An historical perspective of the climate statistics

for Coventry during December 2013

Temperature

With a mean monthly temperature of 6.1ºC, 1.5ºC above the city’s 30-year average, this has been the mildest December in Coventry since 2006 (6.4ºC).

Looking back through the archives, we find that only two December months have been milder than December 2013 in Coventry in the past 25 years (1994 and 2006), and only four have been warmer since 1974 (add 1985 and 1988).

• 11th the coldest day of the month recorded a maximum temperature of 6.2ºC, the highest such value in Coventry since before 1892.

• 15th the mildest day of December recorded a high of 13.6ºC at night; this was the warmest December day in the city since 2007 (14.6ºC) – that day in 2007 is the only December day warmer than the 15th in Coventry in the past 15 years.

• 29th we almost had our first ever December free of air frost! However, the minimum temperature of -0.3ºC is the highest such value in Coventry since before 1892, equalling the same December minimum temperature in 1989.

There was just one air frost during December 2013, the lowest number of December air frosts since records began in 1892, equal with 1922, 1924, 1954, 1977, 1988 and 1989).

Rainfall

For the second year in succession, early December was dry, with just 1% of the month’s rain falling in the first 11 days.

It rained every day bar one (28th) from the 12th day of the month to New Year, with 69.6mm of rain as the final monthly total, 13% above normal.

Only two December months have been wetter than December 2013 this century (2006 with 71.0mm and 2012 with 116.7mm).

• 23rd The wettest day of the month recorded 24.2mm of rain, making this the wettest December day in the city since 1990 (30.4mm). Only 5 December days have been wetter than this since at least 1945.

There was no recorded snowfall during December, the first time without any December snow in the city since 2007; only three Decembers have been snow free in Coventry in the past 25 years (1992, 2006, and 2007).

Sunshine

Considering how wet the month became, the monthly sunshine total (66.1hr) was highly respectable for the time of year, 19% above Coventry’s 30-year average (1981-2010).

It became our sunniest December since 2009 (79.3hr), hardly impressive in itself, but statistics show that only 7 December months have recorded more sunshine than this since 1894, all since 1980 (1980, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009)

Steve Jackson
Bablake Weather Station
Coventry UK
www.bablakeweather.co.uk