April drier and colder than average

After the wettest April on record in 2012, provisional full-month Met Office figures show this April has been slightly drier than average in the UK.

Rainfall throughout the UK was 64 mm this year, compared to the 1981-2010 average of 72.7 mm. That’s considerably less than the 128 mm we saw last year.

There were big regional differences in April rainfall this year. Scotland saw 121.2 mm of rain which is above the 91.1 mm average and Northern Ireland saw 75.2mm, almost spot on the 75.0 mm average.

However, both England and Wales saw well below average rainfall. Wales had 50.3mm, compared to an average of 89.3mm, and England saw 30.4mm, compared to an average of 58.7 mm.

The month was characterised by generally cold and dry weather, following on from the theme set in March. Despite this, April registered as only slightly colder than average with a mean UK temperature of 6.3 °C, which is 1.1 °C below the 7.4 °C long-term average.

This is the same mean temperature as recorded in April 2012. To find a colder April than the last two years, you have to go back to 1989 – which saw a mean temperature of 5.5 °C.

Scotland saw the coldest temperatures compared to country specific averages, with a mean temperature of 4.8 °C, which is 1.3 °C below average – and is the same temperature as recorded in 1998.

The warmest day of the month was 25 April at Faversham in Kent when the temperature recorded was 23.1°C.

In terms of sunshine, Scotland was sunnier than the rest of the UK with hours of sunshine totalling 170.9, followed by Northern Ireland with 168.0, England at 167.7 and Wales at 162.7 hours.

This compares with only 127.9 hours of sunshine in April last year throughout the UK. The sunniest April in the last 10 years was 2007 with 203.5 hours.

	Mean Temperature		Sunshine hours		Rainfall
Apr-13	Actual	Diff to Avg	Actual	Diff to Avg	Actual	Diff to Avg
	degC	degC	hours	%	mm	%
UK	6.3	-1.1	168.4	114	64	88
England	7.2	-0.9	167.7	108	30.4	52
Wales	6.4	-1.2	162.7	105	50.3	56
Scotland	4.8	-1.3	170.9	127	121.2	133
N Ireland	6.5	-1.1	168	115	75.2	100

Updated: Latest snow depths Friday 18 January

As forecast, many areas of the UK have had heavy snowfall today, particularly in Wales and the south and west of England.

The heaviest snowfall so far has been in Wales, where a red warning is currently in place. Sennybridge in Powys currently has the highest total, with 26 cm of snow recorded at 12 pm today.

Updated snow depths at 12 pm Friday 18 January

Location	Area	Elevation	Snow depth ( Cm)
Sennybridge	Powys	307	26
Dunkeswell Aerodrome	Devon	252	15
Filton	Avon	59	12
Larkhill	Wiltshire	132	11
Liscombe	Somerset	348	11
Middle Wallop	Hampshire	90	11
Brize Norton	Oxfordshire	82	10
Leek, Thorncliffe	Staffordshire	298	9
Hereford, Credenhill	Hereford & Worcester	76	9
Hurn	Dorset	10	6
St Athan	South Glamorgan	49	6
Boscombe Down	Wiltshire	126	6
Northolt	Greater London	33	5
Coleshill	Warwickshire	96	5
Aviemore	Inverness-Shire	228	5
Boulmer	Northumberland	23	5
Trawsgoed	Dyfed	63	4
Marham	Norfolk	21	4
Shawbury	Shropshire	72	4
Scampton	Lincolnshire	57	4
Eskdalemuir	Dumfriesshire	236	4
Wattisham	Suffolk	89	4
Nottingham, Watnall	Nottinghamshire	117	4
Wittering	Cambridgeshire	73	3
Leconfield	Humberside	7	3
Cranwell	Lincolnshire	63	3
Dyce	Aberdeenshire	65	3
Bingley	West Yorkshire	262	3
Odiham	Hampshire	118	3
Bridlington Mrsc	Humberside	15	3
Heathrow	Greater London	25	2
Charlwood	Surrey	67	2
Andrewsfield	Essex	87	2
Benson	Oxfordshire	57	2
Coningsby	Lincolnshire	6	2
Church Fenton	North Yorkshire	8	2
Rostherne	Cheshire	35	2
Albemarle	Northumberland	142	2
Redesdale Camp	Northumberland	211	2
Aboyne	Aberdeenshire	140	2
Yeovilton	Somerset	20	1
Aberporth	Dyfed	133	1

