Daily Data for Each Month of 1993

1993- Warm first half then exceptionally cold second half, quite a cloudy wet year

1993 was notable for the big switch-around on the 8th/9th July- before that temperatures had been mostly above average, and after that they were often well below average.  All of the first six months were warmer than average (May only marginally so) and all of the last six were colder than average.  Thunder was exceptionally infrequent with thunder heard on only 2 days.  There was no maximum of 25C and above, and only one day with a maximum above 24C- a statistic surpassed subsequently only in 2007.

Spring 1993 was warm but dull and wet (despite a reasonably sunny, very dry March).  Summer 1993 was mediocre, quite cool with close to average rainfall and sunshine.  Autumn 1993 was dull, wet and exceptionally cold, though October and November were both pretty interesting months.  There was a white Christmas this year, due to heavy snow showers during the afternoon.

January 1993- Warm and gale strewn, persistent south-westerly winds

January commenced with "the calm before the storm" as the month began cold and quiet with some freezing fog.  Rain, preceded by a little snow, moved east on the 4th introducing a very wild spell of weather with frequent Atlantic gales.  The 11th-14th were unusual in that predominantly south-westerly winds brought some sleet and snow showers, but it turned very warm on the 16th and 17th with 13.9C recorded.  The very boisterous south-westerly regime persisted until the 24th.  The last week was quieter, with a couple of dull wet days on the 28th and 29th, but it was dry and sunny on the 31st.

February 1993- Warm, dull and very dry, but with a cold bright snowy end

The month began dry and sunny, but anticyclonic gloom reigned for most of the first two-thirds of the month.  The cloudy moist air trapped within the anticyclone was also very mild, so temperatures stayed above average.  The 7th was a one-off sunny day which saw the temperature hit 15.1C- a remarkable figure for February and not exceeded until 1998.  Northerly blasts started up in the last third, but the one on the 21st produced only a few snow flurries.  Finally, cold bright weather made it through on the 26th and 27th, depositing a snow cover, and after a mostly sunny day on the 27th with occasional snow showers, snow showers were frequent on the 28th.

March 1993- Snowy start then exceptionally dry, sunny, quite warm at times

The 1st March was a snowy day, but the snow turned to slush as temperatures warmed up.  A few dry cloudy days followed, with easterly winds.  Most of the rest of the month was dry with broken cloud and sunny intervals.  A notably warm southerly incursion in the second week brought a high of 16.0C on the 13th.  There was a brief reminder of winter on the 23rd, when a showery north-westerly flow brought some sleet and snow showers, though they did not settle.  After another few days of sunshine and some sharp night frosts, it turned cloudier towards the month's end.

April 1993- Warm but dull and wet

April 1993 was moderately warm due to frequent southerly and south-easterly winds but it was a very dull month with frequent prolonged rain.  The weather turned more settled towards the end of the month, but sea fog persisted from the 25th to 27th.  The 28th and 29th had sunny intervals and sea fog, but it wasn't until the 30th that the sun broke through convincingly.

May 1993- Dull with frequent easterly winds, an exceptional prolonged rainstorm on the 13th/14th

It began with a warm sunny day, but then cooled off somewhat with a fairly dry bright first week.  Easterly winds then set in and brought large amounts of cloud.  I remember the 12th vividly, it was a mainly cloudy day with the odd bit of sun, and quite an impressive sunset, but a large mass of ominous dark cloud slowly spread from the north.  Torrential rain persisted through until the 14th, bringing 79mm in total, and the maximum of just 7.2C on the 13th was exceptionally low.  The rest of the month was dry but mainly cloudy, with easterly winds continuing to prevail.  We had to wait until 17th May for the first day with a maximum of 20C or above.

