Daily Data for Each Month of 2004

2004- Another consistently warm year, a very wet summer

2004 was the third successive year that just sneaked in at over 10C- indeed, the years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and now 2004 have all averaged either 10.0C or 10.1C, so homogeneity clearly reigns.  The frequency of frost was low, as in many recent years, but the frequency of hail and of snow cover were not far from normal due to some potent northerlies in January and February.  August 2004 was the wettest calendar month recorded.  There was a notable sequence of "record-setting" months for rainfall- the wettest August and second-wettest October, and the driest September, November and December.

Winter 2003/04 was quite a mild winter, but with a few potent northerlies, which resulted in the snowiest winter quarter since 1995/96.   Spring 2004 was yet another of those "homogeneously warm" ones for the most part, with the exception of a fairly cold first half of March.  However, it was not as warm or dry as last year.  Summer 2004 was exceptionally wet due to the August, with a slight shortage of sunshine, while temperatures were a little above normal.  The autumn contained a notable contrast between very dry months in September and November and a very wet October.  December was quite a dry sunny month.

January 2004- Mostly warm, very wet, cold snowy interlude at the end

January began with a week of moderately warm, cloudy weather with south-westerly winds.  It turned very changeable and windy towards the middle of the month, with westerlies.  There were some wet frontal snowfalls on the 14th, 15th and 16th which produced accumulations further inland (e.g. at Durham) but Cleadon saw no accumulations.  The period 19-24 January was very dull with some drizzly rain at times.  There was a northerly outbreak on the 26th-29th, and a band of heavy snow spread south on the 28th with a drop in temperature from +2C to -2C in just half an hour.

February 2004- Exceptionally warm, cloudy first half, colder sunny second half, big snowstorms at the end

February started cloudy, windy and exceptionally warm, with 14.9C on the 3rd.  There was a north-westerly on the 7th which brought gales and some showers which briefly turned sleety.  Anticyclonic gloom was frequent during the second week, but the third week, while continuing anticyclonic, was generally sunny.  A brief northerly outbreak on the 22nd brought some showers of wet snow, and a second northerly on the 25th-29th brought dry sunny weather initially, then some wet snow on the 26th and 27th.  Then overnight 27th/28th very heavy persistent snow showers brought 5 inches of snow cover- the deepest since February 1991.

March 2004- Quite dry, near-average temperatures

March started off with the remains of the late-February cold snap, but daytime temperatures had recovered quickly and the snow melted quite quickly over the first three days.  The weather was quite cold through to the 13th, with some sunny intervals until the 9th when an easterly flow brought extensive cloud cover and some wintry showers.  It turned warm but dull in the third week with 16.3C on the 16th.  The 21st had some impressive hail showers, but thereafter it stayed mostly dry and cloudy while inland parts had sunshine and showers.  Dry warm weather with sunny intervals ended the month, except for the 31st which had low cloud.

April 2004- Warm, but dull and wet

The month started with quite a showery week with thunder on the evening of the 2nd.  The second week was mostly dry with variable amounts of sunshine and it was quite warm, then the third week was very wet, especially so on the 17th-19th.  It turned very warm on the 24th/25th with 20.6C reached on the 25th, then there was some distant thunder on the 26th.  The 27th-30th were dull and drizzly with extensive low cloud from the North Sea.  Overall it was as warm as April 2003, but the average minimum has been exceeded only in 2007.

May 2004- Warm, dry and sunny

High pressure dominated bringing mainly dry sunny weather.  The first week had a mix of sun and showers, then a northerly in the second week (unusual in that it had a warm source) brought a lot of low cloud.  The third week was mostly sunny and warm with 22.6C on the 16th, then a brief north-westerly outbreak on the 20th/21st brought sharp showers.  It was mainly dry and sunny again for most of the rest of the month before turning more unsettled at the end.  However, it was not as sunny as May 2001.

