The following represents a provisional assessment of the weather experienced across the UK during Spring 2008 (March/April/May) and how it compares with the 1971 to 2000 average (period used for the seasonal forecast).
March and April 2008 both had close to average daily maximum, minimum and mean temperatures over the UK. May 2008 had mean temperatures generally 2 to 3 deg C above average, but only 1 to 2 deg C above average across eastern parts of Scotland and NE England. May 2008 was provisionally the warmest May in the series back to 1914 for the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
March and April 2008 both had above average rainfall over the UK, with March having 129% of average rainfall and April having 115% of average rainfall. May 2008 had below average rainfall over the UK with 79 % of average rainfall. There were notable rainfall variations across the UK during May 2008, with well above average across southern areas of England and Wales, but below average across central and northern areas of the UK. May 2008 was provisionally the 2nd driest May in the series back to 1914 for Northern Ireland (only May 1991 was drier).
All three Spring months had above average sunshine duration over the UK, with March having 121% of average sunshine, April having 112% of average sunshine and May having 111% of average sunshine. May 2008 saw well above average sunshine across the N Scotland climate area, where it was one of the sunniest in the series back to 1929, for both May and Spring.
| Mean temperature | Rainfall | Sunshine | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The provisional mean value for the season is 8.1 °C, which is 0.7 °C above the 1971-2000 average. Spring 2007 was warmer with 9.1 °C and Spring 2006 was cooler with 7.4 °C. | The provisional total for the season is 256.0 mm, which is 110% of the 1971-2000 average. Spring 2007 was drier with 229.4 mm and Spring 2006 was wetter with 290.4 mm. | The provisional total for the season is 476.5 hours, which is 113% of the 1971-2000 average. Spring 2007 was sunnier with 521.4 hours and Spring 2006 was duller with 432.8 hours. | ||||||
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Provisional graph of UK daily mean temperature for Spring 2008
Provisional mean temperature anomaly (difference from average) map for Spring 2008
Provisional rainfall percent of average map for Spring 2008
