Daily data can be accessed here.
Winter 1996/97: Another fairly cold winter, at 4.3C, though not all that snowy. The contrast between the cold, dry cloudy January, and the mild, wet sunny February, was especially notable.
January: The coldest and driest January recorded. Frequent easterly winds during the first third, but the sunshine and snow showers of 30/31 December 1996 were replaced by mostly dry cloudy weather, with a slow thaw of the snow cover. Most of the rest of the month had southerly winds and near-average tempratures, though it was mild around the 13th. Sunshine was a little below normal.
February: The mildest February recorded up to 1997, though subsequently beaten by February 1998. It was a wild, windy month with south-westerly winds, and only a couple of occurrences of sleet. Sunshine was well above average, assisted by some dry sunny days in the second week, and the dominance of bright showery weather in the second half. Only one air frost.
Spring 1997: The warmest spring recorded (9.1) up to 1997, though many subsequent springs have been even warmer. Until 2007, it also stood as the driest spring recorded. Sunshine was well above average although it wasn't quite as sunny as Spring 1995.
March: A benign, uneventful month, notable for persistence of warm westerly and south-westerly winds. The warmest March recorded, with only one air frost, and temperatures often into the teens. Easily the driest since 1993. Sunshine was well above average- about as much so as in March 1995- with the last few days being especially sunny. The
April: A boring month. The driest April recorded, also warm (again, the warmest recorded up to 1997, subsequently exceeded in 2002). However, unlike in March, sunshine was only about average, with a lot of anticyclonic gloom in the third week in particular. There was a breif northerly blast on the 3rd with wintry showers that evening, otherwise wintry weather was absent.
May: A very interesting, varied May, but spoilt by a spell of North Sea stratus in the third week while the rest of the country had sunshine and thundery showers. Hot and sunny to begin, with 24C reached on the 1st, then a dramatic turnaround with snow showers on the 6th- the only occurrence of snow in May on this record, though May 1995 managed sleet. Sunshine and showers dominated the second week. Sea fog in the third week, with the fog drowning out the thunderstorms on the 17th. It was a sunny month overall, thanks to a very sunny final third, and temperatures and rainfall were about normal- making it the wettest May since 1993.
Summer 1997: Three contrasting months- a dull wet June, a warm sunny July, and a hot muggy August. Overall, it was the wettest summer recorded up to 1997 (it took until 2004 to record a wetter summer), it was rather warm, and sunshine was about average- probably making it the dullest summer in the area since 1987, due to a long run of sunnier-than-average summers.
June: It started promisingly, with a warm, mostly dry and sunny first week, and a mix of sun and showers from the 6th to 10th, with some thunderstorms on the 7th. However, the 11th to 21st were often cold and cloudy. From the 22nd onwards there was hardly a glimmer of sunshine, and it was dull and wet every day from the 25th onwards. The wettest June recorded, and easily the coldest by measure of the average maximum, although June 1995 had a similarly low mean temperature. Sunshine wise it was probably one of the top 10 dullest Junes of the past 100 years, and subsequently only June 2007 has been comparably dull.
July: In contrast to June this was a warm sunny month- the fourth successive July to be so. A showery start, then a fine spell started on the 5th. Large hail on a showery day on the 13th. Cool, cloudy weather midmonth, then another dry sunny spell, then unsettled during the last week but quite sunny, with emphasis mostly on bright showery weather. Heavy, intermittent rain on the 24th was associated with the odd rumble of thunder.
August: Warm and muggy, about as warm as August 1995, with notably warm nights (August 1995's warmth had stemmed mostly from the high average maximum, so 1997 was comfortably the warmest for average minimum temperature). Only August 2004 had a comparably high average minimum. It was quite dry with near-average sunshine, and quite a lot of North Sea coastal cloud at times, but when the wind blew from the south or south-west, temperatures often rose to around 27C.
Autumn 1997: A dry autumn- it took until 2007 to record a drier autumn. Rather like 1994, near or below average temperatures in September and October were cancelled out by a very warm November.
September: Dry and sunny, with near-average temperatures. A fine spell around the 10th was followed by a couple of blustery showery days, and then a cool cloudy spell. There was a week-long spell of almost unbroken sunshine around the 23rd, with warm days but also some notably cold nights. Overall, it was almost as dry as September 1996.
October: A varied month, overall quite cool, sunny and dry. It started warm and dry with variable cloud, there was an unsettled second week with a cool, showery northerly incursion towards midmonth. Notable warm sunny spell around the 18th, with 21C reached, and it felt genuinely like summer. Cold, settled final third with generally above average sunshine, and a notably cold night 28th/29th, the coldest recorded in October.
November: Dull and mild. The first half had reasonable sunshine amounts, and was dominated mainly by westerly winds, but there was hardly any sunshine in the second half. Rainfall was near normal, and it was the warmest November since the record-breaking one in 1994.
December: Another dull, mild month. It started cold and bright with a little snow on the 2nd, but this soon melted as an east wind picked up off the relatively warm North Sea. Easterly spell midmonth, which produced stratocumulus and temperatures of 5C- not all wintertime easterlies are the snowy beasts that they're made out to be. A very windy spell around Christmas, with gales. It was about as mild as December 1994, and it was the dullest December in the area since 1989.
Overall, at 10.0C, a warm year- it took until 2006 to record a significantly warmer year, though most subsequent years have reached the 10C threshold. Probably the warmest since 1990. Sunshine was above average for the fourth successive year, but 1994 and 1995 were both sunnier. Another fairly dry year. With only 21 air frosts, a notably frost-free year, and also notably snow-free, though it has since been exceeded on both counts.
