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straddles the geographic mid-latitudes between 49–61 N. It is on the western seaboard of Afro-Eurasia, the world's largest land mass. These conditions allow convergence between moist maritime air and dry continental air. In this area, the large temperature variation creates atmospheric instability and this is a major factor that influences the often unsettled weather the country experiences, where many types of weather can be experienced in a single day.
Regional climates in the United Kingdom are influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and latitude. ,
and western parts of
and , being closest to the , are generally the mildest, wettest and windiest regions of the UK, and
here are seldom extreme. Eastern areas are drier, cooler, less windy and also experience the greatest daily and seasonal temperature variations. Northern areas are generally cooler, wetter and have slightly larger temperature ranges than southern areas. Though the UK is mostly under the influence of the maritime tropical
from the south-west, different regions are more susceptible than others when different air masses affect the country: Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland are the most exposed to the maritime polar air mass which b the east of Scotland and north-east England are more exposed to the continental polar air mass which the south and south-east of England are more exposed to the continental tropical air mass which brings warm dry air (and consequently most of the time the warmest summer temperatures); and Wales and the south-west of England are the most exposed to the maritime tropical air mass which brings warm moist air. If the air masses are strong enough in their respective areas during the summer there can sometimes be a large difference in temperature between the far north of Scotland (including the Islands) and south-east of England – usually around 10–15 °C (18-27 °F) but can be as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more. An example of this could be that in the height of summer the Northern Isles could have temperatures around 15 °C (59 °F) and areas around London could reach 30 °C (86 °F).
England has warmer maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year than the other areas of the UK, though Wales has milder minima from November to February, and Northern Ireland has warmer maxima from December to February. England is also sunnier throughout the year, but unlike Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the sunniest month is July, totaling 193.5 hours. It rains on fewer days in every month throughout the year than the rest of the UK, and rainfall totals are less in every month, with the driest month, May, averaging 58.4 mm (2.30 in). The
experiences a seasonal temperature variation, although it is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom. Gales are less common in England compared to Scotland, however on some occasions there can be strong winds, and rarely, the remains of Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms. Some events such as the
occurred near to the UK and caused damage in England. The prevailing wind direction for the UK is normally the south-west.
England Weather Averages
Northern Ireland is warmer than Scotland throughout the year. Maximum temperatures are milder than in Wales from December to April, and milder than in England from December to February, but Northern Ireland is cooler during the rest of the year. Sunshine totals in every month are more than those of Scotland, but less than those of the rest of . Northern Ireland is drier and has fewer rainy days than Scotland throughout the year, except in May, when it rains on more days. Northern Ireland is also drier than Wales in every month, yet it rains on more days. The rainiest month is January, when 17.8 days have more than 1 mm (0.04 in) of rain on average.
Northern Ireland Weather Averages
Main article:
has the coolest weather of any country in the United Kingdom throughout the year (with the altitude climate varying into Cfc), with average minimum temperatures in January of -0.2 °C (31.6 °F). Scotland is also the wettest country in every month, apart from in May, June and December, when Wales is wetter. The wettest month is January, with 170.5 mm (6.71 in) on average. Scotland is also the cloudiest country throughout the year, apart from in June and July, when Northern Ireland is.
Scotland Weather Averages
has warmer temperatures throughout the year than Scotland, and has milder winter minima than England, but cooler winter maxima than Northern Ireland. Wales is wetter throughout the year than Northern Ireland and England, but has fewer rainy days than Northern I meaning that rainfall tends to be more intense. Wales is also drier than Scotland in every month apart from May, June and December, and there are fewer days with rain than in Scotland. Sunshine totals throughout the year are more than that of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but less than that of neighbouring England. May is the sunniest month, averaging 186.8 hours.
Wales Weather Averages
Spring is the period from March to May. Spring is generally a calm, cool and dry season, particularly because the Atlantic has lost much of its heat throughout the autumn and winter. However, as the sun rises higher in the sky and the days get longer, temperatures can rise relatively high, but often tend to drop off again at night due to the cool oceans and the warm weather dependent solely on the sun.
and heavy showers can develop occasionally particularly towards the end of the season.
There is a fair chance of snow earlier in the season when temperatures are colder. Some of the country's heaviest snowfalls of recent years have happened in the first half of March and snow showers can occur infrequently until mid-April. They have been known to develop as late as mid-May over some areas of the country, such as in 2013 when snow was recorded on 14 May over parts of Staffordshire, Herefordshire and Wales.
