Another mild and dull month reported
FEBRUARY continued the pattern of this winter and delivered another mild and dull month with rainfall close to average.
Afternoon temperatures were logged at 8.4c which is 1c higher than normal while nights were very mild averaging 3.9c which is 2.5c more than we would expect.
There were only two night frosts recorded instead of the usual 11.
Rainfall varied between the two featured stations with 55mm recorded at Mountsorrel with just 44mm being logged at Barrow. The average for the month of February is 48mm.
There were 12 days when significant rainfall fell. It was another dull month with just 58 hours of sun recorded which is 25 per cent below normal.
February, like the other winter months this season, had a lot of dry and settled weather with areas of high pressure close by. Most of the time the high was to the south bringing us mild SW winds and plenty of cloud.
The month began mild and wet but by the 5th things were changing as our high pressure switched position to Scandinavia and we pulled in some colder air from the east.
Fortunately the air arriving wasn’t too cold and we had a few days with temperatures in low single figures with the 9th being our coldest day with just 2c on the thermometer.
Our coldest night was recorded by Ken on the 6th in Barrow at -4c.
Snow showers did fall for the next few days but they did not amount to much and there was no accumulation of snow.
The second half of the month was much milder and the 20th saw our mildest February day for three years when 15.2c was reached on the 20th.
The 23rd saw our most dramatic weather of the whole winter as storm Doris roared across northern England and us the strongest winds since February 2014 with gusts of wind up to 67mph at East Midlands Airport and 62mph recorded at the agricultural college at Sutton Bonington.
I also recorded 60mph at Mountsorrel and the strength of the wind quite a lot of damage in a short space of time.
Doris quickly moved away and the month ended like most of the winter before it in a mostly mild but quiet manner.
Only four winters have been milder than this one since the Millennium and it was the driest winter since 2011/12 and the dullest winter since 2010.
This winter is now the fourth consecutive one without a substantial cold spell. We have to go back to the winter of 2012/13 since we saw any significant snowfall.
So we can now look forward to spring hopefully as long as the weather doesnt have any tricks up its sleeve!