A year that will be remembered more for the lack of sun rather than it's warmth. The year saw the warmest May on record and the 2nd warmest February on record just pipping 2023. The year started on the mild side and by May looked like it would run away with warmest year on record. However summer and Autumn had different ideas and by November it was clear the the record wasn't going to be broken with the year coming in at 10.7C -0.4C away from the warmest year ever recorded which was the previous year. Rainfall was just a bit above average. Thunderstorms were rare once again just five days recorded as was Snow on a poor 7. The Year saw a lack of any windy weather until December when 64mph was reached followed by 55mph on the next day. This was an unnamed storm as the Met office continues to confuse as to what constitutes a named storm. Storm Darragh had little impact in the region. Winter was really a cool extended autumn or early spring depending on you look at it.
January: January was a month with average rainfall and near average temperatures. The month started mild for the first four days before returning to average for the 5th and 6th and then a cold spell which lasted from the 7th to the 20th. The cold spell produced six air frosts with a low of -4C on the 18th followed by -3.5C on the 19th. The coldest days were on the 15th with 1.4C and 1.4C again on the 17th. Any thoughts of a rare well below average month were removed as early spring arrived from the 21st double figures were reached on six days. 12.1C being reached on the 21st and 12C 14.1C on the 23rd. 12C was reached again on the 25th. This period also recorded the warmest nights with 7.3C being the low on the 22nd. The cold spell produced a flurry of Snow on the 16th and that was all.
More than 50% of the months rain fell in the first first two days with 18.2mm on the 1st and 22.4mm on the 2nd and 3.8mm on the 3rdcourtesy of storm Henk. Very little rain fell between 4th and the 20th with just 5mm falling. The 21st produced 10.1mm of rain courtesy of storm Isha. After that rainfall amounts were that large as the month finished with a total of 77.1mm.
Winds reached 53mph on the 21st and 50mph on the 23rd and again on the 25th. These being courtesy of Storms Isha and Jocelyn. January continued the drift towards less stormy weather that we have seen in recent years .
Snow fell on one day just a few slurries
February: The month was a very mild month coming in around 3 degrees above normal. The month being the 2nd warmest on record. It was also a wet month being the tenth wettest on record with 99.7mm of rain.
Spring continued for the first five days with temperatures in double figures bar the first day which just missed out. There was only one cold day during February which was the 8th with 3.2C being the high. Despite the mild weather the month did record 4 days with an air frost. The coldest night the 25th when -1.0C was the low. Temperatures from the 7th to the 12th were closer to average with the one day blip on the 8th. Spring returned fully on the 13th with double figures being recorded until the 22nd. This period saw a high of 17.1C on the 15th as we headed into early May for a day. This day also recorded the warmest night at 10.3C. Spring continued until the 21st when temperatures dropped back closer normal with a run of air frost from the 24th to the 27th. The month closed on on the mild side.
The month was a wet month and although little rain fell from the 1st to the 7th this all changed on the 8th when 38mm fell this included the only Snow of the month which left a 2.9cm cover on the 9th which quickly melted. Perhaps this should have been named a storm but who knows these days. Heavy rain fell again on the 13th with 11.5mm and 12.1mm fell on the 21st. The month only saw four dry days throughout the month these being the 1st then the 24th, 25th and 29th.
The month was a quiet one and didn't feature any wind storms nor any Met Office named. 41 mph was the highest gust we recorded while 11mph was the highest average we recorded.
January and February: made sure that winter clocked in with an average temp of 6.1C joint 2nd warmest on record. Winter 23/24 was the joint 9th wettest winter on record.
March: Spring already arriving in January 20204 one would expect a cold start to the actual Spring but no March was another mild month the 10th joint 10th warmest on record and the 10th wettest. .
The month actual started with temperatures below average with air frosts on the 4th and the 5th. These being -0.8C on the 4th then -1.1C on the 5th. The coldest day was recorded on the 1st when 6.5C was the high. Of course spring wasn't going to be denied and this returned from the 4th to the 6th, with temperatures in the double figures before temperatures returned to normal between the 7th and 8th and again 10th to 11th. The warmest part of the month was from the 12th to the 22nd with temperatures peaking at 16.4C on the 17th and 16.1c on the 19th. Note these temperatures weren't as high as Februaries record of 17.1C. The warmest night was on the 14th when 9.9C was the low. Temperatures remained above normal all the way to the end of the month.