Mean temperatures in Spring are markedly influenced by latitude. Most of Scotland and the mountains of Wales and northern England are the coolest areas of the UK, with average temperatures ranging from -0.6 to 5.8 °C (30.9 to 42.4 °F). The southern half of England experiences the warmest spring temperatures of between 8.8 and 10.3 °C (47.8 and 50.5 °F).
Summer lasts from June to August and is the warmest and usually the sunniest season.
totals can have a wide local variation due to localised thunderstorms. These thunderstorms mainly occur in southern, eastern, and central England and are less frequent and severe in the north and west.[] North Atlantic depressions are not as severe in summer but increase both in severity and frequency towards the end of the season. Summer can see high pressure systems from the .
Climatic differences at this time of year are more influenced by latitude and temperatures are highest in southern and central areas and lowest in the north. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 35 °C (95 °F), but when this does occur it happens more frequently in London and the South East than other parts of the country. Scotland and northern England have the coolest summers (average means: 12.2 to 14.8 °C (54.0 to 58.6 °F)), while Wales and the south-west of England have warmer summers (average means: 14.9 to 15.4 °C (58.8 to 59.7 °F)) and the south and south-east of England have the warmest summers (average means: 15.5 to 17.7 °C (59.9 to 63.9 °F)). The record maximum is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) recorded in
in August 2003.
Autumn in the United Kingdom lasts from September to November. The season is notorious for being unsettled—as cool polar air moves southwards following the sun, it meets the warm air of the
and produces an area of great disturbance along which the country lies. This combined with the warm ocean due to heating throughout the spring and summer, produces the unsettled weather of autumn. In addition, when the air is particularly cold temperatures on land may be colder than the ocean, resulting in significant amounts of
and clouds which bring rain to the country.
Atlantic depressions during this time can become intense and winds of
force (greater than 119 km/h or 74 mph) can be recorded. Western areas, being closest to the Atlantic, experience these severe conditions to a significantly greater extent than eastern areas. As such, autumn, particularly the latter part, is often the stormiest time of the year. One particularly intense depression was the .
However, the United Kingdom sometimes experiences an 'Indian Summer', where temperatures particularly by night can be very mild and rarely fall below 10 °C (50 °F). Such events are aided by the surrounding Atlantic Ocean and seas being at their warmest, keeping the country in warm air, despite the relatively weak sun. Examples of this were in , 2006, and
where October even more so, saw above average temperatures which felt more like a continuation of summer than autumn. Autumns since 2000 have been very mild with notable extre the UK has seen some of its wettest and driest autumns since the millennium. In fact, 2011 was notable as many areas of the country recorded their highest temperatures of the year in October (for example, 28.2C at Hawarden on 1 October and 26.3C at St. Athan on 2 October).
Coastal areas in the southern half of England have on average the warmest autumns, with mean temperatures of 10.7 to 13.0 °C (51.3 to 55.4 °F). Mountainous areas of Wales and northern England, and almost all of Scotland, experience mean temperatures between 1.7 and 7.5 °C (35.1 and 45.5 °F).
Winter in the
is defined as lasting from December to February. The season is generally cool, wet and windy. Temperatures at night rarely drop below -10  (14 ) and in the day rarely rise above 15 °C (59 °F). Precipitation is plentiful throughout the season, though snow is relatively infrequent despite the country's high latitude: The only areas with significant snowfall are the
and the , where at higher elevations a colder climate determines the vegetation, mainly temperate coniferous forest, although deforestation has severely decreased forest area. For a majority of the landmass snow is possible but not frequent, apart from the higher altitudes, where snow can lie 1–5 months or even beyond 6 months.
Towards the later part of the season the weather usually stabilises with less wind, less precipitation and lower temperatures. This change is particularly pronounced near the coasts mainly because the
is often at its coldest during this time after being cooled throughout the autumn and the winter. The early part of winter however is often
often the wettest and windiest time of the year.
Snow cover on
Snow falls intermittently and mainly affects northern and eastern areas, high ground in Wales and especially the mountains of
where the amount of lying snow is frequently high enough to permit
at one of the five . These resorts usually operate between December and April depending on the snowfall each winter. Frequently in the mountains potent depressions may move in from the north in the form of '', introducing heavy snow and often -like conditions to parts of the United Kingdom, particularly Scotland. During periods of light winds and high pressure
can become a problem and can pose a major hazard for drivers on the roads.
