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Buxton, Derbyshire, England
December 2011 Climatic Records
Latitude 53*N Longitude 1.5*W Elevation 338m/1110ft AMSL
Valid 1st- 31st December, 2011
All temperatures combined from either of my two weather stations.
Precip indicated as "My PWS" recorded at my house; otherwise from a neaby local station.
Mean Maximum: 6.0°C / 42.8°F (+ 0.3°C)
Mean Minimum: 2.0°C / 35.6°F (+1.2°C)
Mean Temperature: 4.0°C / 39.2°F (+0.8°C)
December was an extremely "zonal" month, with a first half more dominated by polar maritime incursions and bringing wintry showers and plenty of snow; followed by a much milder tropical maritime dominated second half. All in all with series of depressions tracking across the country, it was a very wet month.
Lowest Maximum: 2°C / 35.6°F
Highest Minimum: 9.6°C / 49.2°F
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Precipitation: 63.8mm / 2.5in
Days with rain: 18
Most in one day: 8.9mm / 0.3in
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Max Pressure: 1030.7mb
Min Pressure: 975.8mb
Maximum Wind Gust: 60.2mph / 97kph
Sunshine hours: 45
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Days with:
Thunder: 1 (7th)
Lightning: 1 (7th)
Snow: 7
Air Frost: 5
December 2011 started off cool with some snow showers, plenty of ground frost and the odd air frost.. by the end of the month it became much, much milder leading to one of the warmest Christmas Day's on record.
Rainfall was average, the first more-or-less average month since June.
2011 overall, was the second warmest on record in the UK, despite the coolest summer for 20 years, we had the hottest October temperature, the warmest September since 2006 (the hottest on record) and the warmest and one of the driest Spring on record..
2011 was the wettest on record for Scotland but the driest on record for East Anglia and parts of the East Midlands. Here, it was well below average too, but not quite the driest on record I don't think.
Lowest Minimum: 11.8 C (53.2 F)
Average Minimum: 16.7 C (62.1 F)
Highest Minimum: 20.0 C (68.0 F)
Lowest Maximum: 19.0 C (66.2 F)
Average Maximum: 23.1 C (73.6 F)
Highest Maximum: 26.8 C (80.2 F)
Total Rainfall: 78.4 mm (3.09 inches)
Total Sunshine: 206 hours
Avg Sunshine / Day: 6.7 hrs/day
Total Days 0 Sunshine: 1 days
Total Days <= 3 Hrs Sunshine: 5 days
Total Days >= 8 Hrs Sunshine: 12 days
A very cool and cloudy month, in fact the coldest December since 1960 (in terms of the maximums). This is in stark contrast to most months in recent years which have generally been above average.
South and south-easterly winds predominated and overcast skies dominated much of the month, although the Xmas period saw brighter skies and warmer temperatures. Unusual also given November was over 2C warmer (although sunshine totals were similar).
Also remarkable in that the maximum temperature recorded was just 26.8C (80.2F). Also the average daily maximum of 25.4C was only exceeded on 4 occasions, the first time on the 11th day of the month! It was also cold with regards to the mean daily minimums also, so hardly a summery month.
Side note: our rolling 12 monthly sunshine totals have been in gradual decline (albeit one or two jumps) since the mid 2000s. Our current 12 monthly running total has now dropped below 2,400 hours (YTD we are at 2,396 hours), the lowest point since April 1999 - presumably driven by the La Ninas we've had over the last 18 or so months.
Mean sunshine hours per day: 6.2 (to be updated)
Days with nil sunshine: 7
A cool, wet, gloomy month. Bitterly disappointing for me -- I'll be glad to erase all memory of this month. It had hardly any redeeming features.
Of particularly note is the very low (absolute, not mean) monthly maximum of 26.3 C. Only Dec 1967 had a lower monthly maximum and the records for this site only go back to the 1950s, so it may well be the second lowest ever.
Also note that nearly one-in-four days recorded ZERO sunshine!