The month was very wet with a total of 99.7mm just missing out on the One hundred club. DEspite this only two days reached double figures 11.2mm of sleet on the 1st and 12.5mm on the 10th. There was only one day that was dry throughout which explains the high total. There were 26 days where it rained from the 4th right up the 31st. Out of that 4 fours days had a trace condition where rainfall fell but wasn't measurable.
March didn't see the repeat of the previous years Snow storm. It only sleeted on three days these being the 1st ans 2nd and then again on the 23rd.
March was a fairly quiet month although it record an average wind speed of 17mph on the 24th. Gusts only reached 40mph once and that was on the 23rd. So the run of quiet weather continued.
April: April booked the trend of of mild months with temperatures close to average. The month was another wet one though being 17th wettest on record with 84.5mm. The month features storm Kathleen which had very little impact on the region.
The month showed little temperature variation with the warmest day being 19.7C on the 30th while only 3 single digit max's were recorded throughout the month. The coldest being the 322nd with 8.4C. Otherwise the day times temperatures stayed in the lower to mid teens for most of the month. The warmest night was on the 6th with 10.7C which also was the 2nd warmest day with 18.2C. The coldest night was on the 26th with 0.1C giving a good temperature range for the day. There were some notable cold nights between the 16th to the 20th and the 24th to the 27th although these were offset by the day time temperatures. So overall the temperatures came in close to normal.
Rainfall wise rain reached double figures on the 4th with 11.4mm and the 15th with 10.2mm which included sleet. It rained again on most days with only two days being dry the 12th and the 30th. Four days had trace conditions.
The month saw winds reach 49mph on the 6th and 48 mph on the 7th courtesy of storm Kathleen although anything will less than 50mph I don't count as a storm. So April was a generally quiet month over all with very little happening.
May: May was another warm month the 2nd warmest on record. Temperatures 3C above normal as summer arrived early. This month the second warmest by night on record.
May was a strange month where it cooled off through the month rather than warming up. So it started more like summer than ended more like Spring. The month start with pleasant temperatures around 20C a brief cool down on the 3rd with the 2nd coldest day with 13.8C. From the 5th we saw pleasant temperatures in the low 20's peaking at 25.1C on the 12th. A brief cool down between the 14th and 16th with early summer returning on the 17th to 19th with temperatures around 22C. It tuned cooler from the 20th with temperatures back in teens and not breaking the 20 degree mark again. Nights only had one cool day when 5.9C was the low on the 25th. Actually by night May was the 2nd warmest on record.
Rainfall was close to average despite seeing only 5.4mm of rain in the first 11th days. Heavy rain fell on the 18th with 18.3mm of rain falling. Coupled with 7.8mm the day before this accounted for nearly 50% of the finally rainfall of the month. So a month of 3rds with 2.3rds being on the wet side. This was also the coolest part of the month.
Distant thunder was heard on the 26th but no storms hit area during the month.
Spring: Overall was the 2nd warmest on record coming in at 10.2C. It was the 14th wettest with 241.1mm of rainfall.
After mild winter and Spring everyone was getting ready for a hot summer. However Summer was distinctly average with a sudden switch to average temperatures. Rainfall wise summer was also close to average.
June: June was an average month in regards to temperatures and only a short hot spell prevented it from being just below average. Rainfall it was a dry month the 13th driest on record.
The first half of the month was fairly none de-script with temperatures in the mid teens mostly and only getting above 20C on the 2nd when 21C was reached. The coldest day was on the 11th when 14C was the high. Night time temperatures were fairly cool being in single digits for 17 of the first twenty days. The coldest night was on the 13th when 5.3C was the low. It turned warmer from the 20th with temperatures with temperatures getting above 20c and turning hot for four days from the 23rd with temperatures peaking at 26.9C on the 25th following the 26.1C the day before. The hot spell finished with 26.7C on the 26th. This period also had the warmest night with 16C being the low on the 25th.
