The Weather at Durham, North East England
After a really warm night on 9th August 2004 (minimum was 19.9 degC) at my 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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
Given problems with our rain gauge, the annual rainfall total of 566.3mm is only an estimate. However, if correct, this shows a dry year, the driest since 1996, 83mm below average and the 32nd driest year since 1852. If we measure to two decimal places, 2001 was the 13th warmest year on record since 1850, … Read more
December 1981 was a phenomenally cold snowy month in Durham (along with the first half of January 1982). Snow lay for most of the month as a result of several heavy falls. There were some brutally low temperatures, double figure negative temperatures. In January 1982 the British Record of -27.2 degC was equalled at Braemar … Read more
February 1991. A very cold first half in the south, but mild second half. Overall temperature: CET average of 1.5. There was a notable ten day cold spell at the beginning, as NE winds brought in some very cold air from north Russia, leading to snow across most of Britain and some very low temperatures, … Read more
Amazing Storms Cause Havoc Here is what I wrote in my weather diary on the night: There have been quite severe electrical storms in the North East of England tonight with torrential rain at times. In Ferryhill, the storms started at about 2030 GMT after the weather became very muggy and humid at the end of the afternoon. … Read more