The so called 'Christmas Blizzard' of 1927 was one of the worst blizzards of the 20th century to hit the southern UK.On Christmas Eve, there was a cold ENE'ly flow across the UK bringing with it snow showers to the east coast and night frosts.

By Christmas Day, a low pressure had moved into the English Channel of around 987mb and this then engaged the colder air to the north and east. Initially, the precipitation that fell was rain but as the low pulled down even colder air from above, the rain turned readily to snow and by midnight, many southern and southeastern counties had a snow cover. Conditions the next day were very bad with heavy snowfalls and a gale force northeasterly wind bringing blizzard conditions and severe drifting. Villages were cut off by drifts up to 6-7 metres (20 feet) and food supplies had to be air-dropped. Transport was virtually paralysed with train services seriously delayed or cancelled. Even in central London, depths of snow

Monthly retrospective for August 2016

The month was slightly above average temperature wise but rainfall was again variable due to the showery nature of the precipitation although very dry in places, and sunshine was near or somewhat above average- especially in the SE- but almost everywhere away from the far north.

The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 17.1C, about 1.3C above average with the mean minimum about 1.5C above.

Most parts of the north were about 0.5C above average but the south was generally a degree or more above average. The pressure was 2-3mb above average across the UK as a whole.

The warmest mean maximum was at Heathrow (Middsx) with 24.7C and the highest daily maximum was 33.9C at Gravesend (Kent), which was also the highest this summer.
The coldest mean minimum was at Aviemore (Highlands) with 8.9C, the coldest absolute minimum by night was at Dalwhinnie (Highlands) with -1.0C though some spots in this area were certainly a degree

Monthly retrospective for July 2016

The month was slightly above average temperature wise but rainfall was again variable due to the showery nature of the precipitation although very dry in places, and sunshine was again rather below average almost everywhere away from the far north.

The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 17.0C, about 1.0C above average. Most parts of the north and west were very close to average but a few parts in the east and SE were over a degree above average. The pressure was 2-3mb below average across the northern UK but a few millibars above in the south.

The warmest mean maximum was at Gravesend (Kent) & at London Heathrow (Middsx) with 24.0C and the highest daily maximum was 33.5C at Brize Norton (Oxon).

The coldest mean minimum was at Eskdalemuir (Dumfries & Galloway) with 9.6C, the coldest absolute minimum by night was at Altnaharra (Sutherland) with 0.5C.

June was generally a rather dry or very dry month in the

Monthly retrospective for June 2016

It was another month that was slightly above average temperature wise but rainfall was again very variable due to the showery nature of the precipitation although very wet in places, and sunshine was below average almost everywhere away from the far north.

The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 15.2C, about 1.1C above average. Whilst a few places were very close to average many parts were over a degree above average, and a few parts of north & NE Wales were nearly 2C above. The pressure was near average right across the northern UK but a few millibars below in the south.

The warmest mean maximum was at Pershore (Worcs) with 19.6C and surprisingly the highest daily maximum was 27.8C at Porthmadog (Gwynedd).
The coldest mean minimum was at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) with 7.8C, the coldest absolute minimum by night was at Resallach, of -0.1C in the Scottish Highlands with -3C on the grass at Tulloch Bridge (Highlands)

Monthly retrospective for May 2016

It was quite but not especially a warm month temperature wise but rainfall was very variable due to the showery nature of the precipitation although wet in places, though sunshine was very close to average again, as in April in the main for most parts.

The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 12.5C, about 1.4C above average. Whilst nowhere was below average many parts were only just above average. The pressure was near average right across the UK.

The warmest mean maximum was at Heathrow (outer London) with 18.9C and surprisingly the highest daily maximum was 27.7C as far north as Plockton in Ross and Cromarty.
The coldest mean minimum was at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) with 4.6C, the coldest absolute minimum by night was -5.7C at Tulloch Bridge in the Scottish Highlands with -9C on the grass. This was the lowest temperature in May for 4 years.

May was both a dry and wet month in places, Inverbervie in the Highlands

February forecast synoptic summary

Week 1 from the 1st-7th February will initially see low pressures run northwest of Scotland and towards Norway with higher pressure across the south by the 3rd, but by the 4th a further deep low pressure system running across the north west by early on the 5th into the 6th and a secondary low deepening and possibly swinging NE across the south or Midlands and into the North Sea. By the 7th a chilly polar flow from the N-NW across all parts.

In week 2, from the 8th-14th a chilly polar maritime flow will dominate across all parts initially but further fronts into the west by the 9th as a low pressure system runs NE'wards across the northern UK on the 10th but with a colder PM flow behind it by the 11th, a blocking high pressure area may ridge north across the mid Atlantic for a few days at this time, but by the 13th its ridge maybe building into the NW  and as it sinks south east on the 13th into the

Monthly retrospective for January 2016

It was very mild but very wet in places in the north & west but rather dull too esp in the south. The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 5.7C, about 1.9C above average. A number of daily maximum temperature records were broken on the 24th & 25th and the all time high minima January records too, in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland.

January saw temperature anomalies range from about 2C above average in the far south to just below average in the far  northern Isles. The warmest place by day was St Mary on the Scilly Isles with a mean maximum temperature of 10.8C. The warmest daily maximum was at Achnagart in the NW Scottish Highlands where 16.5C was reached on the 24th. The coldest mean minimum by night was 1.8C at Lossiemouth in eastern Scotland. Pressure was 2mb below average in the far northern Isles but 10mb below at Valley on Anglesey attesting to the unsettled nature of the month in the main.

January

Monthly retrospective for December 2015

It was exceptionally mild but very wet in places in the north & west but rather dull too esp in the south. The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 9.8C, the highest mean in December recorded since records began, making it warmer than November 2015 (which in itself was very mild) and 5.2C above the normal average. A number of daily maximum temperature records were broken.

December saw temperature anomalies range from about 1-2C above average in the far north to over 6C above on the southern English coast. Hurn (Dorset) was 6.4C above average, and thus was exceptionally mild. The degree of this warmth cannot be overemphasised but it is interesting and quite significant that no weather agency was able to forecast it in advance. It cause may to an extent be due to the extent of the ongoing El Nino event and/or possibly global climate change but there is no definite scientific agreement on this. The warmest places by day were

Monthly retrospective for November 2015

It was a notably mild but wet month for most and very dull in the south, though sunshine was near average in the far north. The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 9.6C, a full 3C above the average. The record for the highest ever temperature recorded in the UK in November was broken on November 1st with 22.4C at Trawscoed, Ceredigion.

November saw temperature anomalies range from about 1-2C above average in the north to over 3C above in the central south. One of the warmest places by day was Guernsey with a mean maximum temperature of 13.7C. The coldest mean minimum by night was 2.3C at Aboyne in the Highlands. Pressure was 6mb below average in the far northern Isles but 4mb above in the Channel Isles, attesting to the strong pressure gradients at times.

November was a notably wet month in places, Shap Fell in Cumbria saw about 230% of it normal rainfall and compared to its 25% last month Edinburgh saw 215% of its

Monthly retrospective for October 2015

It was a rather dry month away from the NE and east coasts and often dominated by high pressure but dull in the south, though quite sunny in the main in the north. The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was near 11.0C, slightly above the average.

October saw temperature anomalies range from rather above average in far northern parts (Lerwick in the Shetland Isles was 1.8C above average) to near average elsewhere. One of the warmest places by day was Heathrow with a mean maximum temperature of 15.7C. The coldest by night was again Shap Fell with a mean minimum of 4.0C. Most of the UK was just above average in fact. Pressure was very much higher than average, as much as 8mb in parts of