Rainfall was below average without any days getting more than 9.4mm these being the 9th and the 14th. Only 4.7mm fell from the 15th to the end of the month. Measurable rain only fell on 14 days and three days had a trace condition. There were two weak thunderstorms/Thundery showers during the month these only bringing 18.8mm.
July: Was another average month temperatures wise with just above average rainfall.
The month was a month of two halves a coolish first half and then a warm 2nd half preventing a below average month. The first half of the month saw a low of 13.9C on the 11th. Temperatures were generally in the mid teens to just above through this period. The coldest night was on the 8th when 7.8C was the low. The 2nd half of the month saw some hot weather the 1st hot spell was from the 18th to the 19th short and sweet with the warmest day of 28.2C on the 19th. It cooled down to pleasant summery weather with the temperatures in the low twenties before turning hot for the last three days with the 2nd warmest 28.1C on the 31st following the 27.3V and 27.1C on the previous days. The warmest night didn't occur during the hot spells but on the 20th when 17C was the low.
Rainfall like the temperatures was a month of two half's with the first half the wet one. This saw 76.1mm falling of the final total which was 78.8mm. Heavy rain fell on the 8th and 9th with 17.9mm and 22.7mm falling. This was more than 50% of the monthly total.The rainfall for once was associatedFurther heavy rain with Thundery activity which hasn't been the case in recent years. Further heavy rain fell on the 15th when another 17.7mm fell. After that the taps were effectively turned off with only 2.7mm falling for the rest of the month.
July actually saw a breezy day with 40mph being reached on the 4th which is high for the time of year.
August didn't make any waves either in regards to summer a dry average month overall with Thunder heard on one day.
August: The Month was split again into two halves with a warm 1st half followed by a cooler 2nd half. The only hot spell occurred on the 11th and 12th when 26.5C and 26.6C were reached. The 1st and 2nd were very warm days with 25.3C and 25C were reached. The warmest night was again outside of the hottest days when 15.8C was the low on the 6th. The 2nd half was cooler with temperatures in the upper teens. The coolest day being the 25th with 17.2C the high. The coldest night was on the 31st with 7.5C being the low.
Two days saw 7.6mm of rain falling these being the 1st and the 22nd and these were the wettest days of the month. Despite being a dry month there wasn't any prolonged dry spell.
August saw a named storm Lillian which produced a couple of breezy days for the time of year with winds peaking at 42 and 44mph on the 22nd and 23rd.
Summer: was average in regards to temperatures but was the 16th driest on record so a fairly none de-script summer over all. However extreme got close tot he country on several occasions so we lucky not see the high 30's.
Would Autumn followed much the same way as summer in regards to temperatures in being average. It was a wet autumn though.
September: September didn't reserve any temperature records with temperatures mostly in the teens with a few twenties thrown in. The warmest day was on the 6th when 24.5C was reached. The next warmest was 20.5C on the 2nd. The coolest day was on the 30th when 12.7C was the low. There were some notable cold nights these being the 13th with 3.6C being the low followed by 3.9C the next day. The 28th with 4C and 29th with 4.8C. The 7th and 8th saw the warmest nights with 15.4C being the low.
Rainfall was it was an odd month with a sting at the end. Very little rain fell from the 1st to the 20th if you take away the 20.2mm that fell on the 8th. Ideas of a dry month disappeared from the 21st with 13.6mm falling on the 22nd then 18.2mm on the 26th following the 10.1mm the day before. However the sting was in the tale with 60mm of rain falling on the 30th. This should have been a named storm but the Met Office being the met office didn't bother. The heavy propelled the month to a total of 162.2 mm. The 2nd wettest September on record.
October: October was another average month in regards to temperature and had just below average rainfall.
The month saw very little temperature variation throughout. The warmest day was on the 7th with 18C while the coldest was on the 1st with 11.7C. Nights showed a bit more variation with the warmest with being the 17th with 12.7C with the coldest on the 11th when 2.5C was the low. There weren't any notable warm or cold spells in the month.