Mean winter temperatures in the
are most influenced by proximity to the sea. The coldest areas are the mountains of Wales and northern England, and inland areas of , averaging -3.6 to 2.3 °C (25.5 to 36.1 °F). Coastal areas, particularly those in the south and west, experience the mildest winters, on average 5 to 8.7 °C (41.0 to 47.7 °F).
in the UK are high, ranging from zone 7 in the , the
and , to zone 10 on the . Most of the UK lies in zones 8 or 9. In zone 7, the average lowest temperature each year is between -17.7 and -12.3 °C (0.1 and 9.9 °F), and in zone 10, this figure is between -1.1 and 4.4 °C (30.0 and 39.9 °F).
Snow in the
falls almost every year but in small quantities. The UK can suffer extreme winters like , 1795 (when London received its record lowest temperature of -21.1 °C (-6.0 °F)), 1947 and 1963. In 1963 it snowed on
in the UK and snow lasted in most areas until 6 March with blizzards through February. In modern times snow has generally become rarer but the UK can still get heavy falls, such as in 81/82,
produced the heaviest snowfall since 1991, and the
was even more severe, with many parts of the United Kingdom experiencing the coldest and snowiest winters since 1978/79; temperatures plummeted to -22.3 °C (-8.1 °F) at Altnaharra, Sutherland – close to the -22.9 °C (-9.2 °F) recorded at the southernmost part of the globe at the same period. The record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in the UK still remains -27.2 °C (-17.0 °F) which was recorded on 10 January 1982 in , Scotland. December 2010 was the coldest December in 120 the CET (Central England Temperature) was -0.7 °C, meaning it was the coldest month since February 1986, and the coldest December since 1890. Many places experienced heavy snowfall and extreme cold, temperatures regularly fell below -10.0 °C (14.0 °F)) across many areas. However, the cold subsided after Christmas Day, 2010.
In the 1990s and 2000s, most of the winters were milder and usually wetter than average with daytime temperatures going below freezing a rare occurrence. In fact, the winter of
was the only one which was defined as below average in terms of the UK as a whole. The winters of 09/10 and 2010/11 have however seen a different pattern with these three winters being defined as below or well below average with large snowfall amounts widespread and v this was the first time three consecutive cold winters in the UK have occurred since the 1960s.
A sunny spring day
The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. (The maximum hours of sunshine possible in one year is approximately 4476 hours.) The south coast of England often has the clearest skies because
formation generally takes place over land, and prevailing winds from the south-west keep this cloud from forming overhead. The counties of , ,
are the sunniest areas, which have annual average totals of around 1,750 hours of sunshine per year, and many South coastal areas of England receive more than 2000 hours of sunshine on regular years. On the other hand, Northern, western and
areas are generally the cloudiest areas of the UK, with some mountainous areas receiving fewer than 1,000 hours of sunshine a year.
An overcast day in , south-west England
Valley areas such as the , due to their north-south orientation, receive less sunshine than lowland areas because the mountains on either side of the valley obscure the sun in the early morning and late evening. This is noticeable in winter where there are only a few hours of sunshine. The mountains of Wales, northern England and Scotland can be especially cloudy with extensive
and . Near the coast, sea fog may develop in the spring and early summer. Radiation fog may develop over inland areas of
and can persist for hours or even days in the winter and can pose a major hazard for drivers and aircraft.
On occasions blocking anticyclones () may move over the United Kingdom, which can persist for weeks or even months. The subsided, dry air often results in clear skies and few clouds, bringing
nights in winter and hot days in the summer, when some coastal areas can achieve almost maximum possible sunshine for periods of weeks.
Average hours of sunshine in winter range from 38–108 hours in some mountainous areas and western Scotland, up to 217 hours in the south and east of E while average hours of sunshine in summer range from 294–420 hours in northern Scotland and Northern Ireland, to 600–760 hours in southern English coastal counties. The most sunshine recorded in one month was 383.9 hours at
() in July 1911.
One of the greatest influences on the climate of the UK is the Atlantic Ocean and especially the , which brings warm waters from the
to the waters around the country by means of . This has a powerful moderating and warming effect on the country's climate—the
warms the climate to such a great extent that if the current did not exist then temperatures in winter would be about 10 °C (18 °F) lower than they are today. The current allows England to have
at the same latitude that
has . A good example of the effects of the North Atlantic Drift is , on the , 48 kilometres (30 mi) west of , where Canary Island
trees grow - possibly the nearest of their kind to the , at 50° latitude north. These warm
also bring substantial amounts of
which contributes to the notoriously wet climate that western parts of the UK experience.
