Daily data can be accessed here.
Winter 2001/02: Cold December with snowy end, but very mild weather during January and February more than compensated, so it was another mild winter again but not outstandingly so- about as mild as 1999.
January: Cold, sunny start, with an ice day on the 2nd- the first maximum below freezing since December 1995. However, it soon became dull and mild, and the snow had largely gone by the 4th. The second half of the month was very mild and windy, and especially mild around the 21st. There was a brief snow event on the 25th, with a dusting around lunchtime, before rain swept in. Extremely windy on the 29th, with structural damage. It was about as mild as January 1999, it was the driest since 1997, and the dullest since 1998.
February: Mild, wet and windy. Particularly mild during the first half with frequent south-westerly winds. The second half had a mix of mild and fairly cold interludes, with very strong winds on the 22nd, followed by snow the following night, and then a warm-up with sleet on the afternoon of the 23rd. There was more snow on the afternoon of the 28th, before a wind picked up off the North Sea and it turned back to rain. Otherwise a February largely devoid of wintry weather. Sunshine was above average, but less so than in Februarys 1999, 2000 and 2001. The warmest since 1998.
Spring 2002: Warm- about as warm as Spring 1999. It was notable for its lack of frosts and snow. Late March and April had plenty of sunshine.
March: It began with hail/sleet showers, but soon became mild and unsettled. Wet snow fell on the 9th, and there was another wintry snap midmonth with sleety showers, but otherwise another mild, snow and frost free month. The last week was very sunny, with high pressure in charge, notably warm days, and fairly cool nights. A warm March, but not as warm as Marches 1997, 1998 or 2000. Sunshine was above average due to the sunny last week.
April: Warm and sunny. Temperatures were mostly close to average during the first half, with some north and east winds, and plenty of sunshine. The second half was often warm, with 20C reached on the 24th, notably early in the season. A showery end meant that it was only the driest April since 1997. The warmest April recorded up until 2002, but beaten in 2003. It was the sunniest since 1990.
May: Windy, with warm nights. Cool, sunny first week, but a dull second week with plenty of North Sea coastal cloud. The second half was very windy, with sunshine and showers on most days. It was the... ahem, least warm May since 1997.
Summer 2002: Dull, and quite wet. Rather like 2001, temperatures were a little above the long-term average, due to warm nights.
June: Very windy, with frequent south-westerlies, and warm nights. It began with two fine days and a thunderstorm- the thunderstorm on the evening of the 2nd was particularly dramatic- then after a couple of bright showery days, it became dull, wet at times, and windy. Warm and very humid around the 17th. Sunshine was somewhat below average, though it was not as dull as June 1997.
July: Cool, mostly dull wet first half, although the 10th-13th were mostly sunny, with occasional showers. The second half was warmer, and often cloudy, but there was some good warm sunny weather towards the end, before sea fog intervened on the last two days. Temperatures and sunshine were close to the long-term average.
August: Warm, humid first third, with some decent sunny spells, and very dramatic thunderstorms on the evening of the 7th. The middle third of the month was often warm and sunny, but the final third was mostly dull with cool days and warm nights. The warm nights were remarkable- enough to make it the warmest August since 1997 even though the average maximum was close to normal.
Autumn 2002: Moderately warm, dull and wet.
September: A sunny first third, with particularly pleasant anticyclonic spell at the beginning. However, the remaining two-thirds of the month were mostly very boring, dull and dry, as anticyclonic gloom reigned. It was the warmest September since 1999- again, achieved mainly through high overnight minima. With just 26mm, the driest September since 1997. Sunshine was a little below average.
October: Quite an exciting month. It had a warm, sunny start, then turned more unsettled, with a significant cold snap in the third week, and a hard frost overnight 19th/20th. Cool, unsettled last third, mostly with sunshine and showers. It was (just) the coolest October since 1993, and rather wet, but sunshine was around normal.
November: Changeable, mild first half with frequent westerly and south-westerly winds, and decent amounts of sunshine. However, the second half was mostly dull. A brief cold snap around the 18th, otherwise it was a mild month- the warmest since 1997. Very wet weather near both ends of the month were enough to make it another very wet November, though less so than those of 1995 and 2000.
December: Frequent south-easterly winds resulted in the dullest December in the region since at least 1989, and in some places since 1978. Wet start, then dry, cloudy south-easterlies for ten days with the temperature hovering around 5C the whole time. Sunshine was largely absent until the 18th-20th, when a cold, bright, frosty spell ensued. Very mild, unsettled final third, but still dull, although Christmas Day had some decent sunny periods. The average maximum was slightly below normal, but the average minimum was the highest recorded for December. It was about as warm as December 2000 overall.
Overall, at 10.1C, another warm year. With just 10 days of snow falling, and 4 of snow lying, the most snowless year recorded, and the frequency of hail and thunder were also remarkably low. A benign, boring, mild year.
