1918

1918 saw the wettest September on record, and the coldest of the century for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Summer was quite good, but the period 26 August to 10 October was cold, very wet, dull, and windy.

January. Very cold, especially in the north, with severe frost and much snow in the first half of the month. There was a widespread maximum of only -6C on the 8th. The temperature fell to -19C at West Linton on the 14th. A rapid thaw on the 18th led to flooding in the southeast.

February. Mild.

March. A warm spell near the end of the month. 22C was recorded in parts of England on the 23rd and 24th.

April. Cooler than average, with many dull days, and it was wet in the south and east.

May. Warm, with some severe thunderstorms. 30C at Reading on the 22nd, one of the earliest dates for such a high reading (although see April 1949). Most notable thunderstorms on the 17th; 50mm of rain in one hour around Wolverhampton, Stafford, and Lincoln. The most severe storm affected Bedfordshire, around Woburn and Ampthill, midafternoon. Eversholt suffered severe flooding. Lidlington recorded 82mm in three hours. Heavy hail, too: drifts 3' deep, remained in places for a couple of days. Water rushed down valleys, and parts of the wall of Woburn Park were washed away. More storms damaged crops in Lincoln. More storms on the 22nd; 66 mm at Shifnal (Shrops.), and lightning damage to Leominster.

June. Dry and sunny but with some cold nights.

July. Warm, dry sunny first week, then cool, with fine end. A wet month. More storms; a hailstorm damaged crops and greenhouses in Surrey on the night of the 16th. -2C recorded at West Linton (near Stirling) on the 10th.

August. Warm and dry; it was 33.9C in Canterbury on the 22nd, the hottest day of the year.

September. The wettest September on record, with a total of 189.5 mm (232%) in England and Wales, with many places of course much wetter. For example, Snowdon and Borrowdale (Lake District) had about 760 mm. Many places had rain every day of the month. Nearly 5 inches of rain fell at Douglas (Isle of Man) on the 15th. It was very cold as well, and notably windy. The highest temperature all month at Aberdeen was 14.4C, and even many places in southern England could not reach 20C. It was the coldest September of the century in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

October. Dull, damp and foggy.

November. Armistice Day, the 11th, was quiet, dry, mild (14C) and quite sunny except in the far south where it was misty start. Generally a cold, dry and sunny month but with fog and mist at the start and end of the month.

December. Very mild. It was generally wet except for SE England and N and E Scotland where it was drier than average.