Climate summaries

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

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UK last month

December 2021

The weather during the early part of December was rather unsettled and chilly, though towards the middle of the month we entered a quieter spell and it turned milder. Unsettled conditions returned in time for Christmas, and, after some very cold nights in northern areas, milder weather spread north gradually to all parts, and the last three days of the month were unusually mild. Overall it was a mild and dull month, with rainfall generally near average.

The provisional UK mean temperature was 5.3 °C, which is 1.1 °C above the 1991-2020 long-term average. Northernmost areas were close to average, whereas southern areas were up to 2 degC warmer than average for the month; frosts were fewer than average except in Scotland, and mean minimum temperatures were particularly high relative to average. Parts of Scotland and northern England saw less rainfall than average, while other areas were closer to average, with some places ending up with slightly more rainfall than normal. The UK overall had 90% of average December rainfall. Sunshine was below average except in northern Scotland, with less than half the average in a few places, giving an overall figure of 65% of average, the dullest December for the UK since 1956 and the fifth dullest in a series from 1919.

The UK monthly extremes were as follows: A maximum temperature of 16.5 °C was recorded at Bala (Gwynedd) on the 31st. A minimum temperature of -10.2 °C was recorded at Braemar (Aberdeenshire) on the 22nd. In the 24 hours ending at 0900 UTC on the 31st, 97.2 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbria). A wind gust of 75 knots (86 mph) was recorded at Aberdaron (Gwynedd) on the 7th. A snow-depth of 9 cm was measured at Copley (Durham) on the 26th.

Regional values for December 2021