UK weather: February was warmest since records began in England and Wales
Last month was the warmest February in England and Wales since records began in 1884, the Met Office has said.
The mean temperature across the whole of the UK was 6.3C (43.3F), the second warmest February for the whole country since the last record of 6.8C (44.2F) was set in 1998.
The south of England also had its wettest February in a time series dating back to 1836, with much of the region experiencing more than twice the average rainfall.
Average rainfall across the UK was 139.8mm, which falls just outside the top 10 wettest Februarys on record. The highest amount of February rainfall ever was 213.7mm in 2020.
East Anglia broke records on both fronts, having had its warmest and wettest February on record. The area saw 106.4mm of rain throughout February and had a mean temperature of 8.2C (46.8F).
Overall the UK experienced less sunshine than usual – 145.6 hours – the equivalent of 90% of the long-term average.
The warm and wet pattern was also true of the rest of meteorological winter 2023/24, falling in the top five warmest and top eight wettest on record.
The average temperature was 5.3C (41.5F) across the three months and a total of 445.8mm fell in rain – 29% more than the long-term average.
There were five named storms throughout winter – Elin, Fergus, Gerritt, Henk, Isha, and Jocelyn. Storm Jocelyn was the 10th named storm and only the second time the letter J has been reached in the alphabet during the UK storm season.
Fewer cold spells likely
Mike Kendon, senior scientist at the Met Office, said: “February has perhaps been the quietest month of the winter, without any further named storms, whereas Gerrit in December and Henk and Isha in January all caused significant weather impacts.
“Despite a cold spell in the North in the first half of the month, the main theme of February is how persistently mild and wet it has been, particularly in the South, and this is largely due to the influence of Atlantic low-pressure systems bringing a predominant mild, southwesterly flow. This mild, wet theme is also true of winter overall.”
Weather data shows a clear warming trend for average winter temperatures in the UK, one that is expected to continue as a result of human-induced climate change.
This means there will still be cold spells, the Met Office said, similar to the one in the first half of January, but they are likely to be less frequent and less severe.