June 1993- Quite warm and dry, settled spells early and late, average amounts of sunshine

The first third of the month was warm, and after a few cloudy days it became mostly sunny.  There was a very muggy day on the 9th, with high pollution levels.  However, the rest of the second week was dull.  Sunshine and showers dominated at times from the 18th to 24th, with some particularly heavy showers on the 18th, 19th and 23rd, and an unusual pink shade to the clouds on the 23rd.  The 21st and 22nd were mainly dull and dry, however.  The end of the month was mainly sunny and warm.

July 1993- Warm and dry until the 8th then generally cool and unsettled, average amounts of sunshine

The first seven days of July were mostly dry and warm but with variable cloud cover.  A vigorous cold front moved south-eastwards on the 8th, introducing an abrupt change to cool changeable weather, and this proved a turning point in the year's weather, as it heralded the start of a prolonged spell of persistently below-average temperatures.  The 9th-12th were bright and showery and somewhat on the cool side.  Hail occurred on the 9th- unusual for a non-intense convective outburst at this time of year.  Dull wet weather reigned on the 14th and 15th, but after that there was a general mixed bag of weather and persistent westerly winds.

August 1993- Cool wet start, relatively warm sunny middle, unusually cool spell in the last third

The first half of August was mostly cloudy and wet, with a particularly wet day on the 5th.  A brief southerly incursion brought rather warm, muggy weather on the 14th with high pollution levels.  The following week was mostly dry and sunny, but the period 22-27 August was exceptionally cool, mostly with broken cloud and sunny intervals, and northerly winds sourced from a long way north.  It turned warm and sunny again at the month's end.  This was comfortably the coolest August that I have recorded.

September 1993- On the driech side (a favourite phrase of Bob Johnson), frequently dull cold and wet

 It started with a warm sunny day- the only day of 1993 to reach 24C or above, which is more than could be said for 2007.  However, a northerly plunge soon brought cool cloudy weather.  A prolonged dull rainy spell, with gale force winds initially, hit on the 13th-16th September.  The rest of the month was mostly cloudy, cool and humid, with a particularly cold interlude around the 27th/28th, with an exceptional low maximum of 10.4C followed by an equally exceptional low minimum of 1.9C- the lowest I have recorded in September.

October 1993- An episodic month, notably cold overall

Following the drab September, this was at least quite an interesting month.  The first third was very wet with frequent southerly winds, but the southerlies never had a particularly warm source.  A rare 1993 thunderstorm hit late on during a showery day on the 7th.  The middle third of the month had an exceptionally cold northerly, though no sleet or snow was observed.  The 15th-19th October were very sunny and crisp with an unusually long run of frosty nights for October.  Another northerly on the 21st brought frequent showers and rainbows, but the rest of the month was mostly dull and dry.  It briefly turned bright and showery on the 30th/31st before clouding over again.

November 1993- Dull first half, exceptionally cold second half with prolonged snow cover

The dull anticyclonic weather of late October persisted well into early November.  It turned more unsettled in the second week, with a very wet windy day on the 13th.  The main interest occurred after midmonth when an exceptionally persistent high settled over Scandinavia.  Until the 20th it was dry with hazy sunshine, but an unusually cold easterly for the time of year set in on the 20th-22nd, bringing an increasing number of snow showers.  These provided only dustings initially, but a significant covering accumulated late on the 22nd.  This snow cover persisted for a whole week, and there was even an ice day on the 23rd, with an exceptionally cold night 23rd/24th.

December 1993- Quite cold, wet, and very sunny, with plenty of snow on the afternoon of Christmas Day

The month started with a mild, windy first week, with a notable gale on the 8th.  Most of the rest of the month saw near-average temperatures, active rain belts but also plenty of sunshine in between the rain belts, but the month had a well-timed cold snap around Christmas.  Christmas Day began dry and sunny, but snow showers moved in off the North Sea by late morning, and provided an inch of snow cover by late afternoon.  Surprisingly, the wind picking up off the North Sea did not turn showers back to rain and sleet, presumably because the sea surface temperatures were unusually low for late December following the cold summer and autumn.  Overall, it was (albeit only fractionally so) the sixth consecutive month with below-average temperatures.