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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 578 For   FEBRUARY   2004
            WARM WET START,  BUT COLD AND VERY SUNNY AFTER MID-MONTH
Text Box: The first week was dominated by a southwesterly type, the second and third weeks were mainly anticyclonic, and the fourth northerly. The main sea-level pressure anomaly centres were +11mbar south of Iceland and -8mbar over Finland, and the anomalous flow over the UK was therefore strongly NNW-ly; indeed only eight Februarys in the last 100 years had a greater northerly component. A broad southwesterly flow was responsible for record-breaking warmth during the first week of February, but there were also exceptional amounts of orographic rain in Wales, Cumbria, and southwest Scotland. The temperature climbed above 14ºC daily, reaching 16.7ºC at Lossiemouth (Moray) on the 3rd and 17.9ºC at Gravesend (Kent) on the 4th - the UK’s highest on record during the first week of February. Overnight temperatures stayed above 10ºC on four consecutive nights over southern Britain, and Chivenor in north Devon reported a minimum of 13.2ºC early on the 3rd. Capel Curig in Snowdonia collected 165mm in 24 hours from 2100 GMT on the 2nd, part of a six-day downpour that dropped 417mm, and there was serious flooding on the River Conwy especially in Llanrwst. North and west Scotland were windy at times, and Fair Isle reported a gust of 72kn on the 3rd. A brief northwesterly incursion on the 7th/8th brought wintry showers and sunny intervals, but high pressure quickly became established over the British Isles, staying there until the 21st. From the 10th to the 18th many parts of the country remained dull and damp, and a disturbance aloft brought appreciable rain
Text Box: to northeast England on the 14th/15th, but there were some sunny days in north and west Britain. From the 19th sunshine became more general, but a cold east wind affected England and Wales for a few days and a little light snow was reported in southern counties on the 20th. A northerly type prevailed from the 22nd onwards. Snow showers were heavy and frequent in northern Scotland for much of the last week with 15-20cm lying in some areas, and drifting was severe in winds gusting to 55kn. An area of heavy snow also affected Northern Ireland, Wales, and southwest England on the 26th, and another targeted northeast England on the 27th/28th. Snow showers finally penetrated SE England on the 28th/29th. Notable minima included -10.9ºC at Sennybridge (Powys) on the 27th, and -10.8ºC at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross) and Braemar (Aberdeenshire) on the 29th. The persistently cold weather during the second half of February failed to offset the exceptionally mild start, and mean temperature was 1.0-1.5 degC above the 1971-2000 mean over much of the country, although northern Scotland was close to normal. As measured by the CET, the first half of the month was the warmest, alongside 2002, since before 1869, while the second half was the coldest since 1986. Monthly rainfall was above the long-term mean locally in the north and west, but elsewhere it was dry, and the Portsmouth area had less than one-third of the normal. It was a sunny February except in north Scotland and Kent; an examination of available records suggests that it may have been the sunniest in the Belfast area and the Isle of Man since 1906.
                                                                                                                                         
                       TEMPERATURE                                SUNSHINE                             RAINFALL                                                       
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                   
No. of days with grass minimum below 0ºC
                      Highest and lowest totals    
Maximum fall in 24 hrs (beginning 09 h)
                Highest and lowest totals    
Days with snow or sleet
 
Days with fog (Vis <220 yards at 09 h)
 
     
Difference from average
   
Difference from average
             
Days of no sunshine
                      on record for month                         on record for month        
                                                                                         
           
Highest maximum
   
Lowest minimum
         
Maximum duration
       
First year of record
         
Days of no rainfall (0.1 mm or less)
         
First year of record
         
Days with thunder
     
       PLACE  
Mean Maximum
   
Mean minimum
             
No. of air frosts
       
Total for month
                   
Total for month
                   
                               
% of average
                   
% of average
                 
                                                                     
                                   
Highest
   
Lowest
 
Year
             
Highest
   
Lowest
 
Year
       
             
Date
   
Date
         
Date