To date, the warmest year on record (CET mean of 10.66). A very sunny autumn - the sunniest since 1959. The equal second warmest spring of the century (9.93). The most thundery year since 1983.

January. Generally very mild, sunny, wet (very wet in the west) and windy. A very westerly month. Although mild, it was not exceptionally so. Storms on the 3rd. Honister Pass (in the Lake District) had 197mm in 27 hours on the 4-5th; no wonder there was extensive and serious flooding in Cumbria around then. One of the warmest days in London in a long time on the 6th. Exactly how warm, and for how long, depends on the reliability of records and where they are taken from. Gravesend (Kent) recorded 16.3; 15.4, a new January record, at Heathrow; 16.1, a new record for London, at Kensington. These are the warmest January readings for the Home Counties this century. At least it was quite sunny overall. The wettest January in 50 years in Bristol. Ball lightning reported on the 26th.

February. Slightly warmer than average (provisional 5.3C CET); a mix of arctic northwesterlies with milder interludes. Mild in the south, but cold and snowy in the far north. Severe spells 5-11 in the north, and 8-14th in the south. The most northwesterly February since 1973. Mostly dry, except for the far north. Places sheltered from the NWs were very sunny (e.g. eastern and central Scotland, NE England).

March. Slightly warmer than average, but the coolest since 1996, with almost average rainfall and sunshine. Dry in the southeast, wet in the northeast, particularly Yorkshire, where about 120mm of rain fell on the North York Moors on the 5-6th, causing severe flooding of the Derwent. Apart from this flooding in Yorkshire, outstanding events were rare: a cold snap early on, with snow over northern England on the 6th; and warm spells in the southeast on the 17th (22.1 at Kensington) and the 31st (22.0 at Rickmansworth).

April. Overall warmer and slightly wetter than average. The warmest April since 1987, and the fourth warmest in the last half a century. A mixed month, with warm spells at the start and end (nearly 21C at Northolt, London, on the 1st, the highest reading so early in the year for some time), and a cold snap in the middle, as two depressions moved across northern Scotland on the 10th and 11-12th, allowing Arctic air to sink south. -7C at Redesdale (Northumb.) on the 14th, and a max of just 2C at Gairloch on the 13th, and Bingley (West Yorks.) on the 16th. Heavy overnight snow in the north on the 16th, particularly affecting the Pennines and Yorkshire Dales. Elsewhere there were some severe storms: there was a a ten car carsh on the A30 in Cornwall as hail lay 5 cm deep. The cold spell ended on the 19th and 20th. Sunny in the southeast.

May. A very warm month, but dull in places. The warmth was due to persistent southerly winds leading to the absence of any cold days rather than any outstanding heatwave. For example, in London there was no day with a maximum beneath 15C. Three very warm spells (1-3rd, 19-20th, 27th to the end). The early May Bank Holiday was introduced in 1978, and this year saw the warmest before 2018, with 23.6C recorded.Southampton reached 27C on the 29th. There were frequent thunderstorms throughout the month, with severe outbreaks on the 19th, 27th, and 29th. Hail 25mm in diameter was reported at Wigan on the 10th, and "golfball-sized hail" was reported from Hampshire on the 19th. The storms on the 27th were particularly notable. Vernham Dean (Hants.) reported 17.3m of rain in 15 minutes, much of it as 10 mm hailstones.

June. Average temperatures, but cool in northern Scotland. Some cool nights brought the average down a bit. As it was a thundery month there was a great deal of local variation in the rainfall; Heathrow had its wettest June for 19 years, but most of the rain fell just on the 2nd and 29th, with very little in between, while parts of the extreme southeast had a very dry month. Violent thunderstorms, with notable lightning displays, over much of the country on the night of the 26-27th.

July. Very warm, sunny, and dry: the tenth warmest of the century. A very warm spell at the end of the month, with 32C recorded at Worcester. The south of England was particularly dry, recording only 10% of the average rainfall. However, thunderstorms at the start of the month lead to flooding in places. Severe storms on the night of the 2-3rd in the SE: there were 150 flashes in 156 seconds at Denham (Bucks.), and at Cropwell Bishop (Notts.) lightning was continuous enough to switch off the automatic overhead street lighting! There were more violent storms on the 5th: 122mm of rain at Sible Hedingham (Essex) on the 5th. These storms were accompanied by squally winds, hail, tornadoes (a particularly one at Selly Oak), and flooding (e.g. Manchester, Colne Valley, Andover, and around Cannock). More notable storms on the hot final day, particularly in the SE. 30C was reported several times throughout the month, and Northolt recorded 31C on the 31st.