The extent of the 's contribution to the actual temperature differential between North America and western Europe is a matter of dispute. It has been argued that
that bring subtropical air northwards contribute to a much greater extent to the temperature differential than thermohaline circulation.
The high latitude and proximity to a large ocean to the west means that the United Kingdom experiences strong winds. The prevailing wind is from the south-west, but it may blow from any direction for sustained periods of time. Winds are strongest near westerly facing coasts and exposed .
— which are defined as winds with speeds of 51 to 101 km/h (32 to 63 mph)— are strongly associated with the passage of deep depressions across the country. The
experience on average 35 days of gale a year (a day where there are gale force winds) while inland areas in England and Wales receive fewer than 5 days of gale a year. Areas of high
tend to have higher wind speeds than low elevations, and
(at 857 m or 2,812 ft) averaged 114 days of gale a year during the period 1963 to 1976. The highest
recorded at a low level in England was 191 km/h (119 mph) at
on 15 December 1979, although a disputed 122 mph gust was recorded on 16 October 1987 at Gorleston in Norfolk. In Scotland, Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded 229 km/h (142 mph) on 13 February 1989. Wales' highest wind speed gust of 200 km/h (124 mph) was set at Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan on 28 October 1989.
Rainfall amounts can vary greatly across the United Kingdom and generally the further west and the higher the elevation, the greater the rainfall. The mountains of , , the
are the wettest parts of the country, and in some of these places as much as 4,577 millimetres (180.2 in) of rain can fall annually, making these locations some of the wettest in Europe. The wettest spot in the United Kingdom is , in , which has averaged 4,473 millimetres (176.1 in) rain a year over the past 30 years. Most rainfall in the United Kingdom comes from North Atlantic depressions which roll into the country throughout the year from the west or southwest and are particularly frequent and intense in the autumn and winter. They can on occasions bring prolonged periods of heavy rain, and
is quite common.
Parts of England are surprisingly dry, which is contrary to the stereotypical view— receives just below 650 millimetres (25.6 in) per annum, which is less than , , or . In
it typically rains on about 113 days per year. Most of the south, south-east and East Anglia receive less than 700 millimetres (27.6 in) of rain per year. The English counties of ,
- as well as parts of , the ,
- are amongst the driest in the UK, with an average annual rainfall of around 600 millimetres (23.6 in). This is due to a mild
effect, due to mountainous parts of the South West, Wales and Cumbria blocking the moist airflow across the country to the east. In some years rainfall totals in Essex and South Suffolk can be below 450 millimetres (17.7 in) (especially areas around ,
and ) - less than the average annual rainfall in ,
and even some
parts of the world.
Parts of the United Kingdom have had drought problems in recent years, particularly in . Fires broke out in some areas, even across the normally damp higher ground of north-west England and Wales. The landscape in much of England and east Wales became very parched, water restrictions were in place in some areas.
July 2006 was the hottest month on record for the
and much of , however England has had warmer spells of 31 days which did not coincide with a calendar month—in 1976 and 1995. As well as low rainfall, drought problems were made worse by the fact that the driest parts of England also have the highest population density, and therefore highest water consumption. The drought problems ended in the period from October 2006 to January 2007, which had well above average rainfall.
Generally the United Kingdom has cool to mild winters and warm summers with moderate variation in temperature throughout the year. In England the average annual temperature varies from 8.5 °C (47.3 °F) in the north to 11 °C (51.8 °F) in the south, but over the higher ground this can be several degrees lower. This small variation in temperature is to a large extent due to the moderating effect the Atlantic ocean has—water has a much greater
than air and tends to heat and cool slowly throughout the year. This has a warming influence on coastal areas in winter and a cooling influence in summer.
The ocean is at its coldest in February or early March, thus around coastal areas February is often the coldest month, but inland there is little to choose between February and January as the coldest. Temperatures tend to drop lowest on late winter nights inland, in the presence of high pressure, clear skies, light winds and when there is snow on the ground. On occasions, cold polar or continental air can be drawn in over the United Kingdom to bring very cold weather.
The floors of inland valleys away from warming influence of the sea can be particularly cold as cold, dense air drains into them. A temperature of -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) was recorded under such conditions at
on 10 January 1982, the coldest temperature recorded in . The following day the coldest maximum temperature in England, at -11.3 °C (11.7 °F), was recorded at the same site.
