Mike Kendon

Areas of expertise:

• Climate monitoring for the UK based on observations from the land network of weather stations

• UK climate observational data analysis

• Software development of the UK climate monitoring system

• Communication and presentation of UK climate data

My Publications - Kendon, M

Email [email protected]

Current activities

Mike develops and maintains UK climate monitoring software, products and systems. This includes the Climate Grid software which is used to create the HadUK-Grid dataset of gridded climate data for the UK, and associated climate monitoring products. This the principal data source for monitoring the UK's climate based on the land network of weather stations, with monthly temperature extending back to 1884 and monthly rainfall back to 1836.

The emphasis of Mike's work is re-engineering the UK climate monitoring system to deliver a stable, traceable, well documented system that is easily maintained. This is intended to provide a long-term solution for UK climate monitoring lasting decades into the future. Re-engineering this system is a long-term piece of work on which Mike has been working with other colleagues in the National Climate Information Centre for at least a decade.

Mike has been the lead author of the annual State of UK Climate reports, published as a Special Supplement to the International Journal of Climatology since 2017.

Mike has also developed numerous other climate monitoring products, including a new format Daily Weather Summary, and a new format Monthly Weather Report,  in production since 2017 and 2022 respectively, plus other tools and systems for monitoring the UK climate, including extremes, against long-term observational records. 

Mike analyses noteworthy weather events. affecting the UK such as droughts, floods, storms, heatwaves and severe winter weather. These events are placed into historical context using station data and the UK’s HadUK-Grid dataset. 

Numerous colleagues in the Met Office make use of this information including the Press Office, Operations Centre, Climate Research and Chief Scientist. External customers for reports and observational datasets include the Environment Agency, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and the Royal Meteorological Society, with many other interested users in Government and elsewhere. Examples of recent publications are given below.

In recognition for his contribution to UK climate monitoring, in particular the series of State of UK Climate reports, Mike was awarded the LG Groves Award for Meteorological Observation 2022 and, with colleagues, shared the International Journal of Climatology Editors' Award 2022. 

Publications

Kendon, M., Doherty, A., Hollis, D., Carlisle, E., Packman, S., McCarthy, M., 
Jevrejeva, S., Matthews, A., Williams, J., Garforth, J., & Sparks, T. (2024). State of the UK Climate 2023. International Journal of Climatology, 44(S1), 1–117. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8553

Kendon, M., McCarthy, M., Jevrejeva, S., Matthews, A., Williams, J., Sparks, T., & West, F. (2023). State of the UK Climate 2022. International Journal of Climatology, 43(S1), 1–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8167

Kendon, M., McCarthy, M., Jevrejeva, S., Matthews, A., Sparks, T., Garforth, J., & Kennedy, J. (2022). State of the UK Climate 2021. International Journal of Climatology, 42(Suppl. 1)(S1), 1–80. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7787

Kendon, M. and McCarthy, M. (2021) The United Kingdom's wettest day on record – so far – October 3, 2020. Weather. 76: 316-319. https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.3910.

Kendon, M., McCarthy, M., Jevrejeva, S., Matthews, A., Sparks, T., & Garforth, J. (2021). State of the UK Climate 2020. International Journal of Climatology, 41 ( Suppl. 2), 1– 76. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7285

Kendon, M., McCarthy, M., Jevrejeva, S., Matthews, A., Sparks, T. and Garforth, J. (2020), State of the UK Climate 2019. Int J Climatol, 40: 1-69. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6726

Kendon, M., Sexton, D. and McCarthy, M. (2020), A temperature of 20°C in the UK winter: a sign of the future? Weather, 75: 318-324. https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.3811

Kendon, M, McCarthy, M, Jevrejeva, S, Matthews, A, Legg, T. State of the UK climate 2018. Int J Climatol. 2019; 39 ( Suppl. 1): 1– 55. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6213

Kendon, M, McCarthy, M, Jevrejeva, S, Matthews, A, Legg, T. State of the UK climate 2017. Int J Climatol. 2018; 38 (Suppl. 2): 1– 35. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5798

Career background

Mike joined the Met Office National Climate Information Centre in 2009.

Mike graduated with an MSc in Hydrology for Environmental Management from Imperial College, London in 2004.

Mike graduated with an MEng Engineering from Cambridge University in 1996.

Before joining the Met Office, Mike spent 3 years as a hydrologist for a Civil Engineering Consultancy, primarily working on hydrological assessments for flood risk management and water resource studies for the Environment Agency. He has previously worked as an engineer for several years in the construction industry, both on site and in the design office.

Mike's particular interest is in mountain weather and climate. He has extensive hillwalking and climbing experience, both in the mountains of the UK and overseas. He is married with two children.