Daily Data for Each Month of 2005

2005- Another 10C+ warm year, quite sunny

2005 was the fourth successive year with a mean in double figures but it was the coolest since 2001.  The frequency of snow and frost were, yet again, well below normal.  

Winter 2004/05 was another mild, largely snowless one, and the prolonged easterly outbreak in late February was surprisingly lacking in potency with a lot of wet snow that struggled to settle.  It was the warmest winter since the exceptional 1997/98.  Spring 2005 was another warm one despite a cold first half of March and a couple of cold northerly outbreaks in May- but it was the coolest since 2001.  Summer 2005 contained a fair amount of hot sunny weather but had an exceptionally dull last third of July.  Autumn 2005 was looking on course to be comfortably the warmest recorded until mid-November, but then the second half of November was exceptionally cold, and so it was only the warmest autumn since 2001.  December was cold and bright, with a snowy easterly at the end- a rarity in recent years.

January 2005- A dry sunny month, yet unsettled at the same time and very windy.  Very mild

New Year's Day was quite climatic with a dramatic rainstorm in the evening followed by wintry showers, but it never got cold enough for lying snow.  The rest of the week was often cloudy and windy and there was a severe gale on the 8th which caused a considerable amount of structural damage and uprooting of trees, probably the severest gale at this location since the 25th January 1990.  Westerly winds continued until the 20th.  A brief cold snap on the 18th brought some wintry showers early on, but it warmed up during the day.  The northerly of the 22nd-25th was not very potent and brought only rain, hail and sleet showers.  It was the warmest January recorded up to this point, beating January 1993, but January 2007 was subsequently warmer.

February 2005- Warm first half, easterly outbreak in the last third with frequent wet snow but limited accumulations

The first 11 days were generally warm, cloudy and anticyclonic.  There was a northerly outbreak on the 13th-16th but since the Arctic was 10-15C warmer than normal, temperatures only fell to around average.  The northerly on the 19th/20th was rather more potent and produced a fair bit of snow on the 20th, which turned slushy during the afternoon.  There was more snow early on the 21st and a dusting early on the 23rd, but with the winds having swung around to the east, the warming effects of the North Sea kept accumulations mostly limited to inland parts (parts of County Durham had several inches).  The weather was mostly bright and showery during this period with showers predominantly of sleet and wet snow.

March 2005- Cold first half more than offset by very warm second half, exceptionally dull

The first half of March had frequent north and east winds but only occasional wet snowfalls, there was never any meaningful accumulations on the ground, though inland parts of the region were heavily hit on the 2nd.  Warm but dull weather arrived on the 15th, then the 19th was a one-off sunny day with a remarkable high of 17.2C.  It was warm but quite cloudy with southerly winds until the 25th, then easterly winds brought persistent low cloud off the North Sea, and it was also very wet on the 26th.  This was the dullest March in the region since 1996.

April 2005- Quite warm and wet, a potent Arctic outbreak on the 8th

April started warm and quite sunny, then a cold northerly outbreak occurred on the 8th.  On a day of rain showers on the 6th, one shower produced hail and sleet, then there were frequent snow showers on the 8th, and a hail shower during the morning produced a dusting on the ground.  It was the first instance of snow in April since 2001 and the maximum was only 5.7C.  A warm, quite sunny spell followed, then around midmonth it was very wet and cloudy.  Easterly winds prevailed from the 19th onwards, but there was a lack of persistent low cloud from the North Sea and there were some sunny days as well as some dull ones.  It was warm again on the last four days.

May 2005- Warm early and late, cold northerlies at times in the middle, a sunny month

The month started warm and sunny with 20.1C on the 2nd, then a northerly arrived between the 7th and 10th, and there were heavy showers with hail and thunder on the 7th and 8th.  The 11th-15th were dry and sunny with some cold nights, then a renewed northerly on the 16th-18th produced another cold snap.  It was generally warm after the 19th, with a mix of sunshine and showers and southerly winds on most days.  There was a cold cloudy day on the 27th with a max of 12.5C, while at the same time it was 31C in London- an amazing contrast.  It was the... ahem... least warm May since 1997.