Snow depths at 2 pm Friday 18 January

Location	Area	Elevation	Snow depth ( Cm)
Sennybridge	Powys	307	25
Filton	Avon	59	15
Larkhill	Wiltshire	132	12
Liscombe	Somerset	348	12
Hereford, Credenhill	Hereford & Worcester	76	11
Middle Wallop	Hampshire	90	11
Brize Norton	Oxfordshire	82	11
Leek, Thorncliffe	Staffordshire	298	10
Coleshill	Warwickshire	96	7
Northolt	Greater London	33	7
Boscombe Down	Wiltshire	126	7
Shawbury	Shropshire	72	7
Hurn	Dorset	10	7
St Athan	South Glamorgan	49	5
Scampton	Lincolnshire	57	4
Nottingham, Watnall	Nottinghamshire	117	4
Eskdalemuir	Dumfriesshire	236	4
Marham	Norfolk	21	4
Yeovilton	Somerset	20	4
Heathrow	Greater London	25	4
Charlwood	Surrey	67	4
Odiham	Hampshire	118	4
Wattisham	Suffolk	89	4
Trawsgoed	Dyfed	63	4
Wittering	Cambridgeshire	73	4
Aboyne	Aberdeenshire	140	3
Leconfield	Humberside	7	3
Cranwell	Lincolnshire	63	3
Dyce	Aberdeenshire	65	3
Waddington	Lincolnshire	68	3
Boulmer	Northumberland	23	3
Leeming	North Yorkshire	33	3
Bingley	West Yorkshire	262	3
Bridlington Mrsc	Humberside	15	3
Benson	Oxfordshire	57	3
Andrewsfield	Essex	87	2
Church Fenton	North Yorkshire	8	2
Rostherne	Cheshire	35	2
Albemarle	Northumberland	142	2
Redesdale Camp	Northumberland	211	2
Coningsby	Lincolnshire	6	2
Bedford	Bedfordshire	85	2

Snow depths at 3 pm Friday 18 January

Location	Area	Elevation	Snow depth ( Cm)
Sennybridge No 2	Powys	307	25
Filton	Avon	59	16
Dunkeswell Aerodrome	Devon	252	15
Larkhill	Wiltshire	132	12
Brize Norton	Oxfordshire	82	12
Liscombe	Somerset	348	12
Hereford, Credenhill	Hereford & Worcester	76	12
Middle Wallop	Hampshire	90	10
Leek, Thorncliffe	Staffordshire	298	9
Coleshill	Warwickshire	96	8
Northolt	Greater London	33	8
Boscombe Down	Wiltshire	126	7
Shawbury	Shropshire	72	7
Hurn	Dorset	10	7
Nottingham, Watnall	Nottinghamshire	117	6
Heathrow	Greater London	25	5
Marham	Norfolk	21	5
Odiham	Hampshire	118	5
Aviemore	Inverness-Shire	228	5
Cranwell	Lincolnshire	63	4
Eskdalemuir	Dumfriesshire	236	4
Scampton	Lincolnshire	57	4
Yeovilton	Somerset	20	4
Charlwood	Surrey	67	4
Wittering	Cambridgeshire	73	4
Wattisham	Suffolk	89	4
Trawsgoed	Dyfed	63	4
St Athan	South Glamorgan	49	4
Benson	Oxfordshire	57	3
Leeming	North Yorkshire	33	3
Lough Fea	Londonderry	225	3
Waddington	Lincolnshire	68	3
Bridlington Mrsc	Humberside	15	3
Leconfield	Humberside	7	3
Bedford	Bedfordshire	85	3
Aboyne No 2	Aberdeenshire	140	3
Dyce	Aberdeenshire	65	3
Bingley, No 2	West Yorkshire	262	3
Church Fenton	North Yorkshire	8	2
Coningsby	Lincolnshire	6	2
Andrewsfield	Essex	87	2
Rostherne No 2	Cheshire	35	2
Boulmer	Northumberland	23	2

Further snowfall is forecast today and tomorrow. Keep up to date with your local forecasts and warnings for the latest information.

Related articles

• Heavy snow forecast for the UK (metofficenews.wordpress.com)
• What to do when heavy snow is forecast (metofficenews.wordpress.com)

How wet has 2012 been? Is it a record breaker?

Provisional figures from the Met Office from 1 January to 26 December 2012 show that some parts of the UK have already had their wettest year on record.

