Weather News

Provisional statistics from the Met Office show that 2025 was on average the UK's warmest year since at least 1884 (when records began), recording an annual mean air temperature of 10.09°C (Figure 1). This beat the previous record of 10.03°C set in 2022 and became only the second year on record to feature an annual mean of over 10°C. Four of the five warmest years on record have now occurred since 2022. The exceptional temperatures in 2025 were comprised of an annual mean minimum of 6.22°C (4th highest) and an annual mean maximum of 14.01°C – the first time on record that the UK annual mean max. has exceeded 14°C. In tandem with the UK temperature, the Central England Temperature (CET), an instrumental temperature series going back to 1659, also placed 2025 as its warmest on record with a final figure of 11.22°C. An attribution study performed by the Met Office indicates that human-induced climate warming has made a record-breaking year such as 2025 around 260 times more likely than in a world without anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. It was also the sunniest year on record (since 1910), with 1648h of sunshine surpassing the previous record of 1587h set in 2003, which was driven primarily by an exceptional spring and a sunnier than average summer. In fact, spring 2025, with 653h, was sunnier than all but 3 summers, and surpassed the memorable ‘lockdown’ spring of 2020 by 27h, or an additional 4.4%. You can read more in the UK Annual Weather Summary. Globally, 2025 looks likely to come out as either the second or third warmest year on record; at the time of writing the official statistics are yet to be released but full details will be written up in next month’s edition! (Sources: Met Office, WMO.) Following a parade of Atlantic systems during the first two-thirds of December, which brought substantial amounts of rainfall to the western UK and raised the UK mean annual rainfall totals to within 10% of the 1991–2020 average, a sudden and dramatic shift to drier, more settled conditions took place over the festive period (see this month's Weather Log). This regime change came courtesy of a much more amplified and eventually blocked Atlantic pattern, presenting itself as a large and intense high-pressure cell (peaking in the mid-1040s hPa) over Scandinavia, diverting low pressure and more unsettled conditions towards Iberia, and mobility well to the north of the UK. As January arrived, a steady retrogression of this pattern took place (typical of highly amplified, or blocked, synoptic flows), with the high-pressure centre migrating towards Greenland (reaching 1048hPa to the north of the UK on 27 December) and eventually opening the door to a very cold Arctic flow across the UK to begin 2026. An interesting point to ponder, which will likely be a topic of ongoing research, is the link between the apparent sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) of late November 2025, and the subsequent Greenland block and cold weather over Europe and the UK. Despite being flagged as a ‘reflective’ event, with uncertainties over whether it even qualified as a ‘major’ warming (see last month’s Weather News), some commentators suggested that the block was the ‘classical response to an SSW’. However, polar vortex expert Judah Cohen related in his blog that whilst some facets of a classical response were present, the block developed more than a month after the SSW, rather than the typical 2 weeks. In addition, zonal wind anomaly cross sections focused over the Atlantic do not show a robust connection between stratosphere and troposphere, suggesting that the relationship is not clear cut in this case. The jury is out! A roughly 10-day widely colder than average spell at the start of January brought significant snow and ice hazards to large areas of central and northern Scotland, as well as select other parts of the UK at times. Dozens of yellow and amber snow and ice National Severe Weather Warning Service warnings were issued in what was an extremely busy time at the Met Office. Tomintoul, in Moray, Scotland, reported in excess of 50cm of snow on occasion, and in one particularly notable episode on 5 January, Dyce, in Aberdeen, reported an increase of 11cm in just 2h as a stream of heavy snow showers ran through. Parts of England and Wales also saw some snow, particularly later in the spell with Storm Goretti running east along the Channel coast. Much more on that next month. (Sources: Met Office, X.com, Dr. Judah Cohen’s AO PV Blog, Starlings Roost Weather.) In mid-December the US administration of President Donald Trump revealed plans to dissolve the ‘world-leading’ National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), referred to by some as a ‘crown jewel in the US scientific enterprise’. Established in 1960 and based in Boulder, Colorado, NCAR serves as a hub for US atmospheric science research, providing facilities and computing resources, which the 130 colleges and universities that run the centre via a non-profit consortium could not afford on their own. It currently employs over 800 people and hosts many hundreds more scientists working on projects each year. It was the consortium, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research that received a letter of intent last December from the National Science Foundation (NSF) who are the principal state funders of NCAR, informing them of the restructuring plans. At around the same time, the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced the plans publicly, stating that NCAR was ‘one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in this country’, whilst a White House statement proclaimed that the NSF would be ‘breaking up NCAR to eliminate Green New Scam research activities’. Many in the Earth-science community were quick to both publicly and privately voice their concerns over the news, and any action is expected to be challenged by members of Congress, including Democrat Joe Neguse who represents Boulder. This plan is the latest in a line of attacks on climate science by this administration, beginning with the withdrawal for a second time from the Paris Agreement by Executive Order on 20 January 2025. The following months were peppered with reports of planned severe funding cuts or complete elimination of programmes across multiple federal agencies conducting climate research and communications. The community will be watching closely in 2026 to see just how many of these plans come to fruition. (Sources: Nature, USA