On average the warmest winter temperatures occur on the south and west coasts, however, warm temperatures occasionally occur due to a
warming up downwind after the crossing the mountains. Temperatures in these areas can rise to 15 °C (59 °F) in winter on rare occasions This is a particularly notable event in northern Scotland, mainly , where these high temperatures can occur in midwinter when the sun only reaches about 10° above the horizon.
July is on average the warmest month, and the highest temperatures tend to occur away from the Atlantic in southern, eastern and central England, where summer temperatures can rise above 30 °C (86 °F). It soared to 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) in
on 10 August 2003: the highest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom.
2006 saw unprecedented warmth, with many more records being broken. While the year started off around average, and even fell well below average in early March, the period from mid-April onwards saw a lack of any cooler than average weather. Early May and June saw temperatures 10–12 °C (18–21 °F) above average at times. July was the hottest month on record, with records stretching ba the highest maximum temperature for July was also broken in 2006. September was the warmest September on record and October was one of the warmest on record. November was also extremely mild, making it the warmest Autumn on record by some margin. May to October was also the warmest consecutive six months on record.
Absolute temperature ranges
Maximum temperatures
Minimum temperatures
location and date
location and date
Faversham, Kent on 10 August 2003
Edgmond, near Newport, Shropshire on 10 January 1982
Hawarden Bridge, Flintshire on 2 August 1990
Rhayader, Radnorshire on 21 January 1940
Greycrook, Scottish Borders on 9 August 2003
Braemar, Aberdeenshire on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982
Altnaharra, Sutherland on 30 December 1995
Northern Ireland
Knockarevan, near Belleek, County Fermanagh on 30 June 1976
Belfast on 12 July 1983
Castlederg,County Tyrone on 23 December 2010
While the United Kingdom is not particularly noted for , it does sometimes occur, and events such as floods and drought may be experienced. The summer of 1976, for example, experienced temperatures as high as 35 °C (95 °F), and it was so dry the country suffered drought and water shortages.
Extended periods of extreme weather, such as the droughts of , summer 2006, and spring 2012, the long hot summers of , 2003 and 2006, and the winters of , , and , are often caused by blocking
which can persist for several days, weeks, or even months. In winter they can bring long periods of cold dry weather and in summer long periods of hot dry weather.
Hurricane Gordon's path
There have also been occurrences of severe
caused the most severe was the
of 1952 in which 34 people died and 38 houses and buildings were completely destroyed. In the summer of 2004, a severe flash flood devastated the town of
in . However, the worst floods in the United Kingdom in modern times occurred in the . A powerful storm from the Atlantic moved around Scotland and down the east coast of England. As it moved south it produced a
which was magnified as the
became narrower further south. By the time the storm affected south-east England and the , the surge had reached the height of 3.6 metres (12 ft). Over 300 people were killed by the floods in eastern England.
are most common in southern and eastern England, and least common in the north and west. In , thunderstorms occur on average 14–19 days a year, while in most of Northern Ireland and the west of Scotland thunderstorms occur on around 3 days a year. Occasionally, thunderstorms can be severe and produce large
as seen in ,
in October 2008, where drifts reached 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in).
Strong winds occur mainly in the autumn and winter months associated with low pressure systems and Scotland experiences hurricane-force winds in most winters. The ,
(23 fatalities) and the
of 0;fatalities) are particul Scotland saw winds of 142mph during
in 2013. The United Kingdom has around 33
per year,[] more than any other country in the world relative to its land area.
The most rain recorded to fall on a single day was 279 mm at
() on 18 July 1955, but also 243 mm fell at Bruton, Somerset on 28 June 1917.
also fell between 20 and 25 June in 2007; some areas experienced a month's rainfall in one day. Four people died in the flooding and over ?1.5 billion of damage to businesses and properties was caused. On 19 August 1993, London Heathrow Airport recorded 257mm of rainfall.
themselves do not affect the UK due to the seas being too cold – they need temperatures above 26.5 °C (79.7 °F) to remain active. The waters near the UK, the , only have temperatures of 2 to 18 °C (36 to 64 °F), so any tropical cyclone that does come anywhere near the UK has said to have undergone a process called . This now means it is an , which the UK frequently experiences. The
was a very deep depression which formed in the , which also contained the remnants of .
of 1996 and
of 2006 both crossed the UK as strong
with tropical storm-force winds, causing transport closures, power-cuts and flooding in ,
and . In 2011, the remnants of
passed over northwestern Scotland with winds near 70 mph (110 km/h).
