Silverdale Weather

Silverdale 2021 Review

The year started with more snow than Silverdale has seen for some years (but thats not a lot). Overall 2021 was less windy than normal. However, Storm Arwen caused extensive damage in late November.There were some long dry spells causing low levels in Thirlmere and Haweswater reservoirs but overall rainfall was slightly higher than average.

January was notable for having 3 periods of snow. It was colder and a bit wetter than the recent norm and there were 15 days when the temperature fell below freezing.

February was typical for the time of year. It snowed a significant amount once and that quickly melted.

March was relatively mild but quite dry apart from 3 very wet days.

April was dry and cold. The number of days when the temperature fell below freezing, 7 in Silverdale, was unusually high for April and set new records at weather stations around the area.

May is normally the 2nd dryest month of the year after April. Not this year. With 134mm of rain it was the 2nd wettest May on record after 2015 according to weather stations in the area.

June is often one the drier months of the year. This year it was not as dry as April had been but with 30mm of rain it was dryer than typical for the month. This is in contrast with much of the south England where it was unseasonably wet. The majority of the rain (18.4mm) fell on 25th June. It was also quite sunny but not exceptionally hot.

July was not especially dry but all the rain occurred in a few short strong downpours. The middle 2 weeks of the month were hot and dry.

August was very dry for the time of year with just 16.4mm of rain mostly over a couple of days. Thirlmere and Haweswater reservoirs were less than 45% full by the end of month.

September was also very dry until the last few days of the month by which time Thirlmere and Haweswater reservoirs were only 30% full and United Utilities were pleeding with people to use less water. There was a brief Indian Summer at the start of month. The weather locally and in the Lake District contrasted with that down South were the summer had been poor with above average rain.

October was wet and, in particular, the start and end of October were very wet

November was relatively dry with temperatures typical for the time of year. On the night of 26th Storm Arwen bought strong winds from the north east, an unusual direction, caused widespread damage to trees, fences and roofs. All roads to Silverdale were closed for a while. The month ended with a brief cold spell and on the 28th there was a thin covering of snow but it did not last.

December was a pretty typical - lots of wet grey days. The end of the month was mild and elsewhere in Britain the temperature reached record highs for New Year's Eve.

Fence Panel Index: 2 panels destroyed in Storm Arwen (and ridge tiles lifted).

Silverdale 2020 Review

2020 was mild and wet. Indeed overall it was one of the warmest years on record for the area and there were only 13 days when the temperature dropped below freezing despite a cold week at the end of the year.

February was very wet and windy. A succession of deep lows swept across the country and storms Ciara and Dennis in particular caused flooding and wind damage although locally the storm was nothing unusual.

Mid March to the end of May was very dry with records being set but the rest of the year was wetter than usual.

At christmas Storm Bella caused flooding in parts of England including Bedford but Silverdale was not badly affected.

There was a small amount of snow on 24 February and 31 December.

Fence Panel Index: 2 panels destroyed.

Silverdale 2019 Review

The weather in 2019 was not very noteworthy. There was little snow. It was neither a particularly cold winter nor a particularly hot summer. However the year was wetter than normal with 1344mm of rain. August and September were the wettest months with 43.4mm rain falling on 9 August and 59.44mm rain falling on 27 September. On the other hand the year was less windy than most.

Fence Panel Index: 1 panel destroyed.

Silverdale 2018 Review

The hot dry summer of 2018 didn't quite match 1976 but it was memorable. The year smashed the "Max Cooling Required" record for the weather station with 115.2°C days cooling required compared with the previous maximum of 68°C days cooling required in 2013. May, June and July in particular were very hot and dry and there was a 3 week spell in June / July with no rain. The garden suffered. Lawns turned brown and so did a number of conifers. On June 27th the average temperature was 23.3°C.

The rest of the year was fairly average. The 'Beast From East' bought cold weather and snow to much of Britain in late February early March but Silverdale had no significant snow although it was cold. 'Storm Deirdre' battered Britain on December 15th and a wind gust of 45mph was recorded.

Fence Panel Index: 2 panels destroyed.

Silverdale / Cockermouth 2017 Review

Cockermouth had a very dry spring with April having only 25.8mm of rain and May having not much more. There was an early heat wave in late May and another in June but the summer holiday weather was disappointing.

The last quarter of 2017 was notable for the very high winds of 16 / 17 October and the heavy rain of 22 November. 75.8mm of rain was recorded in Silverdale on that day and extensive flooding resulted around Kendal and Lancaster.

Fence Panel Index: 1 panel destroyed.

Cockermouth 2016 Review

2016 was a relatively dry year for Cockermouth with May and June particularly dry. July was notable for the amount of rain, with only January wetter. October on the other hand was very dry for the time of year with only 31.8 mm of rain.

Cockermouth 2015 Review

Until mid October, 2015 had been a dry year for Cockermouth. Then it rained, almost every day, until the end of the year. With the ground waterlogged, on 5th December Storm Desmond bought heavy rain to the Lake District turning the rivers in wild torrents. First Keswick was flooded, then, late in afternoon, Cockermouth Main Street and the surrounding areas were flooded. West Cumbria was virtually cut off for 2 days with many roads closed including the A66 at Braithwaite.

2015 was also a very windy year with a wind run about 50% above average.

Temperature wise 2015 was mild; neither particularly hot in the summer nor cold in the winter. The summer was relatively dry but lacked sunshine. During the winter months there were a few minor snow events but these were shortlived.

Cockermouth 2014 Review

Weatherwise 2014 was undistinguished. The spring was wetter than normal. The summer and particularly September were relatively dry. The autumn was wet but a little less so than normal. Snow did not feature significantly.

Keswick 2013 Review

2013 started with a cold but dry first quarter, continued with a relatively warm and dry summer, and then finished with a very wet last quarter (as is so often the case hereabouts). In December there was 393 mm of rain, a record amount. The largest snowfall, of a few of inches, was on the 24th March but this soon melted. July had 12 days with temperatures exceeding 25°C.

Keswick 2012 Review

Unlike most of the country, 2012 was not particularly wet (for Keswick!) with 1963mm of rain. In fact the first 5 months of 2012 were relatively dry with only 368mm of rain. At the end of May Keswick had a 10 day heatwave with no rain and temperatures in the mid twenties. June however was very wet with 317mm of rain including 100mm of rain on June 22. The remainder of 2012 continued on the wet side with few sunny days. The windiest spell of weather was in early January with gusts of over 80mph recorded at Keswick School on Jan 4. Only minor quantities of snow fell during 2012.

The site is normally updated every 15 minutes. The station was commissioned on 9 October 2017.