Climate summaries

Overview of weather across the UK for previous months, seasons and years

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UK last month

December 2020

The first week of December was unsettled and turned increasingly cold, with low pressure becoming slow-moving and giving spells of rain, with sleet and snow over high ground and locally to low levels. It turned milder from the 8th, while remaining generally wet. A south to south-westerly type dominated from the 13th to 23rd bringing bands of rain interspersed with brighter showery weather, with strong winds at times. It became colder during the last week, with widespread wet and windy weather from Storm Bella on the 26th, and cold and unsettled weather continued during the last few days with lying snow penetrating to low levels in some counties.

The provisional UK mean temperature was 4.3 °C, which is 0.5 °C above the 1981-2010 long-term average. Mean maximum temperatures were about 0.5 °C below average in Northern Ireland, but up to 0.5 °C above in most other parts of the UK. Mean minimum temperatures were close to average in Northern Ireland but 0.5 to 1.0 °C above average elsewhere. Rainfall was 135% of average overall, and was near average over much of western Scotland and Cumbria but generally above average elsewhere, with parts of eastern Scotland, East Anglia and Gloucestershire seeing more than twice the normal rainfall. Sunshine was 93% of average, and it was sunnier than average in central southern England, the Midlands and East Anglia, but sunshine was well below normal in Wales, north-west England and most of Scotland.

The UK monthly extremes were as follows: A maximum temperature of 14.9 °C was recorded at Prestatyn (Clwyd) on the 18th. A minimum temperature of -10.2 °C was recorded at Dalwhinnie (Inverness-shire) on the 30th. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 GMT on the 27th, 109 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbria). A wind gust of 92 knots (106 mph) was recorded at Needles (Isle of Wight) on the 27th. A snow depth of 18 cm was recorded at Loch Glascarnoch (Ross & Cromarty) on the 31st.

Regional values for December 2020