2011 Set to be 10th hottest year EVER! In the UK, they had their 2nd warmest year with top 7 all in last decade!

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2011 second warmest year on record

The summer may have been a chilly washout in many parts of Britain but 2011 as a whole has been the country's second warmest year on record, according to the Met Office.

The average UK temperature for 2011 is 9.62C. The seven warmest UK years have all been in the past decade, with 2006 the hottest of all with an average of 9.73C.

Last year, in contrast, had an average temperature of just 7.97C – chilled by the coldest December since accurate national records began a century ago. This month has been more than 5C warmer on average than December 2010."While it may have felt mild for many ... this December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect," said John Prior, National Climate Manager at the Met Office. "It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm."

What gave 2011 as a whole such a high average temperature was the warmest spring and second warmest autumn on record. The record October maximum was reached this year: 29.9C on October 1 in Gravesend, Kent.

As noteworthy as the temperatures has been the extraordinary variation in rainfall across the UK in 2011. Scotland has had its wettest year on record, with an annual total of 1,859mm – 22 per cent above the long-term average.

England, on the other hand, was exceptionally dry, with total rainfall of 707mm – 16 per cent below average. East Anglia had its second driest year on record (449mm of rainfall) and the Midlands its third driest (586mm), leaving both regions at risk from serious drought if 2012 turns out to be another dry year.

The reason for these rainfall and temperature patterns was that for long periods in 2011 the atmospheric pressure remained low to the north and high to the south of the British Isles. This resulted in a strong westerly airstream, directing rain-bearing depressions and weather fronts across Scotland while England remained relatively dry.

During the icy weather at the end of 2010 the pattern was exactly the opposite, with "blocking" anticyclones to the north feeding in exceptionally cold winds from Scandinavia and Siberia.

The Met Office no longer publishes long-term forecasts more than a month ahead but its outlook for January suggests a continuation of December's changeable weather, with a mobile westerly pattern bringing frequent spells of wind and rain, particularly to Scotland; southern and eastern England will have some rain but much less than further north.

There are, however, some hints that colder, drier and frostier weather will set in towards the end of January.

Globally, 2011 was dominated by the strong La Niña cooling in the Pacific Ocean early in the year, which had a slight overall cooling effect worldwide. Although figures for the whole of 2011 are not yet available, the World Meteorological Organisation suggested that the year would be the 10th warmest on record.

http://www.ft.com/cm...l#axzz1i7l09T1R

Edited December 31, 2011 by ☠