The first half of the month was very cold with some heavy snowfalls. Thereafter
the weather became much milder and more settled. The mean temperature for the
month was close to normal. Sunshine duration was also close to normal and rainfall
varied from well below normal over north-west England to above normal over parts of
East Anglia and south-east England.
1st to 7th: It was very cold during the first part
of the month with snowfalls in many areas. This was the most widespread snowfall
as a whole since February 1991. Frequent snow showers affected many eastern
areas on the 2nd, especially south-east England where 15 to 30 cm accumulated
in parts of London and the Home Counties. In the evening the heaviest snowfall
moved northwards into north-east England. On 3rd there were further heavy snow
showers across south-west England. Overnight there were some sharp frosts in
places with -9.6 °C at Odiham (Hampshire) and -9.4 °C
at Mickleham (Surrey). On 4th, a band of rain moved up from the south during
the evening, turning readily to snow as it moved towards the Midlands, with
16 cm of snow at Upper Lambourne (Berkshire) and 11 cm at Boscombe Down (Wiltshire).
Overnight on the 5th/6th a slow-moving front spread initially rain, which turned
to snow across south-west England and many inland areas recorded 15 cm or more.
On 6th, places across southern England were very cold as temperatures struggled
above freezing, with 1.7 °C at Writtle (Essex). The 7th remained cold,
but was mainly dry with sunny spells.
8th to 16th: A mixture of rain, sleet and snow spread eastwards on 8th and
further rain moved in to southern and central areas during the 9th. Overnight
and into the morning of 10th wet and windy weather moved eastwards across southern
England, with snow over the higher parts of the West Country. Gusts of 40-50
m.p.h. occurred and the combination of rain and thawing snow led to flooding in
places. The 11th saw sunshine and wintry showers. On 12th snow gradually spread
southwards across north-east England at first, then East Anglia and south-east England, with
accumulations of 5 to 10 cm locally over higher ground. Daytime temperatures
were very cold or cold across eastern parts of England, with maximum temperatures
of 1 to 3 °C. From 13th the weather became more settled with no further
widespread snow, but it remained cold with temperatures as low as –5.8 °C
at Farnborough (Hampshire) overnight on the 13th. It wasn’t until the
16th that daytime temp rose above 10 °C.
17th to 22nd: High pressure was established in the second half of the month
bringing milder and generally dry conditions for all, although mainly weak
fronts brought occasional light rain and drizzle to many parts at times. Generally
mild, with a top temperature of 13.3 °C at Boscombe Down on the 22nd.
23rd to 28th: A mild period with temperatures generally
above the monthly average. Little in the way of any significant rainfall. The
27th was exceptionally mild with temperatures around 15 °C in the London
area; 15.4 °C was
recorded at Kew Gardens (Greater London).