Lancaster scientists record wettest ever February

Scientists at Lancaster University’s Hazelrigg weather station say we have just experienced by far the wettest ever February since their records began in 1966.
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Our region has seen more than three times as much rain as the average February, with 246.9 mm recorded at the site.

The next wettest February on record was in 1997, which notched up 177.9 mm of rain at the site.

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February 2020 saw 246.9 mm of rainfall – compared with an average of 72mm.

Flooding in Halton during Storm Ciara.Flooding in Halton during Storm Ciara.
Flooding in Halton during Storm Ciara.

Wettest:

2020 246.9 mm

1997 177.9 mm

2002 177.0 mm

1990 155.0 mm

2001 133.6 mm

The figures also make this February the wettest month the site has recorded in terms of departure from the monthly average.

Dr James Heath, from Lancaster Environment Centre, said: "Our region has seen a 30 per cent increase in winter rainfall over the past 50 years, a trend which is entirely consistent with climate predictions in a warming world, and which is likely to lead to increased frequency of extreme rainfall events such as Storms Ciara and Dennis.

“Of course, it's not just our region that has been affected this winter. We've seen repeated, severe disruption and damage to property up and down the country, affecting thousands of lives."

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Hazelrigg is the UK Meteorological Office Climatological Station Number 7236. Every morning at 9am GMT measurements are made by Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) staff and student volunteers and the data are passed on to Meteorological Office.

Measurements from the automatic weather station are averaged every 10 minutes and can be seen via Hazelrigg Automated Meteorology Measurements.

Data from Hazelrigg can be accessed through the Archived Meteorology Data of daily and automated measurements from the site.

These data are used in many undergraduate and postgraduate projects and by LEC researchers and those collaborating with them.

In November 2017, Hazelrigg recorded the highest ever 24-hour rainfall total in more than 50 years of records, while in July 2019, Lancaster had its hottest July day on record