The climate of the United Kingdom has not always been the way it is today. During some periods it was much warmer and in others it was much colder. The
was a period of extreme cold weather that lasted for tens of thousands of years and ended about 10,000 years ago. During this period the temperature was so low that much of the surrounding ocean froze and a great
extended over all of the United Kingdom except the south of
(connected to mainland Europe via the dry English Channel) and southern coastal areas of .
The cold period from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries is known as the .
The temperature records in England are continuous back to the mid 17th century. The
(CET) record is the oldest in the world, and is a compound source of cross-correlated records from several locations in central England. Precipitation records date back to the eighteenth century and the modern
series begins in 1766.
A detailed narrative account of the weather of every year from 1913 to 1942, with photographs of plants taken on the same day in each of those years, may be found in Willis (1944).
As with many parts of the world, over the last century the United Kingdom has reported a warming trend in temperatures. While some of this may be due to a recovery from the cooler period of climate mid 20th century (particularly the 1960s) the last 20 years has nonetheless seen an unprecedented level of warm weather. This rise in temperatures is illustrated by the most recent dataset () for Belfast and Cambridge Botanical Gardens, and the same data 50 years previous ().
Climate data for Belfast,
Source: Stadtklima
Climate data for Belfast,
Source: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
Climate data for Change in monthly mean temperatures at Belfast between
Source: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
As the above tables show, all months except December at Belfast exhibit warming when both maximum and minimum temperatures are taken into account.
Climate data for Cambridge,
Source: Stadtklima
Climate data for Cambridge,
Source: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
Climate data for Change in monthly mean temperatures at Cambridge between
Source: Stadtklima
Again, a similar warming trend is shown for the South East of England, albeit slightly more pronounced with no month recording a fall in overall mean temperatures.
Climate data for United Kingdom
Record high °C (°F)
Record low °C (°F)
Source: Met Office
Absolute temperature ranges
Maximum temperatures
Minimum temperatures
location and date
location and date
Aber, Gwynedd (27 Jan 1958)/Aber, Gwynedd (10 Jan 1971)/Aboyne, Aberdeenshire (27 Jan 2003)
Braemar (10 Jan 1982)
Greenwich, London (13 Feb 1998)
Braemar (11 Feb 1895)
Mepal, Cambridgeshire(29 Mar 1968)
Grantown-on-Spey (12 Mar 1958)/Logie Coldstone, Grampian mountains (14 Mar 1958)
Southeastern England (16 Apr 1949)
Newton Rigg (2 Apr 1917)
London (22 May 1922)/London and southeastern England (29 May 1944)
Lynford, Norfolk (4 May 1941)/Lynford, Nyfolk (11 May 1941)/Fort Augustus (15 May 1941)
London (29 Jun 1957)/Southampton (28 Jun 1976)
Dalwhinnie (9 Jun 1955)/Santon Downham, Norfolk (1 Jun 1962)/Santon Downham, Norfolk (3 Jun 1962)
Wisley, Surrey (19 Jul 2006)
Lagganlia, Scottish Highlands (15 Jul 1977)/St. Harmon, Powys (9 Jul 1986)
Brogdale, Faversham, Kent (10 Aug 2003)
Lagganlia, Scottish Highlands (21 Aug 1973)
Bawtry, Doncaster (2 Sep 1906)
Dalwhinnie (26 Sep 1942)
Gravesend, Kent (1 Oct 2011)
Dalwhinnie (28 Oct 1948)
Prestatyn, Denbighshire (4 Nov 1946)
Braemar (14 Nov 1919)
Achnashellach, Wester Ross (2 Dec 1948)
Altnaharra (30 Dec 1995)
There are reservations over the maximum temperature records set in April & May. For April, the next highest figure is 27.8°C recorded at Wisley, Surrey on 23 April 2011, and for May the next highest figure is 31.9°C recorded in London on 27 May 2005.
A disputed temperature of 42°C was set at an airfield in Wisley, Surrey on 18 July 2006 - this value is generally unaccepted. It has been suggested that the reading for this temperature should in fact have been 32°C.
Main article:
Central estimates produced by the
predict average annual temperature to increase by 2°C (4°F) and the warmest summer day to increase by 3°C (6°F) by the 2050s. Average winter rainfall is also likely to increase and most areas will see a slight decrease in annual rainfall.
According to the Met Office, in the UK, the decade from
was the warmest since instrumental record dating started in 1850.
In accordance with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommendations, the Met Office maintains long-term averages of the UK climate, based on standard 30-year periods. The latest 30-year period is for.
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Rhines, P.B. and H?kkinen, S.
OSAF Newsletter, September 2003
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