Durham Weather and Climate since 1841

by Stephen Burt, Tim Burt

Overview

The British have always been obsessed by the weather. Astronomers at Durham Observatory began weather observations in 1841; weather records continue unbroken to this day, one of the longest continuous series of single-site weather records in Europe. Durham Weather and Climate since 1841 represents the first full publication of this newly digitised record of English weather, which will be of lasting appeal to interested readers and climate researchers alike. The book celebrates 180 years of weather in north-east England by describing how the records were (and are) made and the people who made them, examines monthly and seasonal weather patterns and extremes across two centuries, and considers long-term climate change. Local documentary sources and contemporary photographs bring the statistics to life, from the great flood of 1771 and skating on the frozen River Wear in February 1895 right up to Durham's hottest-ever day in July 2019 and its wettest winter in 2021. Extensive links are provided to full daily weather records back to 1843. This volume is a sister publication to Oxford Weather and Climate since 1767 by the same authors, published by Oxford University Press in 2019.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198870517
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	9.85(w) x 7.01(h) x 1.38(d)

About the Author

Stephen Burt, Visiting Fellow, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading,Tim Burt, Emeritus Professor, Department of Geography, Durham University

Dr Stephen Burt has published widely on many and varied aspects of British climatology, including case studies of notable weather events including gales, snowstorms, heatwaves and thunderstorms, and citizen science data rescue projects including the hourly Ben Nevis Observatory records and 350 years of Met Office rainfall data. He is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and a member of the American Meteorological Society and the Scientific Instruments Society. Previous books include Oxford Weather and Climate since 1767 (with Tim Burt) and The Weather Observer's Handbook. He is a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading.

Tim Burt retired in 2017 after 21 years as Master of Hatfield College and Professor of Geography at Durham University. Before that, he was Lecturer in Physical Geography at Oxford University and a Fellow of Keble College (1984-96) and Director of the Radcliffe Meteorological Station (1986-96). Tim has run the Durham Observatory weather station since 2001, not as old as the Radcliffe, but still with records dating from 1843. Tim has published widely on the Durham and Oxford records as well as in other areas of physical geography (notably, hydrology and water quality, fluvial geomorphology). He is now an Emeritus Professor at Durham University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol. An undergraduate at Cambridge, Tim has an MA from Carleton University, Ottawa, and a PhD and DSc from the University of Bristol.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Durham's weather and climate1. Durham - its regional, economic and physical setting2. Meteorological observations in DurhamPart 2 Durham weather through the year3. The annual cycle4. January5. February6. March7. April8. May9. June10. July11. Aaugust12. September13. October14. November15. December16. The calender yearPart 3 Durham weather through the seasons17. Winter: December, January and February18. Spring: March, April and May19. Summer: June, July and August20. Autumn: September, October, NovemberPart 4 Long-term climate change in Durham21. Climate change in Durham22. Chronology of notable weather events in and around DurhamPart 5 Durham weather averages and extremes23. Warmest, driest, sunniest24. Temperature extremes in Durham25. Precipitation extremes in Durham26. Sunshine extremes in Durham27. Barometric pressure extremes in DurhamAPPENDICESAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3Appendix 4Appendix 5Appendix 6Appendix 7Appendix 8Appendix 9Appendix 10Appendix 11

Editorial Reviews

"Groundbreaking book on climate...The book includes 11 detailed appendixes, and the Stephen and Tim employ statistical methodology suitable for study in college statistics courses. This volume will prove indispensable for research universities and teaching colleges with programs in environmental science." — Choice

"This book represents climatology at its best, particularly through the efforts to improve the homogeneity of past records and to present them in a single publication. The value of the observations to us is probably beyond the imagination of the original observers." — Julian Mayes, Weather, August 2022

From the Publisher