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United Kingdom weather records

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Cambridge Botanic Garden Weather Station where a temperature of 38.7 °C was recorded in the 2019 European heat wave

The United Kingdom weather records show the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as temperature, wind speed, and rainfall records. Reliable temperature records for the whole of the United Kingdom go back to about 1880.[1]

Records

Daily records unless otherwise specified are from 0900-2100 UTC. As of 20 December 2022, the records, as recorded by the Met Office, are:[2]

Highest temperature by country

Constituent country
 Temperature
 Date
 Place(s)
 England 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) 19 July 2022 Coningsby, Lincolnshire[3]
 Wales 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) 18 July 2022 Hawarden, Flintshire[4]
 Scotland 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) 19 July 2022 Charterhall, Scottish Borders[5]
 Northern Ireland 31.3 °C (88.3 °F) 21 July 2021 Castlederg, County Tyrone

Earlier records for England/UK since 1911 are shown with a * in the "Top 10 hottest days" table below.

Top 10 hottest days UK

Rank Temperature Date Place(s)
1* 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) 19 July 2022 Coningsby, Lincolnshire
2* 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) 25 July 2019 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
3* 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) 10 August 2003 Faversham, Kent
4 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) 18 July 2022 Pitsford, Northamptonshire[6]
5 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) 31 July 2020 Heathrow, Greater London
6* 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) 3 August 1990 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
7 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) 1 July 2015 Heathrow, Greater London
8* 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) 9 August 1911 Raunds, Northamptonshire
9 36.6 °C (97.9 °F) 2 August 1990 Worcester, Worcestershire
10 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) 19 July 2006 Wisley, Surrey

Starred entries signify the then-highest temperature recorded up to that date, until surpassed by the next starred date above.

Lowest temperature by country

Constituent country Temperature Date Place(s)
 Scotland −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 Braemar, Aberdeenshire
30 December 1995 Altnaharra, Sutherland
 England −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) 10 January 1982 Newport, Shropshire
 Wales −23.3 °C (−9.9 °F) 21 January 1940 Rhayader, Radnorshire
 Northern Ireland −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) 24 December 2010 Castlederg, County Tyrone

Rainfall

Duration Amount Place(s) Date
Highest 5-min total 32 mm (1.3 in) Preston, Lancashire 10 August 1893
Highest 30-min total 80 mm (3.1 in) Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway[7] 26 June 1953
Highest 60-min total 92 mm (3.6 in) Maidenhead, Berkshire 12 July 1901
Highest 90-min total 117 mm (4.6 in) Dunsop Valley, Lancashire 8 August 1967
Highest 120-min total 193 mm (7.6 in)[8] Walshaw Dean Lodge, West Yorkshire 19 May 1989
Highest 155-min total 169 mm (6.7 in) Hampstead, Greater London 14 August 1975
Highest 180-min total 178 mm (7.0 in) Horncastle, Lincolnshire 7 October 1960
Highest 24-hour total 279 mm (11.0 in) Martinstown, Dorset 18 July 1955
Highest total in any 24-hour period (1800-1800) 341.4 mm (13.44 in) Honister Pass, Cumbria 5 December 2015
Highest 24-hour total (UK national average) 31.7 mm (1.25 in) UK (national average)[9] 3 October 2020
Highest 48-hour total 405 mm (15.9 in) Thirlmere, Cumbria 4 to 5 December 2015
Highest 72-hour total 456.4 mm (17.97 in) Seathwaite, Cumbria 17 to 19 November 2009
Highest 96-hour total 495 mm (19.5 in) Seathwaite, Cumbria 16 to 19 November 2009
Highest monthly total 1,396.4 mm (54.98 in) Crib Goch, Snowdon 1 to 31 December 2015
Highest annual total 6,527 mm (257.0 in) Sprinkling Tarn, Cumbria 1 January to 31 December 1954[10]

Sunshine

Record Duration Location Date
Highest monthly total (UK national average)[11] 266 hours UK (national average) May 2020
Highest monthly total (England)[2] 383.9 hours Eastbourne, Sussex July 1911
Highest monthly total (Northern Ireland)[2] 298 hours Mount Stewart, County Down June 1940
Highest monthly total (Scotland)[2] 329.1 hours Tiree, Argyll & Bute May 1975
Highest monthly total (Wales)[2] 354.3 hours Dale Fort, Pembrokeshire July 1955

Wind speed

Ground Level Wind speed Location Date
mph km/h knots
Low level (up to 500 m) 142 228 123 Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire 13 February 1989
High level (above 500 m) 173 278 150 Cairn Gorm, Scottish Highlands 20 March 1986

Shetland holds the unofficial British record for wind speed. A gust of 197 mph (317 km/h) was reported on 1 January 1992. An earlier gust in 1962 was recorded at 177 mph (285 km/h), both at RAF Saxa Vord.[12] However, it is expected that higher gusts than those reported would have been achieved as during both storms the measuring equipment was destroyed by the extreme weather.[13]

A wind gust of 194 mph (312 km/h) was recorded at Cairn Gorm on 19 December 2008 but was discovered too late to be verified by the Met Office.[14]

Snowfall

Amount Location Date
Greatest depth in an inhabited area[15] 83 in (210 cm) Forest-in-Teesdale, County Durham 14 March 1947

Atmospheric pressure

Record Level Location Date
Highest 1,053.6 mbar (31.11 inHg) Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire 31 January 1902
Lowest 925.6 mbar (27.33 inHg) Ochtertyre, Perthshire 26 January 1884

References

  1. ^ "Met Office temperature records – what do we monitor and how far do they go back?". Met Office. 6 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "UK climate extremes". Met Office. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Record high temperatures verified". Met Office. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Heatwave: Wales' second hottest day brings health warning". BBC News. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Scotland's record temperature of 34.8C at Charterhall confirmed". BBC News. 28 July 2022.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Mark (28 September 2022). "Guest post: A Met Office review of the UK's record-breaking summer in 2022". Carbon Brief. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ The UK Met Office expresses "reservations" about 193 mm on 19 May 1989 at Walshaw Dean Lodge (West Yorkshire). The next highest acceptable value is 155 mm on 11 June 1956 at Hewenden Reservoir (West Yorkshire).
  9. ^ McGrath, Matt (16 October 2020). "Extreme weather: October downpour sees UK's wettest day on record". BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ^ Simons, Paul (25 November 2009). "Weather eye: The wettest habitable place in Britain". The Times.
  11. ^ Harrabin, Roger (1 June 2020). "Climate change: May was sunniest calendar month on record in UK". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Unst". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  13. ^ "A History of RAF Saxa Vord". 10 July 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  14. ^ Britten, Nick (6 January 2009). "Highlands mountain claims strongest UK wind". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  15. ^ Eden, Philip (2 February 2009). "Snow Britain: Wrong kind of snow strikes again". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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