Very wet, the third wettest February in this area since 1900. The coldest February since 1996. Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during February 2010 was 6.6 Celsius (44F), and that was 1.8 Celsius (3F) below normal. The average minimum temperature was 2.0 Celsius (36F), and that was 1.2 Celsius (2F) below normal.
The winter (December, January and February) was the coldest in this area since 1984/5 and the 12th coldest since 1900/01
The highest temperature recorded during February was 11.7 Celsius (53F) on the 5th, and there were only 2 other days during the month when the temperature exceeded 10 Celsius (50F) , the 24th and 27th. Most maxima were in the range 5 to 9 Celsius (41-48F), but on 9 days the temperature failed to rise above 5 Celsius including 6 consecutive days commencing on the 10th. The coldest day was the 8th when the maximum was only 2.8 Celsius (37F).
Extensive cloud cover helped to prevent very cold nights, although there were only 3 nights when the minimum stayed above 5 Celsius (41F). The mildest night was the 3rd/4th with a low of 7.1 Celsius (45F) although the following night was only a fraction of a degree colder. Between the 9th and 21st the night-time temperaure only stayed above 2 Celsius (36F) once, but the minimum during this period was only below 0 Celsius (32F) on 5 occasions. There was just 1 other sub-zero night, and that was the opening night of the month. The lowest temperature recorded was minus 3.4 Clelsius (26F) on the night of the 20th/21st.
Frost
There were 6 air frosts during February, and that was 1 less than normal, but 5 of these frosty nights had minima below minus 2 Celsius (28F). A total of 14 grass frosts were recorded, and that was 1 more than normal. There were only 3 nights free of grass frost between the 9th and 21st, with only 3 grass frosts occurring outside of these dates. There were 5 nights when the temperature on the ground fell below minus 5 Celsius (23F) with 4 of these cold nights occurring between the 15th and 21st. However, the lowest grass temperature of the month occurred early on the1st with a reading of minus 7.2 Celsius (19F). Rain
A total of 99.2mm (3.9ins) of rain fell during February and that was over double the 20-year average. It was a new February record for the site and the 3rd wettest in the area since 1900. Only the years 1937 and 1951 had wetter Februaries. There were 23 days with measurable rain and that was 9 above the average. Wet days (1.0mm/0.04 ins, or more) numbered 15, and that was 6 days above average. There were only 2 completely dry days during the month, the 6th and 19th, but there was an uneven distribution to the rainfall. During the first fortnight, the 4th was the only day when more than 2mm (0.1ins) of rain fell, but after the 14th there were 10 days when this total was exceeded. On 4 occasions daily rainfall was above 10mm (0.4ins), the 16th with 14.7mm, the 21st with 17.3mm, the 25th with 10.1mm, and, the wettest day of the month, the 27th with 17.8mm (0.7ins).
Thunderstorms
There were no thunderstorms observed in this part of London.
Hail
A brief light shower of soft hail (snow pellets) occurred early on the afternoon of the 9th, with a moderate soft hail shower falling on the evening of the 10th. The soft hail settled and was still evident on the ground in patches late on the morning of the 11th. Ice pellets (frozen rain) fell early to mid afternoon on the 12th and again, briefly, late afternoon on the 15th.
Snow
Sleet or snow was observed on 12 days during February, 9 days above average, and a new record high for the site. However much of the precipation was sleet and snow flakes were scarce. More than half cover of snow was reported on only 1 morning, the 1st, when a thin layer was observed. The first snow fell in the form of a moderate shower in the early hours of the 1st. On the 8th, sleet fell for much of the day, but turned to snow mid to late afternoon before dying out early in the evening. A light sleet shower fell mid evening on the 9th, and snow showers fell on the afternoon and evening of the 10th. Granular snow fell in the early hours of the 11th with sleet on the afternoon of the 12th followed by a moderate sleet shower late in the evening. A moderate sleet shower also occurred on the evening of the 13th. Sleet fell early and late morning on the 14th with further sleet mid evening. On the 15th sleet briefly fell in the late afternoon, and on the 9th consecutive 'snow' day heavy rain briefly turned to sleet in the late afternoon The final 2 days with wintry precipitation occurred on the 22nd and 23rd when sleet fell in the afternoons. Wind
The pressure pattern during February was strongly cyclonic with a record low average pressure for any month at this site, and also a record long sequence with the barometer reading below 1000mb (14 days from the 15th to 28th inclusive). The result was that winds were variable in direction during February and were mostly gentle with no periods of strong winds, and infrequent spells of light winds. Gusts only exceeded 26kn (30mph) on 1 day, the 26th, when.a southwesterly gust of 36kn (41mph) occurred.
Fog
No fog was observed in this part of Greater London.
Monthly figures for February in, and around, London
