2003
Probably the North East's sunniest year on record, just beating 1989 and 1995. It was also very dry- the driest year recorded up to 2003, but beaten by 2006. A warm year, with the mean maximum temperature equalled subsequently only in 2006, but several years have been warmer for minimum temperature, so overall it just crept above 10C.
February to April were exceptionally sunny, the summer was the equal warmest on record (alongside 2006), and sunshine continued well above average for the rest of the year. It was also a decent year for thunderstorms with 10 thunder-days, the highest since 1999.
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 |
| 2003 |
1 |
7.3 |
2.5 |
4.9 |
13.6 |
26 |
-3.4 |
5 |
9 |
63 |
100 |
0 |
9 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
| 2003 |
2 |
7.1 |
0.4 |
3.8 |
12.3 |
24 |
-5.0 |
15 |
12 |
19 |
160 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
| 2003 |
3 |
11.7 |
2.9 |
7.3 |
15.5 |
23 |
-1.2 |
17 |
3 |
18 |
160 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 2003 |
4 |
13.3 |
5.5 |
9.4 |
18.8 |
16 |
0.9 |
10 |
0 |
32 |
140 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
5 |
15.4 |
8.3 |
11.8 |
23.5 |
31 |
2.9 |
15 |
0 |
58 |
100 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
6 |
19.4 |
11.4 |
15.4 |
24.0 |
1 |
8.7 |
21 |
0 |
61 |
120 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
7 |
20.0 |
13.2 |
16.6 |
25.1 |
19 |
9.9 |
13 |
0 |
62 |
100 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
8 |
20.5 |
12.7 |
16.6 |
25.0 |
9 |
7.6 |
30 |
0 |
20 |
130 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
9 |
18.2 |
9.6 |
13.9 |
24.0 |
15 |
3.3 |
27 |
0 |
35 |
130 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
10 |
12.5 |
5.7 |
9.1 |
18.6 |
1 |
0.2 |
22 |
0 |
37 |
140 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| 2003 |
11 |
10.8 |
5.4 |
8.1 |
15.8 |
18 |
-2.8 |
23 |
3 |
50 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
12 |
7.8 |
1.8 |
4.8 |
13.0 |
25 |
-7.3 |
31 |
13 |
36 |
150 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
Win |
7.1 |
2.4 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
|
24 |
164 |
120 |
0 |
13 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
| 2003 |
Spr |
13.5 |
5.6 |
9.5 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
108 |
130 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 2003 |
Sum |
20.0 |
12.4 |
16.2 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
143 |
120 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2003 |
Aut |
13.8 |
6.9 |
10.4 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
122 |
120 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| 2003 |
Year |
13.7 |
6.6 |
10.1 |
|
|
|
|
40 |
491 |
125 |
10 |
16 |
7 |
4 |
6 |
Daily data can be accessed here.
Winter 2002/03: Fairly mild. An exceptionally dull December was more than offset by an exceptionally sunny February. Snow-wise it was rather below average again, but less so than 1999/2000, and contained a big snow event in late January.
January: Quite mild. It started with a cold spell, but temperatures never fell far below average, and we had some light wet snow which produced scant accumulations. Often mild and cloudy during the middle sector of the month. Notably mild around the 26th, then a potent northerly blast towards the end with 10cm lying snow on the 30th/31st- probably the deepest at the location since February 1991.
February: A wintry start with a cold north-westerly, and some lying snow early on the 4th. Most of the rest of the month was dry and sunny with high pressure, and warm days were offset by cold nights. A mild end. The month was very similar temperature-wise to February 2001, just managing to be the coldest since 1996. With only 19mm rain, the driest February since 1998.
Spring 2003: The warmest spring recorded up to 2003, though subsequently annihilated by the outstandingly warm Spring 2007. It was very dry (the driest since 1997) and also very sunny- about as sunny as the springs of 1948, 1982 and 1990, and slightly sunnier than Spring 1995. Notable for its complete absence of snow- the only spring to have no snow at all.
