Weather
Last month's weather

The weather in May

An unsettled month when the east coast shivered as the south and west enjoyed summer temperatures

Julian Mayes (MeteoGroup)

Graphic: MeteoGroup

After a chilly March and April, seasonal warming gathered pace in May to give a month of above average temperatures. However, in the absence of any major heatwaves, warmth was far from obvious. This was especially true of the east coast where onshore winds are usually chilly at this time of year. The first week was quite unsettled with westerly winds, the second week had mostly easterly winds with most of the warmth in the west. The weather in the second half of the month was variable with some fine weather, though eastern coasts were often chilly once again.

Temperatures

The average Central England Temperature was 12.6C, 0.9C above the 1981-2010 average. The mean temperature in Scotland was 10.0C, 1.1C above average. The lowest temperature of the month (excluding mountain-top sites) was –3.8C at Eskdalemuir (Dumfries and Galloway) on the 14th. The highest temperature was 27C at Northolt (London) on 8 May with similar temperatures the next day in Liverpool and on Skye. This occurred during the spell of easterly winds which gave warmth to the north-west of the UK for several days.

Rainfall

Rainfall in May was close to, or just below average. Across England and Wales there was an average of 57mm, 90% of average. The equivalent figures for Scotland were 72mm (88%) and for Northern Ireland, 61mm (86%). There were few instances of widespread frontal rain, an exception being 11 May in southern Britain where Farnborough (Hampshire) recorded 37mm in the 24 hours to 6pm. Parts of northern England were rainless between the 2nd and the 18th. Thunderstorms over East Anglia on the last day of the month contributed to a 24-hour total of 53mm at Wattisham, Suffolk.

Sunshine

May is often the sunniest month of the year, especially in western areas. Sunshine totals were above average in most areas. England and Wales averaged 210 hours of bright sunshine, 110% of average. The regional sunshine amounts were not too far from average, with regional percentages ranging from 100% in north-east England to 128% in the Midlands.

Winds

There were few strong winds this May but the wind direction had a large effect on local temperatures. With sea temperatures much lower than land temperatures, the onshore winds on the east coast gave a number of chilly days in the second week and at times later in the month.