The month began and ended with disturbed westerlies, but
the main feature of February was the long anticyclonic period
which lasted from the 6th-23rd in southern districts and from the
10th-20th in northern Britain. However, it only ranked 58th
most anticylonic in 136 years of records, but the mean monthly
pressure at 50N00W was 29th highest. It was also the 24th
most southwesterly February out of 136.

Mean pressure charts are available at:
Charts: http://www.climate-uk.com/monpre/0802.htm
The Monthly Review will shortly be uploaded to:
http://www.climate-uk.com/monthly/0802.htm
Graphs: http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/0802.htm and
http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/200802.htm
Not The Long Range Forecast should be available on 4th Mar on:
http://www.climate-uk.com/page4.html

The enhanced SW-ly flow shows up clearly on the mean sea-
level pressure chart ... indeed the flow extends across the North
Atlantic, western and northern Europe, and into the Russian
Arctic. The main centres are lows of 993mbar just WSW of
Iceland and 996mbar in the Barents Sea, and highs of 1029mbar
over Croatia and 1022mbar between the Azores and Bermuda.
At the 500mbar level there was a broad trough in mid-Atlantic
with its axis around 30-40degW, and a broad ridge over Europe
with its axis near 10-20 degE.

The sea-level pressure anomaly field has below-normal pressure
over the entire Atlantic/Europe sector north of latitude 56-58degN
approximately, and above-normal pressure further south.
A westerly anomalous flow extends across the northern Atlantic,
the North European Plain, and deep into Russia (beyond the
Urals).

The main anomaly centres we
- 11mbar over northeast Greenland
- 10mbar over northwest Russia
- 2mbar between the Azores and Madeira
+12mbar over northern Italy
+ 6mbar between the Azores and Newfoundland

Over the British Isles pressure anomaly ranged from +7mbar
in Kent to -3mbar over Shetland; the anomalous flow over
the British Isles was W-ly with a marked anticyclonic bias.

CET (after Manley) 5.40°C (+1.2 degC wrt 1971-2000)
CET (after Hadley) 5.6 or 5.7°C
E&W Rain (provisional): 41.2mm ( 62% of 1971-2000 mean)
E&W Sunshine (prov): 129.9 hr (168% of 1971-2000 mean)
(a full 10 per cent more sunshine than the previous record-
holders ... jointly 1949 and 1891)

CScotT: 5.7°C (+2.0 degC)
ScotRain: 79mm (115%)
ScotSun: 90hr (134%)

NIT: 6.2°C (+1.1 degC)
NI Rain: 47mm ( 72%)
NI Sun: 98hr (146%)

Rainfall totals ranged from 487mm at Inveruglas (Dunbartonshire)
to 10mm at Fyvie (Aberdeenshire) and 11mm at Farnborough
(Hants) [both flagged as suspect]

Percentages ranged from 244 at Tulloch Bridge (Lochaber) to
625 at Loftus (N Yorks)

Sunshine totals ranged from 156.7h at Norwich airport -
presumed KZ sensor - to 42.9h at Lerwick (Shetland) -
both CS recorder and KZ sensor. The Norwich figure is
not a British Isles record ... that still stands at 166h at
St Helier, Jersey, in Feb 1891. (Usual caveats apply re
change from CS recorder to KZ sensor)

Percentages ranged from 221 at Hampstead (Gtr London)
to 80 at Lerwick

(c) Philip Eden