Today, X.com, Yale Climate Connections, Congress.gov.) It was a wet start to 2026 in Iberia, with Storm Francis triggering severe flooding across southern Spain, particularly across the Malaga province from 4/5 January. The Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) issued a rare Red Alert for extreme rainfall and flood risk in the Guadalhorce Valley and along the Costa del Sol Occidental as torrential rain fell. In parts of the Guadalhorce Valley, over 120mm fell within 12h, whilst some inland gauges in Coín recorded totals exceeding 200mm over the multi-day event, marking an exceptionally wet period. The incessant downpours caused the Guadalhorce, Fahala and Campanillas rivers all to burst their banks, flooding nearby homes, roads and low-lying villages. Emergency services responded to well over 120 flood-related incidents in just a few days, with evacuations carried out in Cártama, Campanillas and surrounding municipalities. Storm Francis followed on the heels of Storm Emilia in mid-December 2025, which had left soils saturated, further stressing drainage systems across eastern and southern provinces. Emilia brought heavy rain, flooding and mudslides across Murcia, forcing multiple road closures and emergency responses. Between the two storms, rain continued to lash the country, with a potent weather system bringing heavy rain and flash flooding across Andalucia on 28/29 December. More than 100mm of rain was recorded yet again in parts of the Malaga and Granada provinces in less than 24h. The weekend storm triggered flash floods, landslides and local evacuations once more, with a confirmed three fatalities from floodwaters across the regions. Small rivers and streams rose rapidly, prompting emergency crews to react quickly once more. (Sources: The Watchers, Sur in English, Olive Press.) A sharp, northeasterly blast marked the start of winter 2025 in North America, turning parks and cities into dazzling winter wonderlands. Just two days into meteorological winter, on 2 December, a powerful storm swept through the northeastern states, burying swathes of the tri-state under snow. Parts of upstate New York saw 15–20cm of snow, with neighbouring Connecticut and New Jersey also blanketed in heavy flakes. Storm systems continued to sweep across the northeastern states throughout December, culminating in New York’s heaviest snowfall in nearly four years. New York City’s Central Park weather station recorded 11cm between 26–28 December, the highest since January 2022. Travel disruption quickly followed: more than 900 flights were cancelled and over 8000 delayed nationwide. States of emergency were declared in New Jersey and Connecticut, where 23cm of snow fell in parts of Fairfield County alone. Out west, Alaska wrote its own winter’s tale. From late December and into early January, record-breaking snow buried parts of the state. In Haines, nearly 2m of snow fell through the first week of January 2026, the greatest weekly accumulation since records began in 2000. The deluge dramatically raised avalanche risk in the area and forced the closure of several schools and businesses. In Juneau’s harbour, 90 miles to the southeast, eight boats sank under the relentless accumulation. Half a world away, heavy snowfall stranded more than 100 people at a mountain-top shrine in Japan, after roads became impassable. Following a disappointingly dry end to 2025, January opened with persistent snowfall, with up to 80cm falling between 1 and 3 January. A stalled cold front brought prolonged snow, triggering travel chaos as cars struggled on icy roads. Around Mitsumine Shrine, perched 1100m above sea level near Chichibu, the sacred site became a temporary haven for travellers waiting out the storm. Perhaps the most unexpected early-winter story came from Iran, where a complex series of winter systems brought snow, blizzards, heavy rain and flooding between mid-December and early January. From 15 to 21 December, multiple storms affected at least 25 provinces from the northwest to the southeast. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that the heavy snowfall was frequently accompanied by intense rainfall, creating a complex winter hazard rarely seen on such a national scale. The severe weather led to at least nine fatalities, with several more injured or missing. (Sources: National Weather Service, BBC, CBC News, The Watchers, QAZ Inform.) While much of western Europe settled into a more traditionally cold festive period, parts of the Northern Hemisphere experienced exceptional warmth and record-breaking temperatures over Christmas 2025. Iceland saw its hottest Christmas Eve on record, with temperatures soaring to a toasty 19.8°C in Seyðisfjörður in the east, far above typical December averages of −1°C to 4°C. Nearby Bakkagerði also reached 19.7°C, confirming that this was no isolated blip. The warmth was attributed to an area of high pressure to the east drawing warm, moist air of tropical origin across Iceland whilst blocking colder Arctic air. This remarkable December heat capped a year of unusual warmth across the country, which included summer heatwaves and unusual biological changes, such as the first appearances of mosquitos, a species previously unable to survive Iceland’s colder climate. Across large swathes of the United States, Christmas temperatures also climbed well above average, with hundreds of local daily records tied or broken. A persistent ridge of high pressure helped push mild, spring-like air deep into the central and southern Plains and the southwest, displacing the Arctic air that typically dominates winter. Denver (Colorado) reached 21.7°C, while Charlotte (North Carolina) reached 26.1°C, setting a new Christmas Day record. Many regions more accustomed to snow instead experienced bare ground and unseasonable warmth, prompting discussions of a ‘winterless Christmas’. (Sources: The Guardian, The Weather Channel, Down To Earth.) Marine biologists are calling 2025 the ‘year of the blooming octopus’ after record numbers were reported off England’s coasts. The Wildlife Trust says sightings over summer were the highest since 1950; a trend linked to unusually warm seas around the British Isles. Most encounters were with the Octopus vulgaris, a species more commonly seen in the warmer Mediterranean Sea. With UK sea-surface temperatures hitting record highs in April and May, 1.5°C–2.5°C above average around the coasts, these cephalopods appear to be extending their swimming range northwards. (Sources: BBC, Met Office.)