Rainfall was slightly below average with the wettest days the 1st with 10.2mm carrying on from the previous days 60mm. The wettest day was on the 16th with 11mm.
October had a named storm but this had zero effect on the region this being Ashley on the 20th to 21st of the month.
Would the final month of Autumn be very mild or average?
November: The month was an average month temperature wise and had below average rainfall. It was quiet month without any windy weather. it also had a record breaking dry start with 0.8mm of rain for the first 15 days. The month featured two named storms Bert on the 22nd to 25th which brought rain and Snow to the region and Conall on the 27th which had zero impact and hardly span the anemometer or troubled the rain gauge.
The month started on mild note and kept the mildness going until the middle of the month when it turned very much colder. The first 7 days were in double figures foe the maximum and spring like or early Autumn at times as temperatures reached 13.9C on the 1st and 12.4C on the 6th. This period had the warmest night on the 3rd when 9.7C was the low. A brief cool down occurred by day on the 8th to the 9th before a return to mild spring like weather from the 10th to 16th. Temperatures hitting 13.2C on the 13th. It turned cold to very cold from the 18th the cold spell only lasting 5 days but cold enough to bring the average down by quiet a bit. The coldest day was on the 19th when 1.9C was the low. WE saw five consecutive air frosts from the 18th to the 22nd. The coldest night being the 22nd when -3.1C was the low. The previous day being -2.9. Spring returned on the 23rd with the warmest day of 15.1Ca range of 14.6C in temperature in the day. The 24th was also spring like with 14.6C. The weather cooled down again from the 25th to the 28th before turning mild again for the 29th and 30th. However we did see two more air frosts on the 28th and the 29th with -0.5C on the 28th and -0.5C on the 29th. So a month of large variations.
Rainfall was almost completely absent from the 1st to the 15th with only 0.8mm falling. What did fall was drizzle from the fog and cloud that was the feature for the first 8 days. Rain and Snow fell on the 18th bringing the first rain of the month with 10.9mm falling. Heavy rain on the 23rd brought 36.2mm of rain courtesy of Storm Bert. 6.6mm was part of the storm which fell on the previous day. This was more than half the months rainfall. After the 24th rainfall amounts were small again with only 11.8mm falling through the last seven days.
November saw some Snow on the 18th when 8cm fell then a light shower on the 21st before some frontal Snow on the 22nd. Snow laid for five days the first lying Snow of the year easily beating last winters total.
Winds only reached the 40's on one day when 41 mph was reached on the 24th. So another quiet month.
November didn't feature in the top 20 months in regards to temperatures. Rainfall wise it was the 18th wettest on record with 108.6mm.
Autumn: Autumn was average in regards to temperatures while it was the the 12th wettest on record.
The question now would December be a winter month or more like late Autumn or Early Spring. In the end December was more like early April as it became the 4th warmest on record at 6.9C.
December: Once more December was a very mild month with just above average rainfall. By breaking the 6C mark by hitting an average of 6.9C means that winter isn't going to be cold one unless it bucks a long time based trend.
The month started on a mild note with the third joint warmest day of the month of 12.7C the other day being the 17th. The night was the warmest of the month with 10.3C being the low. A brief one day cold snap happened on the 3rd with the coldest day of the month with 5.2C being the low. Mild weather returned on the 4th as temperatures returned to double figures although the 4th was also the coldest night as well with 0.2C. The mild weather was supposed to continue but cloud and mist with some drizzle pegged the day time temperatures back with some of the coldest days of the month on the 10th and 11th with 5.5C and 5.3C being the high. The cloud though kept the night time temperatures up but not enough for the weather to be on the cool side. The cool weather continued up to the 13th when early spring like temperatures returned from the 14th to the 18th as temperatures returned to double figures. Another one day cool snap occurred on the 19th then again on the 22nd when some Snow fell overnight on the 21st to morning of the 22nd. It turned mild again over Christmas with a spring like 13.2C recorded on the 24th. The temperatures became closer to normal by day from the 26th to the 28th with some unforecast cold nights on the 27th and 28th with 0.8C and 0.5C being the low. The month was entirely free of air frosts and ground frosts were rare as well. So overall the month was more like March than December.
