Met Office: February 2024 Warmest February On Record For England, Wales; S. England Wettest Since 1836

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Last month was the warmest February on record in England and Wales and the wettest on record in southern England, according to provisional figures from the Met Office. The UK as a whole had its second warmest February, with a mean temperature across the month of 6.3C, behind the record of 6.8C set in 1998. The UK’s 10 warmest Februarys on record, in a data series going back to 1884, include 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2019.

The south of England had its wettest February on record, in a series going back to 1836, with many parts of the region recording well over twice their average rainfall for the month. Mike Kendon, a 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.”

Average rainfall across the UK last month was 139.8mm, ranking just outside the top 10 wettest Februarys on record. The UK’s wettest February on record was in 2020 with average rainfall of 213.7mm.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/01/february-was-warmest-on-record-in-england-and-wales-met-office-says

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