Local Forecasts, History & Records
Has the dry Spring happened before? After the phenomenally dry Spring this year, you might wonder whether this has happened before, and what was Durham’s driest year on record? Normal yearly rainfall in Durham (based on the 1991-2020 climatic mean) is around the 680mm mark. Spaced out evenly over the year, that is about 57 mm per month. But, it …
May 2025 started with a bang. After the heat peaked at the end of April, the 1st May was the warmest ever for that date in the UK. Kew Gardens reached 29.3 degC, closely followed by Wisley and Chertsey at 29.2 degC. We all thought the earliest May day to record the magic 30 degrees was going to be shattered …
Lightning is one of those things that still feels like magic, even when we know the science behind it. A sudden bolt splits the sky, a rumble shakes the windows, and it’s over before your brain can fully process it. But inside that fleeting second, there’s a whole sequence of microscopic and incredibly fast steps going on. Each flash of …
June 1975 in Durham was one for the books. If you were living in or around County Durham back then, chances are it left a mark on your memory. Not just because of how the month started—though that was remarkable in itself—but because of how quickly it turned around. It was a month that packed in winter, spring, and summer …
The Eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a ‘Live Durham Weather’ option has appeared in the header bar. Clicking this will take you to the following page views. You’ll be able to see the current live conditions from the weather station in Durham. You can see the current temperature, the ‘feels like’ temperature, the dew point, todays rainfall, the humidity …
Ah yes, chemtrails—the rabbit hole that never seems to close. Let’s get into it. If you’ve ever looked up on a clear day and seen long white streaks criss-crossing the sky, you’ve seen what are commonly called contrails. They’re short for “condensation trails,” and they’re exactly what they sound like: trails of condensed water vapour. Jet engines burn fuel, and …
Here’s a fun collection of obscure and lesser-known meteorological terms. These are the ones that don’t usually pop up in your average weather forecast but have their niche roles in the world of weather nerds (like us). 1. Virga Rain that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground. It can make the sky look like it has …
A Legendary Summer The summer of 1976 is legendary in the UK. It is often talked about as being ‘The Best Summer Ever’. As a 16 year old kid, there were lots of outdoor activities for us. Tennis was high on the list as the footie season had just finished (I’ve hardly played since 😳). I also remember my paper …
That’s a good question and one that crops up more and more, especially when the weather throws something odd at us – like snow in April or a blazing hot September. You’ll often hear someone say, “So much for global warming!” with a chuckle, as though a cold snap disproves it all. But that’s the tip of the iceberg (no …
The dew point is one of those weather terms you hear thrown around a lot, especially in summer forecasts or when there’s a misty morning outside. But it’s not just a fancy way of saying “it’s a bit muggy.” The dew point is a specific, measurable temperature — and it’s actually more useful than humidity when it comes to understanding …
A superb start and end to April April 2025 opened superbly, with perfect blue skies and reasonable temperatures for early Spring. There was a nagging Easterly wind though; the position of the stable high pressure cell was feeding air from a chilly direction, meaning that it was warm in the sun as long as you were out of the breeze. …
Sometimes, in the world of amateur meteorology, it’s not the technology that trips you up. It’s the humble bin. Yes, a bog-standard plastic bin. And not doing anything remotely interesting, just sitting there, quietly minding its own business. Or so I thought. I always try to validate my data Since I started logging daily weather readings here back in 2019, …