New records have been set in England (1095.8 mm), northern England (1253 mm), E and NE England (1042.1 mm), Midlands (1048.2 mm), and East Anglia (788 mm), in a series that goes back to 1910.

A further 46 mm of rain is needed from 27 to 31 December for this to be the wettest year on record for the UK overall – the UK has had 1291.2 mm of rain from 1 January to 26 December. The wettest year on record for the UK is 2000 with 1337.3 mm.

2012 rainfall anomaly 1 Jan to 26 Dec

In terms of temperature and sunshine the year as a whole is set to be unremarkable, both being around normal. However, overall 2012 is set to be cooler than 2011, but warmer than 2010.

	mean temperature		sunshine duration		precipitation
1 January to 26 December 2012	Actual	Difference from 1981-2010 average	Actual	Percentage of 1981-2010 average	Actual	Percentage of 1981-2010 average
	degC	degC	hours	%	mm	%
UK	8.7	-0.1	1354.1	99	1291.2	112
England	9.5	-0.1	1467.1	98	1095.8	128
Wales	9.1	-0.1	1354.0	97	1649.5	113
Scotland	7.3	-0.1	1186.8	100	1546.3	98
N Ireland	8.9	0.0	1234.0	98	1134.8	100
England & Wales	9.5	-0.1	1451.5	98	1172.2	125
England N	8.7	-0.1	1357.0	99	1253.0	129
England S	9.9	-0.1	1525.4	98	1012.6	128

More about the record breaking year of 2012

Is it the wettest UK summer on record?

This summer started with the wettest June in the UK in the national records which go back to 1910 and was followed up by a wetter than average July (16^th wettest), so are we set for the wettest summer on record?

Officially, in meteorological terms, summer runs from the start of June to the end of August – so there are still a few days to go for this year.

The Met Office holds many different climate datasets but uses the UK national series that goes back to 1910 when referring to records.

In this dataset, the record to beat was set in 1912, when the UK had 384.4mm of rain – although we don’t have to look too far back to find a very wet summer, as 2007 is third in the rankings with 357.8mm. The 1971-2000 average for the UK in summer is 226.9mm.

Looking at this year, we have the figures for June and July, but for the UK as a whole we currently only have data up to 15 August – which show rainfall had been slightly below average to that point.

That means we can say with some certainty that we have seen 300.8mm of rain so far this summer (145.3mm in June, 115.9mm in July, and 39.6mm to 15 August), ranking 20^th in the records.

There has been a fair amount of rain since then, so that ranking is sure to have climbed – but it’s not possible to say until all the numbers have been crunched at the end of this month.

It’s important to remember that the UK total rainfall is effectively an average of the rain that falls across the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – so looking at one station, or even one country, isn’t a reliable indicator of how much rain we’ve seen for the UK as a whole.

We can say that this summer is likely to be one of the wettest on record – some may argue that, as it’s already in the top 20% in records dating back to 1910, it already is one of the wettest on record.

We can also say that this year has continued a disappointing run of UK summers which started in 2007 – all of which have seen above average rainfall and, with the exception of 2009, below average sunshine hours.

However, we cannot say where this year will finish in the rankings or whether it will challenge the record set in 1912. For that final assessment, we’ll have to wait until after the end of August.

You can see a discussion about the causes of this year’s unsettled summer in an article posted earlier on our blog.

Another wet and windy June weekend

It has been reported that this weekend’s weather is a once-in-50 year occurrence. In reality, last week’s weather was much more significant with winds recorded up to 84 mph and rainfall of 127 mm in parts of Wales. Although we are in for some wet and windy weather for the next couple of days, by Sunday and for the start of the new working week the weather looks set to be quieter with more sunshine, fewer showers, lighter winds and a warmer feel.

We have seen some more wet and windy weather this week, with heavy and persistent rain affecting many areas last night. However, rainfall totals and wind speeds have not been as severe as they were this time last week, when we saw disruption in west Wales and, later, south-east England.

Satellite image 15 June 2012 showing wet and windy weather over the UK.

The current warnings in place for Wales, the Midlands, northern England and Northern Ireland may seem to last for a long time as they are out for a 48 hour period. However, as Met Office Severe Weather Warnings are based on the impacts of the weather, it is important to ensure the public are aware of how long the worst of the weather will last. The longest warning issued by the Met Office was for the very cold snap in the winter of 2010/2011, where much of the UK was blanketed in yellow warnings for Ice untreated roads and pavements. These warnings were in place for as many as five days in a row.