March: Mild, unsettled first third, then the rest of the month was dry and very sunny, with high pressure in charge. Often very warm by day, with the highest average maximum since 1997, but nights were often on the cool side, so as a whole it was only the warmest March since 2000. The driest March since 1997. Sunshine was exceptionally above average.
April: Not as outstandingly sunny as March, but still, sunshine was well above average. A very warm April, though subsequently exceeded by the remarkable April 2007. Warm spell around the 16th but the onshore breeze kept temperatures down, with a high of "only" 19C (by contrast, it reached 24C at Durham, which is insanely high for mid-April!) A showery end. Overall, it was quite a similar month to April 2002, but slightly warmer and sunnier.
May: Unsettled with westerly winds and a mix of sunshine and showers, with a particularly showery second week. Temperatures were near-normal for most of the month, but a very warm end ensured that overall, it was yet another warm May. Sunshine and rainfall were close to average.
Summer 2003: The warmest summer recorded, alongside 2006- the mean maximum was similar to that of Summer 1995, but the mean minimum was almost 1C higher. It was a sunny summer with slightly below average rainfall, and some good thunderstorms.
June: A remarkable summer month- a full 1.5C warmer than the next warmest June. Southerly and south-westerly winds prevailed, giving a mix of settled, sunny spells, and showery thundery spells. Severe storms early on the 17th, and quite a potent area of thunderstorms moved across the region on the 22nd, following a BBC forecast which uttered the immortal "hopefully north-east England will miss the storms". It was easily the warmest June recorded to date, and also easily the sunniest since 1996. Rainfall was well up to the average due to the showers and thunderstorms.
July: A bit disappointing after the noteworthy June. There was again some warm sunny weather about, with a very warm sunny second week, and sunshine, showers and thunder during the third week, but the first and last weeks were mostly dull and unsettled with warm nights. It was the warmest July since 1999, with the high average minimum playing a large part in this. Sunshine was near or slightly above average.
August: Very warm and sunny during the first 9 days, but without the exceptional heat that inland parts of the region had. There was a dramatic thunderstorm on 10 August. It was dry with sunny intervals around midmonth, but disappointingly cloudy for a week-long spell in the final third, before rather cool, brighter, showery weather moved in during the last few days. The warmest August since 1997, and the driest and sunniest since 1995, the first 9 days contributing much of the month's total sunshine.
Autumn 2003: Dry and very sunny- about as dry as Autumn 1997- with plenty of interesting weather too.
September: A very interesting month with a large variety of weather types. The first week began dry, sunny and increasingly warm, then there was a thundery breakdown, then sunshine and showers during the second week. It was very warm around midmonth with hazy sunshine. An abrupt temperature drop on the 23rd, followed by much cooler weather and some cold nights. The average maximum was the highest since 1999, but the average minimum was the lowest since 1997, so the mean temperature was only slightly above the long-term average. It was a dry sunny month overall, the sunniest since 1999.
October: Cold and sunny. It had a fairly unsettled first third, but with good sunny spells, and quite a potent northerly on the 4th. The middle third was dry with variable cloud cover, often imported from the North Sea via easterly winds. A notable cold spell started on the 20th with north and east winds, and there were thunderstorms late on the 22nd. Some inland parts of the region had snow. The coldest October overall since 1993.
November: Mild and changeable, but there was a brief cold snap around the 20th-22nd, featuring the lowest November minima since 1996.
December: Near average temperatures. There was a mild unsettled first half, but it was cold at times in the second half, with thundersnow early on the 22nd, and severe cold towards the month's end. Christmas Day was boring, dry, cloudy and very mild. The month was somewhat sunnier than average.
Overall, at 10.1C, yet another warm year, and exceptionally sunny. It was quite a frosty year by recent standards, with 40 air frosts, illustrating the tendency for clear skies. Hail was again infrequent.