Mean: 6.8C (+1.2C)
Mean max: 9.1C (+1.3C)
Mean min: 4.3C (+1.1C)
Absolute high: 12.9C
Absolute min: -1.3C
Lowest high: 4.1C
Highest low: 10.6C
Air frosts: 2
Ice days: 0
Rainfall: 56mm (-15%) on 21 days
Sunshine: 70.7 hours (+49%)
Snow falling: 2
Snow lying: 0
Mild, sunny and not that wet - not much to complain about there really except for the lack of lying snow, but the two days with flurries did stop 2011 from being our first ever snow-free year. I thought we'd be on for a very high sunshine total but from the 23rd-31st we only managed six hours as the conveyor belt of damp, mild subtropical air from the SW came into force. It hasn't really felt wintry at all except for a handful of chilly days. Despite the sunshine it has been a mobile enough month to see 13 of our daily highs happen when the sun was below the horizon.
National figures:
Central England Temperature: 5.93C (+0.8C)
England and Wales Rainfall: 112.4mm (+11%)
England and Wales Sunshine: 54.4 hours (+14%)
Similar story to locally, though I think the extra rain which fell fell in the areas which didn't necessarily need it much.
Lowest Maximum: -9.9°C / 14.2°F (18th)
Highest Minimum: 0.6°C / 33.1°F (7th)
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Precipitation: 55mm / 2.2 in
Days with rain or snow: 21
Most in one day: 18 mm / 0.7 in (8th)
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December weather is not much deviated from the norm, a large number of overcast days and variable temperatures under the influence of cyclones from the Atlantic Ocean, although precipitation was much greater than usual. In general, December here is usually not characterized by the constancy of temperature and precipitation.
Average temperature in December: -8.3°C (17.1°F). The actual temperature of the month following observations: -4.5 °C (23.9°F). Deviation from the norm: +3.8 °C.
Average precipitation in December: 24mm (1.0 in). Of precipitation: 55mm (2.2 in). This amount is 229% of normal.
The lowest temperature -16.5°C (2.3°F) was December 18. Highest temperature 4.6°C (40.3°F) was December 28.
Last edited by bartonfly; 01-01-2012 at 06:33 AM..
Lowest Minimum: 11.8 C (53.2 F)
Average Minimum: 16.7 C (62.1 F)
Highest Minimum: 20.0 C (68.0 F)
Lowest Maximum: 19.0 C (66.2 F)
Average Maximum: 23.1 C (73.6 F)
Highest Maximum: 26.8 C (80.2 F)
Total Rainfall: 78.4 mm (3.09 inches)
Total Sunshine: 206 hours
Avg Sunshine / Day: 6.7 hrs/day
Total Days 0 Sunshine: 1 days
Total Days <= 3 Hrs Sunshine: 5 days
Total Days >= 8 Hrs Sunshine: 12 days
A very cool and cloudy month, in fact the coldest December since 1960 (in terms of the maximums). This is in stark contrast to most months in recent years which have generally been above average.
South and south-easterly winds predominated and overcast skies dominated much of the month, although the Xmas period saw brighter skies and warmer temperatures. Unusual also given November was over 2C warmer (although sunshine totals were similar).
Also remarkable in that the maximum temperature recorded was just 26.8C (80.2F). Also the average daily maximum of 25.4C was only exceeded on 4 occasions, the first time on the 11th day of the month! It was also cold with regards to the mean daily minimums also, so hardly a summery month.
Side note: our rolling 12 monthly sunshine totals have been in gradual decline (albeit one or two jumps) since the mid 2000s. Our current 12 monthly running total has now dropped below 2,400 hours (YTD we are at 2,396 hours), the lowest point since April 1999 - presumably driven by the La Ninas we've had over the last 18 or so months.
Wow, I didnt realise how cold it could get in that part of Australia during summer. I know some folks who live in Bowral which is apparently not much more than an hour from Syndey and looked at the weather records there.
The last time London Heathrow Recorded a June cooler than that was 1991!
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