1915

1915 saw the coldest November of the century (and since 1782). The four months from November 1914 to February 1915 were very wet. With 423 mm, 1914-1915  was the wettest winter on record. No wonder the trenches were so muddy.

January. Mild and very unsettled for the first three weeks, with heavy rain and gales, but then colder with snow. Up to 30 cm of snow was lying for a while at Croydon on the 22nd.

February. On average, 534 mm of rain fell in England and Wales in the four months ending with February - one of the wettest spells of the century.

March. Quite dry but with a notable snowfall over Scotland and the north and east of England on the 18th and 19th. 18C was then recorded in eastern Scotland on the 24th before it turned colder again.

April. Unsettled at first; a dry month in the south and east.

May. An easterly or northeasterly, and windy month. There were some particularly strong winds and some heavy rain for the SE. 75 mm of rain fell in a thunderstorm near Kings Cross on the 6th. A cool month with some sharp frosts midmonth.

June. Fine and warm: 32C was recorded at Cromer on the 10th.

July. A cool, wet month across England and Wales, with many thunderstorms. There were three notably severe hailstorms on the 4th, one tracking across north Devon, and another severe thunderstorm affected Malvern, causing "darkness at noon". Another storm trackedfrom Somerset to Buckinghamshire. The path was 105 miles long, one of the longest on record in Britain. There i50 mm hailstones, accompanied by driving winds, destroying trees, ruining fruit trees, damaging roads, and smashing glass. There was flooding in Long Ashton in north Somerset. The Chew Valley was particularly badly affected, with trees uprooted by the wind.

August. Frequent thunderstorms early in the month were followed by a spell of fair and dry, but rather cool weather.

September. Warm and fine for the first three weeks, but with a wet and stormy end. 96 mm of rain fell at Nairn on the 26th.

October. Quiet and dry.

November. The coldest of the twentieth century (2.8C) in the CET series (November 1782 in The Little Ice Age was colder still at 2.3), and the second coldest in Scotland. It was the coldest month of the winter. Mainly quiet and northerly, but with a snowy spell midmonth. Pressure reached 1044 mbar over southern England on the 21st. The 27th was a cold day, with a maximum of only -2C in Leamington Spa.

December. Very wet.