A very anticyclonic start to February 2025 across NW Europe, with an anticyclone extending NENE North East’ward from the Azores from the 4th, and then drifting onto into southern Norway by the 7th, producing anomalies for the first week of +19 hPahPa A Hectopascal is the SI unit of pressure and identical to the Millibar across Oslo.
Anticyclonic start to February 2025 Read More »
The most easterly February in the objective LWTLWT Lamb Weather Types are often used in UK-based analyses, with individual weather patterns based on the eight primary cardinal directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) plus cyclonic (C), anticyclonic (A) and unclassified (U) types. series, which started in 1871, occurred in 1986, when 64% of weather types were classified either NENE North East, E or SE, with 32% identified as being Anticyclonic. This resulted in a very cold, but very dry (18% of the LTALTA Long Term Average. This is usually defined as a 30 year period by the WMO.) and rather sunny month across the UKUK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland., with mean temperatures of -1.1°C, and anomalies -5.2°C below the 1991-2020 LTA.
The gridded mean temperature of -1.1°C made 1986 the third joint coldest February since 1884.
In central England the mean temperature for the month was -1.0°C which was -6.0° below the 1991-2020 LTA, making it the joint fifth coldest February since 1659.
February 1986 – the most easterly on record Read More »
There had been a slow decline in 30 year mean maximum and minimum temperature in February between 1940 and 1990, but over the last 30 years maximum temperatures have rocketed up at the rate of 0.5°C per decade, although the rise in 3o year average mean minimum temperatures has been a little slower.
Remarkably, the rise in mean temperature seems to have coincided with a corresponding rise in precipitation in February as well. The linear trend from 1865 to 1993 was showing a very slight fall in 30 year average precipitation in February, but since 1994, average precipitation totals have increased by 5.8 mm each decade.
Sunshine in February has seen a rise of 3.1 hours per decade in the last 30 years. Totals have been rather static for the UKUK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. for a period that began in 1960 and which ended in 2000.
So, the short answer to the question ‘what’s happening to the climate in February’ is, are they getting progressively warmer, wetter and sunnier.
What’s happening to the climate of February? Read More »
Here are anomaly charts for the UKUK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. for extreme rainfall, sunshine and mean temperatures during the month of February, courtesy of the UKMOUKMO The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Temperature and rainfall anomaly charts are available from 1910, but sunshine charts have only been produced since 2001. Why this is when the Met OfficeUKMO The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have all the gridded data to generate them with, is a question only they can answer. Surely it wouldn’t take that much effort to extend the series back to at least 1884 for temperature, 1836 for rainfall and 1910 for sunshine. Perhaps they’re looking for a group of volunteers to do it for them? In a similar way to how a similar group of volunteers digitised the data for them in the first place.😂 Wouldn’t it also be an excellent idea in the spirit of inter Metservice co-operation, to ask Met EireannMet Éireann Met Éireann, the Irish National Meteorological Service, is the leading provider of weather information and related services for Ireland., if they could have their permission to use their climate data to fill in the missing data for the rest of Ireland?
February extremes in the UK Read More »
February 2024 was a rather cyclonic month and a zonal westerly flow for much of the time. Despite this the gale index remained fairly subdued for most of it.
February 2024 – Objective LWT Read More »
February 2024 was a cyclonic month across the IONAIONA Islands Of North Atlantic. Yes I know there's an island called Iona, but this is so I don't have to use the term 'British Isles' when referring to the whole of Ireland and the UK., with a strong broad W’SW gradient that stretched from central Atlantic into northeast Russia. The Icelandic low was elongated further east into the northern Norwegian sea (-9 hPahPa A Hectopascal is the SI unit of pressure and identical to the Millibar), and the Azores high displaced to the southeast towards the Canaries (+4 hPa). Mean MSLPMSLP Mean sea level pressure is the pressure at sea level, or, when measured at a given elevation on land, the station pressure reduced to sea level assuming an isothermal layer at the station temperature. was below normal across the whole of IONA by as much as -9 hPA in northern Scotland.
February 2024 – Circulation Read More »
Basically a wet and very mild February across the south and southeast of England, but colder and drier further north and west. Dull across England and Wales but brighter further north and east further north and west particularly the northeast of Scotland.