June 2004- Warm dry first half, cool changeable second half

June 2004 began cloudy and drizzly but from the 5th to 16th it was very dry and warm.  Sunshine was variable rather than plentiful, with some very warm, sunny weather around the 6th and 13th-16th with 24C reached both times, but the 8th-11th were quite humid with a fair amount of cloud.  A northerly outbreak brought a mix of sun and sharp showers from the 18th to 21st, with cool nights.  After a sunny day on the 22nd, there was a very wet night overnight 22nd/23rd, and the rest of the month was cool and wet and quite cloudy at times.  It was the second successive June with a significantly above average mean temperature, and after no June with an average maximum of 18C or above from 1993 to 2002 inclusive, two successive Junes managed it.

July 2004- Cool wet first half, warm dry second half

Sunshine and showers dominated during the first week, and there were some very heavy showers with thunder on the 3rd and 4th, the thunderstorm on the 3rd being quite dramatic.  It was mainly dull and wet in the second week with a particularly cold day on the 8th (max of 12.1C).  It was warmer in the second half, and there was a warm spell on the 18th-22nd with some thunderstorms early on the 22nd.  The last week was dry with some hazy sunshine.  Overall this was the coolest July since 2000 and the only month of 2004 to return a below average mean temperature.

August 2004- Exceptionally wet, dull with plenty of low cloud in the first half but brighter in the second half

The first 13 days of August were dominated by onshore winds and extensive low cloud from the North Sea.  Two of the period's regular thunderstorms over England and Wales made it over to the Tyne and Wear coast but were pretty feeble by the time they got here.  Slow-moving areas of rain gave exceptional rainfall totals.  The 14th-18th were warm and humid with sunny spells and some sharp showers, and there was a big thunderstorm on the evening of the 18th.  After a couple of dull wet days the last third was mostly bright and showery and quite cool, though there was another couple of dull wet days on the 23rd/24th.  The wettest calendar month recorded, with 143mm.

September 2004- Very dry, warm sunny first third then quite changeable

 The first third of September was very dry and quite warm, with plenty of sunshine.  After that, westerly winds reigned and brought some light rain, mainly in the form of showers, but rainfall remained below average and sunshine remained above average.  There was a brief northerly on the 23rd/24th but it was not particularly potent.  Overall not a lot happened, really- except that it ended up the driest September recorded.

October 2004- Dull and very wet, cool days and warm nights

There was a showery first week with cool temperatures followed by mainly dry cloudy weather until the 11th.  From the 12th to 20th it was generally very wet, quite cloudy, and rather cool.  Temperatures shifted to slightly above average values during the last third, offsetting the generally cool first two-thirds, and it continued generally cloudy and very wet, especially on the 20th-22nd.  The wet October was a huge contrast with the dry September.  Like in October 2000, temperatures were homogeneously near-average for most of the month and there were no warm days or cold nights.  It was only marginally drier than October 2000.

November 2004- Cloudy, mild and exceptionally dry

The first week was mainly dry and cloudy and warm, but in the second week there were a couple of colder, brighter interludes from northerly outbreaks on the 10th and more especially the 12th/13th.  There was some drizzle at times during the warm cloudy spells.  After  another warm cloudy spell on the 15th-18th, a potent northerly outbreak arrived between the 18th and 20th.  There was no precipitation and therefore no snow (though it was cold enough), and it was dry and sunny, with the lowest November temperatures since 1996.  After the northerly it continued dry and cloudy for most of the rest of the month.  Overall the driest November recorded.

December 2004- Another very dry month, cloudy anticyclonic first half, sunny "westerly" second half

The anticyclonic gloom of November continued for most of the first half of December, with high pressure very persistent to the east of Britain.  Occasional breaks in the cloud brought cold nights on the 2nd/3rd, 7th/8th and 9th/10th.  The second half was more changeable but it was also very sunny.  There was a cold snap on the 18th-20th with some wintry showers overnight 18th/19th and then some wet snow on the 20th.  After a very warm spell, Christmas Day was dry and sunny, and snow showers stayed out to the west.  Boxing Day then had a few rain showers.  Overall, temperatures were slightly above average and it was the driest December recorded.