2010

Coldest year of the 21st century up to 2018 with a CET of 8.9°C and the coldest overall year since 1986. The year started off with the most prolonged cold spell since 1963 that started in mid-December 2009. Winter 2009-10 was the coldest Winter since 1978-79. January to June 2010 provided the driest first half to the year in the UK and Ireland since 1953 courtesy of a record breaking negative North Atlantic Oscillation blocking off the usual zonal pattern that would normally deliver depressions. The Winter continued into Spring with some unusually late severe frosts making it the longest Winter since 1996. It was one of the sunniest Springs on record. Fortunately, late May and most of June provided fine, settled and warm weather. However, July and August tended to be duller and wetter; more so in the north and west of the UK (inc. all of Ireland) in July, south and east of the UK in August. Polish meteorologists noted the slow speed of the Gulf Stream and gave out forecasts that it was potentially going to be the coldest Winter in Europe for many decades, even colder than the preceding Winter.

January. This was the coldest month for the UK and Ireland since January 1987 with a CET of 1.4°C. Mid-December 2009 to mid-January 2010 provided the longest cold spell in both countries since 1963. During the first ten days of January, mean temperatures for the UK and Ireland were like 6-8°C below average so you can see how extreme the cold was. Casement Aerodrome, Co. Dublin recorded a minimum temperature of -12.4°C on the 8th in which it equaled its all-time record low for January on the 1st in 1979. Warrenstown, Co. Meath recorded a grass minimum temperature of -14.4°C on the 9th which was the lowest such value for the station since January 1982. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, -12.7°C was recorded at Castlederg, Co. Tyrone on the 9th, Northern Ireland's lowest minimum temperature since March 2001 and for January since 1987. The lowest air minimum temperature in Ireland of the spell was -16.3°C at Mount Juliet, Co. Kilkenny on the 7th whilst the lowest in the UK was -22.3°C at Altnaharra, Scotland on the 8th, the lowest temperature in the UK since December 1995. Dublin Airport had a maximum temperature of -3.1°C on the 7th which was the lowest daytime temperature Ireland had seen since January 1987. Altnaharra got up to only -13.5°C on the afternoon of the 10th, the lowest January afternoon temperature in the UK since 1982. There were other very low daytime temperatures during January such as -2.2°C at Phoenix Park on the very next day, the 8th. Snow depths were up to 60cm in eastern Scotland and northeastern England. After the 13th, it became rather milder with short cold snaps at times compared to the cold spell just gone. It was a dry month and the driest January since 2006 with England & Wales recording 75.3mm of rainfall. It was the sunniest January since 2001 generally but Ireland set a new record for sunniest January with Cork Airport, Co. Cork recording a monthly sunshine total of 118.4 hours of sunshine, the all-time highest January sunshine total for Ireland.

February.

March.

April.

May.

June.

July.

August.

September.

October.

November.

December.