During a recent visit back home to Northern Ireland with the family I managed to visit Katesbridge and the famous weather station which frequently grabs national and international headlines for cold.
A beautiful little hamlet, population 135 located in the rolling countryside of Drumlin country, County Down, Few places on the island compete with Katesbridge for cold, particularly during the summer months.
While the hamlet itself is chilly and nestled within a low lying area surrounded by rolling hills, the official met office weather station for Katesbridge one could argue is located in a conveniently placed, higher elevated ‘frost hollow’ about 1.5 miles outside of Katesbridge.
Credit: Mark Vogan
Credit: Mark Vogan
Images from the official Katesbridge weather station.
The official Katesbridge Stevenson screen. The very one which holds multiple Northern Ireland records.
Inside the Stevenson screen. With everything digitised, there’s little in it these days!
The rain gauge
Grass thermometer
This box transfers the various readings straight back to the Met Office
Rainfall readings Sandy has taken and reports back to MO.
Data book which Sandy fills in and sends back to MO.
Sandy Ferguson
Why so cold compared to surrounding area?
The Katesbridge chill appears to be more noticeable during the autumn, spring and summer months compared to winter, even in Northern Ireland (eg Castlederg, Tyrone). The Katesbridge site lies in a natural bowl in which under clear, calm conditions, radiational cooling takes place with the enhancement of cooling air running off the surrounding countryside collecting at the bottom of the ‘bowl’. As previously stated, one could argue that the station is conveniently placed right at the bottom of the ‘bowl’ where the coldest air collects..
Credit: Mark Vogan
I happened to have the privilege of meeting long term resident Sandy Ferguson and his wife who lives right next door to the famed station. He in fact gave me a tour of the official site as well as his own site in his back garden which he has taken rainfall/temperature measurements consistently from since 1963. When away from home, his neighbour takes the reading he told me.
Katesbridge: Often the UK’s coldest spot during summer
Not often is it just Northern Ireland or Ireland’s coldest spot but Katesbridge is is frequently the entire UK’s coldest place. While most winters see the Scottish Highlands record the lowest value of the winter, Katesbridge often takes the prize for the coldest summer temperature for the UK.
The reason why Katesbridge may step away from others for cold during the winter months is the lack of snow due to shelter and lack of elevation.
Notable Records
Spring/summer 2014/15 were particularly noteworthy
Despite it’s infamous cold reputation and frequency of being the UK’s coldest spot in summer, Katesbridge only holds the Northern Ireland cold record for March (-14.8C on 2 March, 2001) and August (-1.9C on 24 August, 2014) and although the all-time record minimum for the site is an impressive -17.8C set on 21 December, 2010, it’s Castlederg, Tyrone which holds the national record of -18.7C set the same month.
On 24 August 2014, Katesbridge hit a bitter -1.9C which set a new NI record surpassing a record set back in 1964.
In July 2015 Katesbridge once again grabbed the attention of the weather community by dipping to a very chilly and frosty 0.3C, a new record for the site, a very noteworthy cold morning by mid summer standards. Amazingly that new Katesbridge record would fall the following week dipping to -0.6C falling marginally short of the national July record of -1.1C set on 17 July 1971 at Lislap Forest, Tyrone.
Probably one of the most impressive cold readings of recent times came just 3 months prior to the cold July mornings with 27th April, 2015 recording a bitter -8.1C. Though not breaking the April record of -8.5C set on 10 April, 1998 at Killylane, Antrim, this 27 April reading is likely Northern Ireland’s coldest for so late in the spring. The May record is -6.5C set on 7 May and so it’s unlikely there was a recording colder than -8.1C at Katesbridge between 27 April and 7 May.
Credit: BBC Northern Ireland
Katesbridge recorded Northern Ireland’s coldest temperature in 2014 and was the UK’s coldest spot on 13 occasions in 2011.
Here was my visit to Katesbridge weather station and chat with Sandy Ferguson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGPnkHq8Eu8&t=52s
MANY THANKS TO SANDY FOR SPENDING THE TIME CHATTING AND SHOWING ME THE SITE!
Here are some tweets regarding the cold readings recorded at the Katesbridge site during the past summer.
https://twitter.com/WeatherCee/status/903871124790005760
https://twitter.com/metdesk/status/896629932838842369
https://twitter.com/WeatherCee/status/887262440622370818
https://twitter.com/newslineweather/status/881035531207004160
https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/879216300962316292
https://twitter.com/Lauratobin1/status/879216125615251456
https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/861160470237110274
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