February 2024 – Weather Summary Read More »
The mean global temperature for February 2024 was pipped into second place by February 2016. This brings to an end the incredible eight month consecutive run of record high mean temperatures. The estimates are from my DIY series that I calculate from 6 hourly NCEPNCEP The United States National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) delivers national and global weather, water, climate and space weather guidance, forecasts, warnings and analyses to its Partners and External User Communities. gridded data. The daily means since the 12th of February took a bit of a nose dive (see image below) and allowed 2016 with a mean of 9.36°C to just nip ahead of 2024 with 9.34°C. I think my maverick calculations are unlikely to be duplicated when Copernicus publish their result in the coming week, but it will be a close run thing.
Global temperatures long record run comes to an end Read More »
The mean temperature for February 2024 in Central England as far as I can make out was 7.77°C. That wasn’t just quite high enough to beat the mean of 7.9°C in 1779 into second place, but was still a very mild +2.8°C above the 1991-2020 LTALTA Long Term Average. This is usually defined as a 30 year period by the WMO. for the month.
February 2024 – second warmest since 1772 Read More »
Five out of the seven Met Services around the world have finally published their estimated global temperature anomalies for February 2023. I swear they get slower at updating their estimates each year. The Europeans are always first off the mark to report these days, but the slowest by far are the UKMOUKMO The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who have only just published their estimate for January. The comparison graph (above) shows that the weak third dip in anomalies that started in 2016 has now all but fizzled out. Now that the double dip La NinaLa Niña La Niña is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of El Niño, as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation climate pattern. The name La Niña originates from Spanish for "the girl", by analogy to El Niño, meaning "the boy". In the past, it was also called an anti-El Niño[1] and El Viejo, meaning "the old man." event has come to an abrupt end, and world ocean SSTSST Sea Surface Temperatures at record highs, you can only expect global anomalies start to rocket through the rest of 2023.
Global Temperatures – February 2023 Read More »
Global temperatures in February 2023 in my DIYDIY Do It Yourself Global temperature’s series were the fourth warmest since 1948. The 365 day mean temperature (see below), after flatlining since last spring is also showing signs of surging upwards despite the ongoing La NinaLa Niña La Niña is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of El Niño, as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation climate pattern. The name La Niña originates from Spanish for "the girl", by analogy to El Niño, meaning "the boy". In the past, it was also called an anti-El Niño[1] and El Viejo, meaning "the old man." trying to keep it in check.
The main driver behind this nascent surge in global temperatures seems to be rapid warming in the last few months of the northern subtropics despite a continued fall in temperatures at the tropics fueled by ENSOENSO El Niño–Southern Oscillation is an irregular periodic variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting the climate of much of the tropics and subtropics. The warming phase of the sea temperature is known as El Niño and the cooling phase as La Niña.. This is the third surge in temperatures in the northern subtropics in recent years, the others were in 2016 and 2020, but the magnitude of this one might top them both despite the recent SSWSSW A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is an event in which polar stratospheric temperatures rise by as much as 50 °C in the course of a few days. The warming is preceded by a slowing then reversal of the westerly winds in the stratospheric polar vortex. SSWs occur about six times per decade in the northern hemisphere, and about once every 20-30 years in the southern hemisphere. event.
February 2023 – Global Temperatures Read More »
Despite the dry one just gone, February’s have been getting ever so slowly that bit wetter at the rate of a millimetre per decade since 1836.
February Precipitation 1836-2023 Read More »
Don’t get the idea that the positive MSLPMSLP Mean sea level pressure is the pressure at sea level, or, when measured at a given elevation on land, the station pressure reduced to sea level assuming an isothermal layer at the station temperature. anomalies across the SW of England of +13.8 hPahPa A Hectopascal is the SI unit of pressure and identical to the Millibar so far this February are in anyway exceptional – on looking at all February’s back to 1948 using reanalysis data, I think I can safely say it’s not. Put it down to my naivety, I never realised just how varied the month of February, or any month for that matter, can be in IONAIONA Islands Of North Atlantic. Yes I know there's an island called Iona, but this is so I don't have to use the term 'British Isles' when referring to the whole of Ireland and the UK.. Take a look at the very anticyclonic nature and anomalies of Februaries in 1959 and 2012 are for example, or the anomalies and AEAE Anticyclonic Easterly of 1986, but there I’m straying off topic.
February 2023 exceptionally anticyclonic? Read More »
