1971

The all-time record high for January was equalled in 1971. It was a sunny year.

January. A mild and unsettled month. The cold spell over Christmas 1970 ended on the 6th when it turned mild. There was an exceptional warm spell from the 8-11th. Aber (north Wales) once again reached a record 18.3, this time on the 10th, thanks to the Fohn effect. However, temperatures over 15C were widespread. Lairg (Sutherland) reached 16.7, Scotland's highest ever January temperature. The end was quite stormy, with tornadoes reported around the London area on the 25th.

February. Slightly milder than average. Quite a dry month everywhere apart from NW Scotland; just 10 mm of rain were recorded at York and 15 mm at Worthing all month. The month had a mild start, with 15C in the NE on the 3rd.

March. 209 mm of rain fell in 4 days on the Isle of Man.

April. April was mainly dull, cold and dry, particularly in the east. It was the dullest April since 1920 in Sheffield and since 1941 in Huddersfield. 8 mm of rain fell at Nairn all month and 16 mm in Lowestoft. There was some heavy rain though in places on the 23rd and 24th: 130 mm of rain at Richmond (Yorks.) on the 24th. On the 26th up to 5-10 cm ofsnow fell in the southwesst and south Wales.

May. A very sunny month. Durham recorded 258.8 hours of sunshine in the month, and Marchmount in Berwickshire 237.8 hours. Temperatures were near average. It was though quite dry, particularly in the South Midlands, SW England and South Wales. Teignmouth recorded just 10 mm of rain all month.  

June.  The month was cold (12,4C CET) and wet; it was also very dull. Across the country it was the coldest since 1828. It was particularly wet along the south coast, with four times the averate rainfall around Eastbourne. The first week was fairly dry. The second week was exceptionally cold and wet, particularly in the south. The temperature was only 8C in the Midlands on the 9th, and there was a local frost in the north. Rain broke out on the 8th, with snow on the Cairngorms. On the 10th a depression gave more rain: 82 mm of rain fell in 36 hours at Ventnor (IOW).  53.4 mm of rain fell on the 10th at Southampton, the wettest June day there since 1905. There was flooding 3' deep in Bournemouth on the 10th, and then there was flooding further north on the 11th. There was more very cold, wet weather on the 14th; 60 mm of rain in 36 hours in mid-Kent with temperatures around 10C. There was snow on the Pennines, with frosts later. More rain on the 18th, and another cool day. The second half of the month was a little better. At Gorleston (Norfolk) and Stonyhurst (Lancs.) the maximum was less than 15C on 17 days of the month. Throughout the month winds were often from the north and east. Many places failed to reach 21C once during the month. There was much flooding, and disruption to traffic and farming. Grim stuff which I have completely repressed, although it must have meant a lot of cross-country runs with the sports pitches unavailable. Now those I have not repressed. A colder June month was though to follow next year.

July. Generally warm, sunny, and dry, in great contrast to the preceding month, but with some severe thunderstorms in east Norfolk late in the month. In one storm 40 mm of rain fell in 14 minutes at Watchet (Somerset) on the 27th, and 88 mm at Gorleston on the 28th. Apart from this interlude the first three weeks and final few days of the month were anticyclonic. It was the driest July in England since 1955, and particularly dry in the southwest. The Exmouth region recorded only 4 mm, all falling on one day, making it the driest July there since 1898. Were we on holiday there that year? The hottest day of the year fell this month, but there is some confusion about exactly when and where it was. A record of 30.3C at Rugby on the 11th (possibly 30th) has since been rejected, so we are left with 30.0C at Grangemouth in central Scotland on the 7th, and Kensington Palace and St James's Park (London) on the 11th.

August. Very slightly beneath average temperature. The first two weeks were very unsettled, with some very heavy rain at times, particularly in the south. On the 9th, 83 mm of rain was recorded at Neath. 105 mm of rain fell in County Antrim on the 13th.

September. A very dry month; also mostly warm and sunny. 27C was reached in parts of NE Scotland on the 8th. Also notable for the great south Yorkshire tornado on the 26th, which caused damage to houses in Rotherham.

October. Warm and sunny at the start and end, and quite warm overall (11.3C CET - although nowhere near as good as 1969). 25 C in Wales on the 2nd; it even reached 20C at Wick that day. The 13-14th was a cold night, however, with -8C at Crawford-John and Craigie. On the 19th there were nearly 88 mm of rain at Oldham, and the wettest October day on record in Manchester. Later in the month Dalness (Argyllshire) had 162 mm of rain. 139 hours of sunshine was recorded in Sheffield, and Ross on Wye recorded its sunniest October since 1921. There is one fine October I remember at school, and I think it must have been this one. Very pleasant.

November. Dense fog on the 30th contributed to 50 vehicle pile-up on the M1 near Luton, leaving seven people dead and 40 injured. A very northerly month.

December. Very dry, and quite mild.