My personal weather records dating back to January 1993.
Cleadon, Tyne & Wear Weather Records
Weather Data
The dataset is updated approximately monthly. Data is available for:
Other Data
Monthly mean temperature data indexed by month, illustrating the warming trend. I have also compared the averages from 1993 to date with the estimated averages for 1961-90 and 1971-2000. You can find it here.
Data and Weather Equipment
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the dataset, particularly in the earlier years, as it stems mostly from amateur weather equipment. In particular most of the maximum temperature recordings have been calibrated to correct for anomalies caused by thermometer positioning, and some estimated readings have been given to cover gaps in parts of the record. However, I have done my best to create a complete record for this location, and make it as representative as possible.
Nowadays I use a professional automatic weather station (a WMR928NX) and have a Stevenson Screen for the temperature sensor (this is particularly useful as I'm often not in the area nowadays).
As a diligent weather observer I also include records of snow cover, occurences of sleet/snow, hail, thunder, gales and fog. I use a 0900-0900 recording system for temperature and follow Met Office conventions wherever possible.
Local Climate
The Tyne & Wear coast has quite a benign climate. Temperatures are moderated by the North Sea, so summers (average maxima of 18-19C) are rather cool, while winters (average maxima of 7C) are quite cold relative to most other parts of England, but mild relative to inland parts of the North East.
Rainfall is low, averaging 650mm per year, due to the shelter of the Pennines. Sunshine averaged around 1400 hours per year over the 1961-90 reference period, but in the past two decades the average has increased to 1500-1550 hours. Be warned, however, that sunny days tend to be tempered by a cold wind off the North Sea, particularly in spring and summer, and that sunshine tends to be an all-or-nothing commodity, as opposed to inland where days of broken cloud and sunny intervals are more common.
Dramatic weather is rare, with an average of only 7 days per year with thunder, and a low frequency of convective sunshine-and-showers days. Traditionally, winters on the coast tend not to be very snowy, but usually have at least one or two snowy outbreaks where the snow sticks around for a few days; snow has however become much less reliable in recent years. However, occasionally between November and March, when cold northerly and easterly airflows pass over the relatively warm North Sea, extreme instability can occur bringing heavy wintry showers and even thundersnow.
Weather Links
There are plenty of good weather sites around, here are a selection of the sites I commonly use to get weather data and reports from:
An increasingly popular weather site with a friendly forum and a wide range of weather data, including 5-minute radar within the premium area. I provide free monthly weather forecasts on the site that can be accessed within the forecast section of the site. (I also produce more detailed monthly forecasts, which are available commercially.)
The primary UK weather company. The Met Office provides a large amount of high-quality data including monthly assessments of the UK weather, maps of gridded data, station averages for 1961-90 and 1971-2000.
The website of much-respected climatologist and weather historian Philip Eden, containing a large range of statistical information including analysis of how the current month is panning out (updated frequently; often daily) and his alternative continuation of the Manley CET series.
Trevor Harley's site, which contains a wealth of information on the weather of individual months indexed both by month and by year, as well as the CET data since 1900.
A website containing weather data for Ferryhill, various data and news sources about Durham's weather, and links to websites for various weather stations across the region.