Local Forecasts, History & Records
Ah, October in the UK—a month where the weather often feels like it’s playing a game of “guess what’s next.” In 2024, October didn’t disappoint, serving up a mix of sunshine, showers, and a few surprises. A Tale of Two Halves The month kicked off with a blend of wet and dry spells. Early October saw rain sweeping across the …
After a disappointing summer, we had all hoped for a September similar to the record one in September 2023. Alas, we were all to be royally disappointed. The gentle transition from Summer to Autumn never really materialised and leaves started falling earlier than we are used to. In the first week, the temperatures touched the 20 degC mark on 3 …
Well, what can I tell you? The summer hasn’t exactly been brilliant has it? After a stuttering start in June, and a mixed July, August was a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, of the three summer months, August was steadier than the previous two. But it never really reached the pinnacle of ‘high summer’. The absolute maximum temperature was …
Let’s take a little journey through the BBC’s weather team history. The BBC has been a cornerstone of weather forecasting in the UK for decades, with its presenters becoming familiar faces to millions. I’ll break down the list into several sections: current presenters, notable historic ones, special mentions and early pioneers. Current BBC Weather Presenters Carol Kirkwood One of the …
The topsy-turvy Summer 2024 weather continued into July. The last few days of June redeemed the month, but cooler weather returned and it continued into the first half of July. The first half of the month was wet, especially the 9th to 16th, when 50.8mm of the monthly total fell (67.9mm). The wettest day was the 9th (13.7mm), but the …
The month started very poorly indeed by recent standards, with a severe hangover from the 2nd half of May 2024. May was of course the warmest since 1833 in Durham, but the temperatures at the start of June were very disappointing, with only the 2nd and 3rd crawling past the 20 degC mark in the first half of the month. …
May 2024 was classed as ‘very mild’, with the mean a full 2.5 degC above the average, and the mean minimum an extraordinary 4.5 degC above the average. The mean minimum was actually in double figures, something usually reserved for the summer months. Most of the mildness came in the first half of the month, with the warmest temperature (25.0 …
I’m going to kick things off by explaining what Global warming really is and why it’s become such a hot-button issue. This isn’t just about a gradual increase in average global temperatures; it’s also about the massive knock-on effect this has on our planet’s climate systems. At its core, global warming results from an excess of greenhouse gases like carbon …
A very special night for Northern Lights watchers. In 2016 we went all the way to Iceland to try to see the Northern Lights. Sadly it wasn’t to be. They never showed, and even though Mrs DurhamWeather said she saw them through the plane window on the way home, I was asleep so couldn’t verify. Last night was therefore a …
Wet and mild first half, then drier and colder April 2024 kept the soggy theme going and opened rather wet. 13.5mm of rain fell on the 3rd. The gardens were looking very waterlogged. On Saturday 6th April we were hit by Storm Kathleen, although not as badly as the North West corner of the country, but bad enough. On 8th …
April 1917 – Perishingly cold at Durham Towards the end of World War 1, with fighting still going on in the trenches of France, April 1917 was quite extraordinary and was the coldest April recorded at Durham. The mean temperature for the month was 4.4C, which is -3.9C when compared to the 1990-2010 normal for April. This was 0.1C colder …
March 2024 The month was very much on the mild side, with little in the way of air frost (1 day). The maximum temperatures were disappointing, getting nowhere near the 20 degC mark that is always within reach in March. However March 2024 was 1.3C warmer than March 2023. The reason the month felt so damp was that the rainfall …