2001
Quite an interesting year, primarily because it was very different to most other years of the 1990s and 2000s. Near average temperatures, making this the coolest year since 1996, and the most recent year to record a mean temperature below 10C. In contrast to most recent years, the first four months of the year were rather cold, while the autumn was notably warm. After a notably warm, sunny, summer-like May, the summer itself was disappointing again. A notably frosty year, and notably thunder-free. Sunshine was slightly above average overall.
Monthly Data
| Year |
Month |
Max temp (°C) |
Min temp (°C) |
Mean temp (°C) |
Highest Max |
Date |
Lowest Min |
Date |
Air frosts |
Total precip (mm) |
% of average sun (est) |
Days of thunder |
Days of sleet or snow |
Days of snow lying |
Days with
fog |
Days with hail |
| 2001 |
1 |
6.1 |
0.9 |
3.5 |
9.5 |
23 |
-4.2 |
15 |
10 |
63 |
150 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| 2001 |
2 |
7.5 |
0.3 |
3.9 |
11.6 |
14 |
-3.9 |
25 |
16 |
82 |
150 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| 2001 |
3 |
7.9 |
1.3 |
4.6 |
13.5 |
31 |
-10.2 |
3 |
12 |
58 |
120 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
| 2001 |
4 |
10.4 |
3.7 |
7.1 |
16.2 |
1 |
-1.3 |
21 |
3 |
74 |
90 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| 2001 |
5 |
16.2 |
7.9 |
12.1 |
20.9 |
22 |
1.8 |
1 |
0 |
23 |
140 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2001 |
6 |
16.3 |
9.6 |
13.0 |
22.3 |
27 |
4.1 |
3 |
0 |
53 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2001 |
7 |
19.4 |
12.8 |
16.1 |
26.3 |
28 |
6.8 |
20 |
0 |
40 |
90 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| 2001 |
8 |
19.6 |
12.1 |
15.9 |
24.6 |
14 |
6.9 |
28 |
0 |
73 |
100 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2001 |
9 |
15.6 |
10.5 |
13.1 |
18.7 |
5 |
7.0 |
16 |
0 |
57 |
70 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2001 |
10 |
15.5 |
10.3 |
12.9 |
19.8 |
11 |
5.3 |
28 |
0 |
58 |
110 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 2001 |
11 |
10.6 |
4.5 |
7.6 |
15.2 |
30 |
-0.9 |
10 |
3 |
48 |
100 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| 2001 |
12 |
6.6 |
1.0 |
3.8 |
13.2 |
1 |
-6.3 |
31 |
15 |
48 |
140 |
0 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
| 2001 |
Win |
7.0 |
1.6 |
4.3 |
|
|
|
|
35 |
208 |
150 |
1 |
17 |
7 |
2 |
6 |
| 2001 |
Spr |
11.5 |
4.3 |
7.9 |
|
|
|
|
15 |
155 |
120 |
1 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
| 2001 |
Sum |
18.4 |
11.5 |
15.0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
166 |
100 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| 2001 |
Aut |
13.9 |
8.4 |
11.2 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
163 |
90 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 2001 |
Year |
12.6 |
6.2 |
9.4 |
|
|
|
|
59 |
677 |
110 |
3 |
34 |
11 |
6 |
19 |
Daily data can be accessed here.
Winter 2000/01: Near average temperatures, about the same as winter 1996/97. For the third successive winter, sunshine was well above average. Snow amounts were about average, similar to the winter quarter of 1998/99.
January: A fairly cold month, the coldest January since 1997, with near average rainfall. Often bright and showery and mild during the first third, then the middle third was anticyclonic with some dull days, and some sunny days. A half-hearted easterly in the third week, which brought some snow showers late on the 18th and early on the 19th, before it warmed up with sleety rain. The last week was very sunny, with some frosts towards the month's end.
