– The spring of 2020 saw particularly warm and dry conditions, ranking as the eighth warmest and fifth driest spring on record for the UK overall, with parts of east and north east England recording their driest spring. This is more sunshine hours than most summer seasons with only the summers of 1955, 1976, 1989 seeing more sunshine. – The spring of 2020 was the sunniest UK spring in a series from 1929, with 626.2 hours of sunshine. In this article, we look back on the recent spring and the factors that contributed to it. This comes in stark contrast to the extreme rainfall observed through the winter – including the UK’s wettest February on record. May 2020 ranks as the driest May on record for England and the second driest for Wales.
However, while many have enjoyed the fine weather, the season was also exceptionally dry.
The sunny weather of the past three months has grabbed the headlines, with March-to-May clocking in as the sunniest spring and May being the sunniest calendar month on record. As the UK officially enters meteorological summer (June to August), it offers a chance to look back at a remarkable, record-breaking spring.