June 2005- Cool cloudy first half, then an exceptionally warm, sunny second half

The first week of June was mainly cloudy with rain at times.  A northerly plunge resulted in an exceptionally cold night on the 6th/7th with a minimum of 3.5C, the second lowest recorded for June.  Three dry sunny days followed but then the 10th-15th were cool and very dull.  It became muggy on the 16th and 17th then the sun broke through on the 18th.  The 19th was very hot (26.8C) with two potent thunderstorms that afternoon/evening and torrential rain.  Most of the rest of the month was warm and sunny, often with almost unbroken sunshine.  It was briefly cloudy on the 24th/25th and again on the 29th/30th, the 30th having some showers and thunder in the afternoon.

July 2005- Notably warm sunny second week but exceptionally dull last third

The first week of July was generally cloudy and wet at times with westerly winds, though it started warm.  From the 8th to 17th, an anticyclonic spell ensued with plenty of sunshine and it was quite hot at times, particularly on the 10th and 17th which reached 26-27C.  However, the last third, with a sluggish northerly airflow, was exceptionally cloudy- there was hardly any sun at all during the entire of the last 11 days.  The 28th-30th were wet as well.

August 2005- A sunny month, often on the cool side, but with a warm third week

Northerly winds dominated during the first half but they were not always particularly cold.  The weather was bright and showery on most days and there were some quite impressive convective cloudscapes.  It was warm and humid around the 10th-12th, with some rumbles of thunder during a heavy shower on the 13th.  The second half was quite dry, and the 17th and 18th were very warm (while in the meantime it was cool and cloudy down south).  The rest of the month was mostly sunny.  A Spanish plume on the 31st brought severe thunderstorms that evening, with streetlights coming on far earlier than usual.  With close to average temperatures it was the coolest August since 1999.

September 2005- Warm, dry and sunny for the third consecutive September

 At times, September felt like an extension of the summer.  The first week was generally warm and sunny, but there was a cold wet day on the 9th.  It was generally warm and dry with plenty of sunshine during the rest of the month, but there was a cold northerly on the 15th/16th which brought cool, crisp sunny weather.  A westerly of cold origin came in late on the 23rd resulting in a surprisingly cold night on the 23rd/24th, with 3.8C the lowest minimum in September since 1997.  Overall, it was the warmest September since 1999.

October 2005- Very warm nights, exceptionally dull

High pressure dominated during the first third of the month, but it was a cloudy high and most days were cloudy.  The 12th was a dull wet day and was followed by a brief cool sunny interlude.  It turned changeable during the second half of the month and stayed generally cloudy, and the period 21st-25th was particularly wet and cloudy.  There was a one-off sunny day on the 27th, when the sun shone all day and the temperature rose to a remarkable 18.9C- unusual for this late in the month.  The 30th, although quite cloudy, was almost as warm.  It was easily the dullest October since I started recording, and the warmest since the record-breaking one in 2001.

November 2005- Exceptionally sunny, sharp contrast between warm first half and cold second half

The first half of November was generally changeable with westerly winds, but it was also quite sunny, and it was exceptionally warm at times.  16.4C max on the 3rd.  A northerly on the 16th was not especially potent, but it brought a spell of exceptionally sunny, anticyclonic weather with sharp night frosts.  There was a sleet shower late on the 17th.  It turned cloudier on the 21st and 22nd but the sun was back by the 23rd.  There was a northerly with some snow flurries early on the 25th, but it turned warmer as the wind picked up off the North Sea.  There were more snow showers on the 28th but only the odd dusting resulted from them.  There was roughly twice as much sunshine this month as there had been during October, and it was the coldest November since 1998.

December 2005- Dry and sunny for the third successive December, cold snowy end

It was cloudy and wet during the first week with close to average temperatures.  High pressure brought very warm, sunny weather in the second week with southerly winds.  A northerly brought some low temperatures on the 16th-18th, then it turned warm with variable cloud, before temperatures fell towards Christmas.  Easterly winds brought sun and showers starting late on the 26th, the showers turned wintry on the 27th, and provided accumulations of snow on the 28th.  The snow did not amount to much (an aggregate of 3 cm), but stuck around until the end of the month, and there was more wet snow on the 30th. The 09-21 maximum on the 29th was -1.2C, the lowest since 29 December 1995.  It was the coldest December since 2001.