Rainfall for December was above average due tot he sting in the tail on the 31st which produced 29.7mm of rain. 17.1mm fell on the 5th, 14.1mm of the 7th and 16mm on the 18th. Most of the rain fell in the first half of the month until the 31st when 29.7mm fell. The weather was on the dry side from the 22nd to 30th with only 1.3mm of rain fell this mainly due to fog otherwise it would have been totally dry. The month was the 19th wettest December on record.
December despite being so mild did see two days with Snow falling the 21st and 22nd although it didn't lie at all.
December only saw one named storm, storm Darragh on the 5th which wasn't a storm here. However we should have had another named storm on the 21st and 22nd when winds reached 64mph and then 55mph on the next day. Arguably the next named storm should have been new years eve with strong winds and heavy rain across the country. Winds only reached 4Xmph here though saw a return of stormy weather with a 77mph gust on 21st of the month following 53mph the day before and 62mph on the 9th.
The year 2024 was the 4th warmest on record despite the extremely mild first half where it looked like becoming the warmest on record would be a stroll in the park. Some UK experts were still saying the warmest on record late Autumn although by then it was clear that wasn't going to happen due too the sudden run of average months across the summer in Autumn. Rainfall wise the year was a wet one becoming the 14th wettest on record.
Next year 2025: The next year sees a weak La Nina so in theory this should mean that it won't be such a warm year. The warming effects of the Tonga eruption should be less as well so possibly an average year in regards to temperatures and rainfall. .
| Averages for 2024 Including the Highs and Lows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Average Winter Temp 4.7C | The 2023/24 Winter Average 6.1C | Difference from average 1.4C |
| Average Winter Max Temp 7.4C | The 2023/24 Winter Max Average 8.6C | Difference from average 1.2C |
| Average Winter Min Temp 1.9C | The Winter 2023/24 Winter Min Average 3.6C | Difference From Average 1.7C |
| Average Spring Temp 9.1C | This years Spring Average 10.2C | Difference From Average 1.1C |
| Average Spring Max Temp 13.4C | This years Spring Max 14.2C | Difference from Average 0.8C |
| Average Spring Min Temp 4.5C | This years Spring Min 6.2C | Difference from Average 1.7C |
| Average Summer Temp 16.0 C | This years Summer temp 15.9C | Difference from Average -0.1C |
| Average Summer Max Temp 20.6C | This years Summer Max 20.4C | Difference from Average -0.2C |
| Average Summer Min Temp 11.4C | This years Summer Min 11.3C | Difference from Average -0.1C |
| Average Autumn Temp 10.5C | This years Autumn temp 10.3C | Difference from Average -0.2C |
| Average Autumn Max Temp 13.9C | This years Autumn Max Average 13.5C | Difference from Average -0.4C |
| Average Autumn Min Temp 7.0 C | This years Autumn Max Average 7.1C | Difference from Average 0.1C |
| Average Yearly Temp 10.0C | This Years yearly Average 10.7C | Difference from Average 0.7C |
| Average Yearly Max Temp 13.5C | This Years Yearly Max Average 14.3C | Difference from Average 0.8C |
| Average Yearly Min Temp 6.3C | This Years Yearly Min Average 7.1C | Difference from Average 0.8C |
| Highest Gust 64 MPH on Dec 21st | Highest Average 31 MPH on the 22nd of Dec | Number of Gusts > 50 MPH 3 Days |
| Average Winter Rainfall 227.1mm | This Years Winter Average 341.6mm | Percentage of Average Rainfall 150.4% |
| Average Spring Rainfall 176.3mm | This Springs Average 241.1mm | Percentage of Average Rainfall 136.7% |
| Average Summer Rainfall 209.6mm | This Summers Average 130.9mm | Percentage of Average Rainfall 62.4% |
| Average Autumn Rainfall 236.9mm | This Autumns Months Average 302.4mm | Percentage of Average Rainfall 174.3% |
| Average Yearly Rainfall 849.9 mm | This Years Average 963.7 | Percentage of Average Rainfall 113.4% |
| Days of Snow Falling 7 Days | Days of thunder 5 Days | |