Diary of Highlights

1st to 3rd
The month started with temperatures close to average but it was cold where there was persistent fog. A weak front edged south but only gave small amounts of rain during the opening days. Some areas had good sunny spells. Newquay (Cornwall) logged 6.6 hours of sunshine on 1st, Falmouth (Cornwall) and Scarborough (North Yorkshire) recorded 6.2 hours on the 2nd. The temperature only reached 3°C at Shoreham (West Sussex) on 3rd, where fog lingered all day.

4th to 8th
Temperatures recovered for a few days as the wind turned more westerly and at Torquay (Devon) the temperature reached 13.6°C on 4th, followed the next day by 13.8°C at Falmouth (Cornwall). Cloud was variable so there was some overnight fog and frost. A weak front brought dull and drizzly weather to central England and Wales on 7th, and southern parts on 8th.

9th to 13th
High pressure over the Continent was close enough to keep most places dry. A weak warm front brought some drizzle to North Wales on 11th. As a south-easterly wind developed on the 12th and 13th, it became dull and misty in many areas. By the 13th it was cold or very cold in southeast England and at High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) the maximum only reached 0.7°C all day.

14th to 17th
The wind turned to the west or southwest bringing milder weather. There was some chiefly light rain across northern parts on 14th but over Cumbria and west facing slopes there was copious rain. Shap Fell (Cumbria) logged 40.8 mm during the period 09-21 GMT. A small but deep low pressure centre quickly crossed southern parts on the 17th, bringing strong winds. Gusts to 81 m.p.h. were logged at Berry Head (Devon) and 77 m.p.h. at Lee-on-Solent (Hampshire). There were reports of a squall line and unconfirmed reports of tornadoes at Cowes (Isle of Wight), Poole (Dorset), Fareham and Waterlooville (both Hampshire) and Brede (East Sussex).

18th to 23rd
Showers early on the 18th gave way to a slow moving band of rain, lying from Anglesey to Essex by the end of the day, with some local snow over Wales. This rain area retreated back south on 19th. Saunton Sands (Devon) had 49.5 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending 1800 GMT on 19th. The 20th started with a sharp frost in places, Benson (Oxfordshire) and Topcliffe (North Yorkshire) recorded minus 7°C. There was some rain or sleet in many areas on 20th and 1 to 2 hours of snow over Northern England in the afternoon. The 21st was dry for most. It briefly turned milder on 22nd and 23rd but increasingly windy.

24th to 28th
A cold front and associated rain cleared the southeast on 24th.This was followed by showers, and these turned wintry over Wales and Western England. The 25th was a cold or very cold day and at Spadeadam (Cumbria) the temperature stayed below freezing all day with a maximum of just minus 0.2°C. Further snow showers fed in across north west England, the Midlands and also across south west England and south west Wales as troughs developed. Many places were sunny on 26th. At Buxton (Derbyshire) the maximum only reached 0.6°°C.

Further wet weather spread across Wales and western parts on 27th, clearing the southeast in the early hours of 28th. As it cleared there was some hail, squally winds and a sharp drop in temperature. A gust of 72 m.p.h. was reported at Capel Curig (Gwynedd) at 2200 GMT on 27th and 22 mm of rain in the two hours to that time. There were reports of possible tornadoes at Wigan (Greater Manchester), Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire) and Bridgwater (Somerset).

29th to 31st
Much milder weather closed the year although it remained rather cold in the southeast on 29th. Patchy rain edged east on the 29th, clearing the southeast on 30th. Colwyn Bay (Conwy) reached 16°C on 30th, the highest temperature for the month. A cold front cleared the southeast on the 31st with most places having some sunny spells.