August. Wet, very thundery, and unsettled across England and Wales, although dry in Scotland. 35C reported at Mildenhall (Suffolk) on the 2nd, with 32.7C across East Anglia on the 1st and 2nd. Temperatures were slightly above average - although it was the least warm August since 1993. Rainfall 36% above normal, the wettest since 1992. Several tornadoes were observed during the 16-18th, with a particularly damaging one hitting Hampton on the 18th. 50mm of rain fell on Newcastle on the 18th. There were several spells of thunder, with some severe storms and heavily local rain and flooding. On the 1st Chorley (Lancs.) had 50mm of rain in 2 hours. Flooding from a storm closed the M9, and lightning struck a plane as it approached Edinburgh airport. On the 8-9th Windsor had 117mm of rain and Coventry 60mm. Ten cows were killed by lightning near Tiverton (Devon) on the 25th. Some notable thunderstorms in the Westport area of Ireland, with flooding and tornadoes. It was the most thundery August since 1960, and the most thundery of any month since May 1983.

September. At 15.6C, the second warmest of the century (after 1949); also sunny and wet - and particularly wet in the second half. There was a notable heatwave at the start of the month. 30C was recorded for the first time in September since 1973 (on the 5th, at Mildenhall in Suffolk, at 30.4), and then 30.4C at Gravesend on the 11th (the highest temperature so late in the season since 1947). There were some very mild nights in the second half of the month. Over much of southern England the temperature never fell beneath 10C, and in many places (London, Portsmouth, Weymouth, Folkestone) it never fell beneath 12C. These are the highest minima on record. The first 11 days were therefore an exceptional heatwave. Warm second half, with temperatures around 21C in the south most afternoons. Rainfall 34% above England and Wales average, but with a dry start. The sunniest September since 1991. After a hot day in the SE, there were some severe thunderstorms on the 5th, particularly in Surrey and south London, with violent hail (e.g. 18 mm hailstones at Hingston-on-Thames, and 22mm at Surbiton, and up to 50 mm reported at Tolworth). 92mm of rain in 24 hours at Newport (Gwent) on the 18-19th. Thunderstorms on the 22nd, particularly affecting the NE, and thunderstorms and a tornado at Pagham on the 23rd. The tornado started off as a waterspout, touching land just after 5am, causing damage 3 km inland across a path a few meteres wide. The wet and stormy weather was associated with the remnants of Hurricane Floyd.

October. Average temperatures and rainfall. Dry, anticyclonic, and easterly until the 20th, with mild days and cool nights in the south. Early frost in many places on the 5th and 6th. There were several waterspouts reported around the Isle of Man on the 6th. Very sunny, particularly in the south, but dull in northeast Scotland; in some places the sunniest since 1959.

November. Generally changeable, windy, slightly warmer than average, and sunny. Quite dry, particularly in the southeast: the driest since 1988. A very high pressure reading: 1046.7 mbars at Aviemore on Tuesday 9th (a new record for November, just slightly more than the 1980 Birmingham reading). The highest temperature reading of the month came right at the start, with 17.8 at Gravesend on the 1st. Sunny, particularly in the south. There was a fine display of nacreous cloud over much of Scotland on the afternoon of the 30th. I first saw if from Tesco's car park in Dundee; it was staggering - yet so many people just ignored it.

December. A very mixed month. Generally wet and sunny, with temperatures close to normal - although made up from a mixture of cold and mild spells. A low pressure month. Warmest at the start (14.9C at Thorney Island) and coldest from 18-21st (-14C at Rhayader and Sennybridge in mid-Wales on the 20th). Some snow. The wettest December in England and Wales since 1993, and the sunniest since 1973. Very wet in the west, with flooding in Glasgow and the southwest of England. Memorable storm with 100 mph gales on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.