It’s been quite the May for cold throughout the British Isles and Ireland thanks to dry arctic or subarctic air trapped within a dominant blocking high over ground starved of rain.
Cloudless skies have been common place in recent weeks as seen in the below visible satellite image.
Credit: NASA
While April as well as May has witnessed big overnight drops in temperature, the more unusual levels of cold have come during the first 2 weeks of May. Kinbrace, Sutherland kicked things off when it observed a minimum of -6.6C. That reading turned out to be the UK’s coldest May night in 1997.
Before May 2020, 2012 received a low of -6.2C at Saughall, Ayrshire and previous to this was -6.3C set in 2005 at Kinbrace.
Yesterday's cold highs over the UK. May 10th pic.twitter.com/Z40rfweZm2
— MarkVoganWeather.com (@MarkVogan) May 11, 2020
This morning's February-like lows over the UK with snow making it to sea level. May 11th pic.twitter.com/s4mxEGkzOI
— MarkVoganWeather.com (@MarkVogan) May 11, 2020
Coldest in 20-30 years for Lanarkshire and Western Isles.
Stats just in show that Drumalbin in Lanarkshire had its coldest May night in over 30 years last night with low of -4.3C. Isle of Harris had it's coldest May night in over 20 years with low of -0.4C. South Uist had its coldest May day in over 20 years yesterday with high of 7.5C.
— Sean Batty (@SeanBattySTV) May 11, 2020
While Scotland’s night’s moderated due to increased cloud and breeze, the focus took aim further south.
Credit: Meteoceil
A low at Sennybridge of -4.7C appears to the the coldest May night since 1995 for Wales. The coldest ever recorded for May in Wales is -6.1C set back in 1967.
Parts of the Midlands even witnessed their coldest May nights in nearly 40 years.
A damaging frost across parts of central and southern Britain last night, with many places recording their coldest May night in 10 years, and some locations over 30 years.
For a few observation stations, it was their coldest May night on record (such as Sennybridge, opened 1995) pic.twitter.com/V7T1SkOsEk— Dan Holley (@danholley_) May 12, 2020
The depth and widespread nature of this cold is very impressive for mid May.
Credit: Meteoceil
Northern sees coldest May night since 1982
This morning, the coming together of perfect atmospheric conditions (cool, dry, windless air) and geography (low lying countryside surrounded by gently slopped hills) allowed for cold air drainage into the well known cold hollow of Katesbridge, Co Down for a predawn low of -6.1C.
Credit: Mark Vogan
Katesbridge sits within the gently rolling fields of north Down as seen in my photo taken in September 2017.
Credit: Mark Vogan
This was Northern Ireland’s coldest May night since Moydamlaght, Co Londonderry fell to -6.5C on 7 May, 1982.
While not a new national May record, it was a new site record and came within just 0.4C of the NI May record.
It’s worth taking into account that the 1982 record was set on 7th May whereas the 2020 minimum was set on the 14th which may mean it’s the coldest for NI for so late in the year.
Another significant frost last night, coldest May night in Northern Ireland since 1982. Several stations in S Scotland, N England & Northern Ireland had their coldest May night for 25-40 years.
This map highlights when the last air frost of the season usually occurs, on average: pic.twitter.com/hqxZSMpc5n— Dan Holley (@danholley_) May 14, 2020
Katesbridge has a habit of getting close to national monthly cold records. Like this month, in April, 2015 it also came within 0.4C of a national monthly record. Also, like we’ve seen this month, that April low of -8.1C fell on the 27 April which suggests the coldest for so late in the year then.
The officiasl Met Office weather station just outside Katesbridge / Credit: Mark Vogan
Just three months after the bitter end of April low, in July, Katesbridge fell to a frosty -0.6C, which came just 0.3C shy of the July cold record for NI.
THAT’S KATESBRIDGE FALLING WITHIN 0.5C OF A NATIONAL RECORD LOW ON 3 SEPARATE MONTHS WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS.
Interestingly, Northern Ireland has set 3 monthly cold records in the last 10 years, two of which have been at Katesbridge.
| September | -3.6 | 29 September 2018 | Katesbridge (County Down) |
| August | -1.9 | 24 August 2014 | Katesbridge (County Down) |
| December | -18.7 | 24 December 2010 | Castlederg (County Tyrone) |
While there’s been 3 new monthly cold records set, there’s been just one monthly heat record during the same period.
| November | 18.5 | 10 November 2015 | Murlough (County Down) |
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