More wet weather to come

The UK has seen some exceptionally wet weather over the past week and there is more rain to come this week

Severe Weather Warnings are in place today for parts of the south of England, with up to 80 mm of rain possible in most severely affected areas

Outbreaks of rain are likely on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the heaviest showers expected in western parts. Further unsettled weather is expected to push in from the west on Thursday.

This follows a week which has seen some very high rainfall totals across parts of the country.

Throughout this period the Met Office has been working round-the-clock to keep the public, partner agencies and emergency responders up-to-date with our latest forecasts.

Rob Varley, Operations and Services Director at the Met Office, said: “Our forecasts and severe weather warnings have helped the emergency services deliver the fantastic response we have seen over the past few days.

The media have also done a great job in widely publicising the key messages from our forecasts to make sure the public had the latest advice.”

Simon Sheldon-Wilson, the Highways Agency’s Traffic Management Director, said: “Severe wet weather has affected road users in the south, the east and the north west, but timely forecasts from the Met Office have enabled us to minimise disruption.

“With more wet weather to come this week, our advice to drivers is that wet roads can reduce visibility and increase the time it takes to stop by up to ten times, so leave plenty of time and space between you and the vehicle in front. If your vehicle starts to lose its grip in wet conditions, slow down by taking your foot off the accelerator. Try to avoid sudden braking or steering because this could cause you to skid and lose control.”

Wales has seen some of the most disruptive weather, with persistent and heavy rain from Thursday through to Saturday causing flooding.

Our Severe Weather Warnings for the area forecast in excess of 80 mm of rain – close to the top totals seen, with Trawsgoed in Dyfed, Wales, seeing 102.0 mm from 10am on Thursday to 10am on Saturday. This is well over its usual entire monthly average for June of 78.5mm.

With more unsettled weather to come over the next week, the public are advised to stay up-to-date with the latest forecasts and warnings from the Met Office and flood warnings from the Environment Agency.

Guest blog: It’s raining – why have we still got a drought?

Trevor Bishop is Head of Water Resources at the Environment Agency. Here he explains why, despite the rain, we are still in a drought.

In true bank holiday spirit the weather turned wet for the Easter holidays and it doesn’t seem to have stopped since. So is there still a drought? The answer is yes – it’s going to take more than a week or two of rain to undo the effects of nearly two years of below average rainfall. The recent rain is good for farmers and gardeners, and the cool temperatures ease the pressure on fish and wildlife in rivers. But with dry soils most of the rain will be soaked up – or, worse still, run off quickly if the surface is compacted, causing flash floods. But it won’t reach down far enough to top up groundwater, which is what we really need.

More rain now will really help us get through the summer, and is good for the environment, farmers and gardeners, but it’s very unlikely to be enough to recharge the groundwater. As we move from spring to summer, most of the rain that falls is either evaporated as temperatures rise or taken up by plants as they grow.

You can keep up to date with the water situation here.  This shows that while river flows have recently risen in western and northern England and in Wales, groundwater and rivers in the south and east remain exceptionally low for this time of year. Much of our tap water in the south east comes from groundwater so it’s still important we use less water, even when it’s raining.

Why are we in drought?

Rainfall amounts across many parts of the UK have been below average for the last two years. Importantly, this includes two dry winters – the periods when we would normally expect our rainfall to replenish river, reservoir and groundwater levels.

2010 was the eleventh-driest year in the series from 1910 and the driest since 2003. The dry weather continued during 2011 with large parts of central, eastern and southern England having well below average rainfall – several Midland counties – such as Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire – had their driest year on record.

Map showing the rainfall seen between Nov 2010 and Feb 2012 compared to the long-term average for the same period

This emphasises why there are concerns about drought in parts of England and Wales.

There is no one reason for the dry weather over the last few years; it’s all part of the natural variability of the UK climate. However the dominance of high pressure systems over Europe has been a significant influence. These areas of high pressure effectively block the path of the Atlantic weather systems that bring us our usual wind and rain and this has happened relatively frequently over the last couple of years.

Looking back to the drought of 1976 we can see that in contrast to this year, the whole of the UK was subject to a prolonged period of below average rainfall. Between May 1975 and Aug 1976 only parts of the Western Isles and Western Highlands saw rainfall even a little above normal. Many parts of England and Wales saw only half or less of the rainfall that we could normally expect in that time.

Map showing the rainfall seen between May 1975 and Aug 1976 compared to the long-term average for the same period.

