weather forecaster Foggitt dies World-renowned amateur weather forecaster Bill Foggitt has died in hospital at the age of 91. Mr Foggitt’s unconventional methods – using signs in nature rather than science for his predictions – made him the scourge of professionals but alegend among the masses. One of the high points of his career came when the Association of Science …
After a really warm night on 9th August 2004 (minimum was 19.9 degC) at my weather station in Ferryhill, the next two days were extraordinarily wet. In fact the whole month was a soggy mess and about as bad as a month can get in summer. Midnight-midnight 9th August 37.2mm 10th August 30.4mm Two consecutive days with > 30mm …
After several days of speculation, the cold front eventually arrived, revealing the true power of the Arctic airstream we’d been promised. The temperature fell from +1.5 degC at noon to -2.0 degC at 1pm, with a ferocious blizzard of fine powder snow. This is probably the most impressive cold front passage since the mid 80’s, with additions to the lying …
For the year as a whole, 2003 was: 1) The warmest year in Durham since records began in 1850, with a rounded-up figure of 9.9°C, 1.3°C above the long-term mean (I continue to use the 1961-90 mean; the overall mean for 1850-2003 is 8.5°C). The 2-decimal figure for 2003 of 9.88°C beats 2002 (9.80°C) and 1949 (9.83°C). Remarkably, the monthly …
Overall, 2002 was a very warm year in Durham, the 2nd warmest on record (9.80°C) since 1850 and beaten only by 1949 (9.83°C). Only October fell below the long-term monthly mean. As noted above, in June and September, the 12-month running mean exceeded 10°C for the first time in Durham’s history. Of the 14 highest annual means, 8 have occurred …