February: Dull wet first third, with an easterly incursion on the 3rd/4th, which brought a dumping of snow inland, but a rather unpleasant barrage of sleet near the coast. The middle part of the month was exceptionally sunny, with warm days (temperatures often reaching 10-12C) and cold frosty nights, and it felt like early spring. A northerly commenced on the 22nd, bringing some snow at times during the remainder of the month. On the 27th/28th, however, we had sleet on the coast, while inland areas had falling and lying snow. High maxima were offset by notably low minima, so it was the coolest February since 1996. It was also the wettest recorded due to the first third, but it was also very sunny overall.
Spring 2001: At 7.9C, the coolest spring since 1996. A cold March and April, cancelled out by a warm May.
March: A cold month- the coldest since 1996, and the average minimum was the lowest of any March on this record. Very cold, bright snowy start, with 8cm on the 2nd. Overnight 2nd/3rd, there was a minimum of -10.2C, the only time I have recorded a minimum below -10C. It was mild during the second week, but cold weather with easterly winds, sunshine and snow showers returned around the 17th-21st. The first two-thirds of March 2001 were very sunny, but the final third was very dull, so overall sunshine was only slightly above average, about as much so as in March 2000.
April: A cool, mixed month- the coldest April recorded, at just 7.1C. There was a northerly snap on the 18th-20th which brought a few wintry showers. Another fairly cloudy, wet April, but again not as dull as Aprils 1993 and 1996, and not as wet as 1998 or 2000.
May: The highest average maximum recorded (16.2) but the average minima weren't as remarkable, so the mean temperature was fractionally below Mays 1998 and 1999. An exceptionally sunny, anticyclonic month, particularly during the first half. The second half had more in the way of North Sea coastal cloud, but was still mostly sunny. Also a very dry May, indeed the driest recorded.
Summer 2001: Due to some warm nights, temperatures were slightly above the long-term average, while rainfall and sunshine were about average. An unremarkable summer.
June: Cool, quite sunny first week with north-westerly winds. Dull and wet in the middle third, with a run of largely sunless days around the middle of the month. Mostly dry, sunny weather commenced on the 23rd, and thereafter it was often warm and muggy. We missed the thunderstorms on the 26th that most of the rest of the country received. Overall the coolest June since 1997, with rainfall and sunshine close to the long-term average, making it the driest June since 1996.
July: Dull and dry. The first third was dry and cloudy with a lot of low cloud from the North Sea, while the middle third was dull and unsettled. A warm, sunny final third saved the month from being as cool and cloudy overall as July 2000 was. Again, we missed all of the thundery activity.
August: A near average month overall, with a few southerly plumes, and otherwise mostly westerly winds. There was one day with thunder, which was quite a feat given that up until then we'd dodged every thunderstorm in sight.
Autumn 2001: Warm and cloudy, with an exceptional warm October, which had a comparable maximum, minimum and mean temperature to September 2001!
September: Cool, showery north-westerly winds during the first half, with near average sunshine. The second half was outstandingly dull, with cold days but relatively warm nights, and frequent north-easterly winds and low cloud off the North Sea. It was warm and sunny on the 28th.
October: Frequent south-westerly winds, and a distinct absence of cold nights, resulted in the warmest October recorded, although the mean maximum was higher in October 1995. Temperatures were only fractionally cooler than in September. Sunshine and rainfall both slightly above average.
November: Memorable for a notable early cold snap on the 8th/9th, with strong northerly winds bringing showers of hail, sleet and snow, accompanied by thunder early on the 8th. Temperatures jumped up from 2C to 6C on a couple of occasions, when the wind veered north-easterly and exposed us to the warming effects of the North Sea. Otherwise, the first half was generally sunny, while the second half was dull and mostly anticyclonic. Outstandingly warm on the 30th. It was a very similar month to November 1999.
December: Changeable, relatively mild start, but then mostly anticyclonic with variable cloud cover. The final third was cold and bright with frequent northerly winds, and significant snow on the 22nd and again on the 30th. Christmas Day was technically a "white Christmas" because a ten-minute flurry of wet snow occurred at 7:30am, but it wasn't a white Christmas in my book, as hardly any of it settled, and the resulting smattering of cover had gone within ten minutes.
Overall, at 9.4C, a cool year by recent standards. The total of 59 air frosts was comfortably the highest recorded in any year. It was also the snowiest year since 1996 and had the highest frequency of hail since 1996.
