Daily Data for Each Month of 1994

1994- An unsettled year, but drier and sunnier than average overall, close to average temperature

1994, in contrast to 1993, had six days of 25C and above during a generally warm summer.   The frequency of frost and snow was rather below normal, mainly because of a near-absence of it towards the end of the year, although the spring also had below average incidence of both.  

1994 began with the remainder of the snowy North East winter of 1993/94.  After a westerly, largely snowless January, February was, and remains, the snowiest month since I began recording, and the second half was particularly cold and snowy.  Spring 1994 was dry and quite sunny overall, then the summer was quite a warm dry sunny one with frequent southerly winds.  Autumn 1994 started off cool but then had an exceptionally warm November (the warmest I have recorded, in stark contrast to November 1993) and December was also quite warm.

January 1994- Westerly dominated, sunny and wet, close to average temperature

January 1994 began with very low pressure covering the country, and large amounts of rain, but there were also some good sunny spells in between the rain belts.  Sunshine and showers dominated most of the second week.  There was a brief cold snap midmonth with some snow overnight 15th/16th which melted in the sun during the day, and then a very icy day on the 17th when some concrete surfaces were like ice rinks.  Most of the rest of the month was showery and windy with generous amounts of sunshine, and there was a gale on the 27th/28th during which showers briefly turned wintry as the winds swung around to the north-west.

February 1994- Very cold, snowy second half

The first half of February 1994 was pretty average with frequent westerly and south-westerly winds and some rain at times.  From the 13th to 16th a cold south-easterly airstream brought increasingly low temperatures.  There was a little snow on the 14th and 15th, which produced a thin snow cover on the latter date, and some more organised frontal snow on the 16th.  The snow melted in the sun on the 17th, following a foggy start.  After a few days of hazy sunshine, snow showers returned from the east on the 20th, and the 21st had frequent heavy snow showers with thundersnow reported at nearby Newcastle.  Showers eased on the 22nd, by which time there was a 3-4 inch snow cover.  Less cold weather slowly inched up from the south until the 26th, bringing outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow and a slow thaw.  It turned much milder by the 27th.

March 1994- Sunny, showery and windy

This was another moderately warm March, but unlike March 1993 low pressure dominated the scene with frequent westerly winds.  March certainly lived up to its windy reputation this year.  The first five days were mostly bright and showery, then during the following week it was dry and mild but often with large amounts of cloud.  The period 14th-18th March had sunshine and showers, with hail at some point on every day, and the 18th also had some snow late in the day.  Three dry sunny days followed, then it turned windy and showery again, with some large hail on the 25th.  Warm, often cloudy, weather arrived towards the end of the month.  The monthly frequency of hail (6 days) has only subsequently been exceeded once, in April 2008.

April 1994- Changeable but quite sunny, mostly cool until the last third then rather warm at times

This April was cool until the 22nd, but then the last week was very warm with 20C on the 29th- quite an early date for the first occurrence of 20C.  The weather was quite traditional for April with sunshine and showers often the prevailing weather type, with westerly winds dominant in the first third, and northerlies in the middle third.  The region missed out on the snow that affected many other parts during the first third of the month.  There was a thunderstorm during a showery day on the 23rd.  

May 1994- Warm sunny start, but a prolonged cold cloudy spell 15th-27th, overall cool and quite dry and cloudy

The month began with some warm sunny weather, and occasional sharp showers, and it was hazy with high pollution levels.  Most of the rest of the first third was bright and showery, in keeping with the theme for March and April 1994.  However, from midmonth through to the 27th it was generally cold and cloudy with north-easterly winds and some rain at times.  The dullest, wettest weather was reserved for the period 21st-23rd.  It turned dry and sunny from the 28th onwards, and after an exceptionally cold night for this late in the season (1.8C early on the 28th) temperatures recovered to the seasonal average.

June 1994- Cool showery first third then very dry with some warm humid spells, quite a sunny month

Sunshine and showers dominated during the first third of the month, with hail and thunder on the 3rd, and again on the 8th when a brief northerly incursion brought sharp showers near the east coast.  It was mostly cool during the first half in general, except for a one-off hot day on the 13th when the temperature exceeded 25C- higher than any maximum in the whole of 1993!  The third week was often cloudy, then the last week had some hot humid interludes with a rather muggy day on the 25th, and then a very hot day on the 28th with 27C recorded, getting into the 80s Fahrenheit.

July 1994- Warm, dry and quite sunny, humid at times, frequent southerly winds

July 1994 started with a lot of cloudy humid weather, but not much in the way of rain.  It turned hot and sunny towards the 12th, which was a very hot and quite humid day with a high of 26.5C.  Dry sunny weather was frequent during the second half of the month and it was quite hot at times.  Due to frequent imports of continental air it was often hazy with high pollution levels.  There were thunderstorms on the 24th which triggered some fog early on the 25th.

August 1994- Warm thundery start then often cool and cloudy

The month started with some warm humid weather and some severe thunderstorms late on the 3rd, which persisted through to early morning on the 4th- unusually severe for this part of the country.  A cool cloudy second week followed, then westerly winds became increasingly domin/at during the second half of the month, bringing bands of rain separated by brighter, often showery, weather.  There was more thunder on the 17th.

September 1994- Another cold cloudy September, though not as dull or wet as last year

 After a close to average first week with mainly westerly winds, temperatures were generally below average due to frequent northerly winds.  The period 12-15th was particularly cloudy, cold and wet.  The weather turned more settled after the 21st with variable amounts of sunshine and also variable temperatures.  Overall, it was not a particularly memorable month and the cold weather was consistent rather than outstanding.

October 1994- Exceptionally cold start, sunny anticyclonic spell in the second week, then often cool and changeable

There was an exceptionally cold northerly for the time of year on the 3rd, with a maximum of only 8.2C and an air frost the following night.  Although showers early on the 3rd were of rain, snow was reported to sea level in northern Scotland.  There was a memorable anticyclonic spell in the second week with hazy sunshine by day, some notably high maxima and some cool nights, and some of the sunsets were quite spectacular.  The third week was mostly cloudy, then changeable westerlies dominated during the last third with temperatures mostly close to normal.  Half term was dominated by sunshine and showers with most of the showers struggling to make it over the Pennines.

November 1994- Record-breaking consistent warmth, often cloudy and damp

It began with a couple of dry sunny days, but warm, cloudy southerlies took over for most of the rest of the first half.  Wettest days were the 5th and 13th.  After a brighter interlude with westerlies, and then a few dull wet days, the last third saw high pressure dominate.  I remember hearing forecasts throughout the month going for "highs of 10-14 degrees" and wishing that at some point the weather pattern would change (it was something of a shock after the very cold November of 1993).  Temperatures finally dropped below average on the 29th with some frost, sunshine and patchy fog, but anticyclonic gloom set in on the 30th.

December 1994- Warm, wet and windy but with frequent colder, bright weather between the 13th and 23rd

After a dull anticyclonic start, south-westerly winds pushed in on the 3rd and persisted through until the 12th.  It was exceptionally warm on the 10th-12th with 16.1C on the 10th being the highest temperature I have recorded for December.  From the 13th to 23rd, the weather was mostly sunny, with some showers around on the 18th and 19th, and temperatures fell below normal at times.  On the 21st, snow showers drifted along the North Sea, while there was a frost on the ground, and I kept forecasting that the showers would come inland, but in the end we got only one little snow flurry.  South-westerlies returned in time for Christmas Day which was dull and dry throughout.  The rest of the month was wet and windy.  It turned colder on the 31st with some wet snow during the afternoon which failed to provide any meaningful accumulations.