This table shows how much rainfall fell across the UK in 1975-76 compared to 2010-12:

Region/district	May 75-Aug 76 total (mm)	% of 61-90 average	Nov 10-Feb 12 total (mm)	% of 61-90 average
UK	1018	72	1502	99
England	689	64	929	82
Wales	1097	62	1658	84
Scotland	1527	82	2386	117
Northern Ireland	1098	78	1638	108
England & Wales	745	64	1030	82
N England	855	69	1212	94
S England	601	60	780	74
N Scotland	1742	86	2564	114
E Scotland	1062	74	1730	113
W Scotland	1734	83	2843	123
E & NE England	666	67	901	88
NW England & N Wales	1160	71	1690	96
Midlands	622	61	780	74
East Anglia	524	65	579	72
SW England & S Wales	907	59	1383	81
Central S & SE England	584	59	824	78

We are working closely with the Environment Agency, Government, local authorities and water companies to ensure that the UK best manages the need for water, while protecting agriculture, horticulture and the environment.

Our role includes providing forecast information to the public; government and the water companies on when, and how much rain, is expected from the next few days to a month ahead. We also maintain observations of how much rainfall there has been and where. This can be compared with our historical database of rainfall, which goes back to 1910, to provide an understanding of the current rainfall situation. The Met Office also provides the UK’s only real-time assessments of rainfall, evaporation and soil moisture for water resource specialists.

Rob Varley, Operations Director at the Met Office, said: “The last two years have been very dry across many parts of England with some areas seeing as little as 60% of their normal rainfall in that time.

“Even sustained rainfall over the next few months would have a limited impact, however we are working with the water industry to make sure they have the best weather forecast information available to help them manage their resources.”

Howard Davidson, Environment Agency South East Regional Director said: “We will continue to work with water companies to meet the challenges of a continued drought.

“The Environment Agency’s role is to balance the water needs of people, businesses and the environment. Using water efficiently will help to ensure we all have enough water for our homes, to produce food, products and services, and to protect our valuable natural environment and wildlife.”

Related articles:

• Drought (Met Office website)
• What is a drought? (Centre for Ecology and Hydrology website)
• Drought (Environment Agency website)

Weather forecasts in Welsh and Gaelic

The Met Office has launched Gaelic and Welsh language forecasts on its website, providing the latest weather forecasts and warnings to the 600,000 Welsh speakers and 58,000 Gaelic speakers, along with thousands of learners across the UK.

The Met Office ‘Invent‘ website will provide up to date forecasts, including for over 5,000 locations across the country in Gaelic, Welsh as well as English.

As the National Weather Forecaster for the UK the Met Office provides the latest weather forecasts and warnings around the clock so that the public can make the most of the weather. This latest development of providing forecasts in Welsh and Gaelic on our website will make our forecasts more accessible and relevant to Welsh and Gaelic speakers.

Iain Forsyth, Head of the Public Weather Service at the Met Office said: “We are delighted that we are now able to provide weather forecasts in Welsh and Gaelic. This latest development follows the release of the Welsh language weather widget late last year.”

Fiona Hyslop MSP, Minister for Gaelic in the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government is committed to a secure and sustainable future for Gaelic in Scotland.  The Met Office is providing opportunities for Gaelic speakers and learners to use the language in everyday life, and such efforts are at the heart of growing the number of people using Gaelic.

“The Met Office’s commitment to Gaelic content is a most welcome contribution towards our aim of creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers.  This step complements a range of other Gaelic initiatives being taken forward in education, arts and other areas of Scottish public life.”

The Met Office weather widget allows websites to embed Met Office forecasts into the page, letting visitors to keep up to date with the latest weather forecast without leaving the page. The widget is available in both English and Welsh, giving website owners the ability to add content seamlessly into both English and Welsh websites. A Gaelic version of the widget will be launched in the next few months.

Met Office weather forecasts

Wet and windy for the Ryder Cup

Our forecasters are predicting a spell of unsettled weather over the coming days, as strong winds and rain sweep across the country.

The weather conditions are likely to prove to be a challenge for the golfers at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, where a mix of gusty winds, heavy rain and showers are expected to affect the course during the matches.

Met Office Chief Forecaster, Will Lang said: “October looks like getting off to a very unsettled start, as Atlantic weather systems move in from the west. Competitors and spectators at the Ryder Cup should have wet weather gear close to hand.”

The changeable and very windy weather is expected to continue into next week, with the chance of gales and more heavy rain.