February 2020 one of the wettest on record

Photo: Journeaux

February 2020 has been named as the wettest on record in the UK

February in the Rochdale borough was both warmer and wetter than average, as the month has been named as the wettest February on record in the UK, according to the Met Office.

Three named storms crossed the UK during February, Ciara, Dennis and Jorge, bringing heavy rainfall.

In the Rochdale borough, 286mm of rail fell, more than two-and-a-half times the average for February, with the most rain falling during Storm Ciara on 8 Feb – 35.8mm.

Nationally, February 2020 has also been the fifth wettest of any calendar month in a series from 1862 behind only October 1903, December 2015, November 2009, and December 1929.

This year, local temperatures reached an average 5.69°C – almost 1.8°C warmer than the average between 1981 and 2010.

The warmest days were recorded on 9 and 15 February, when it was 11.6°C, almost 14°C warmer than just a few days’ prior on 7 February, which was also the coldest day of the month.

Last year, a record-breaking temperature of 20.4°C was recorded in Rochdale on 26 February, the first winter which officially recorded a daily maximum temperature above 20°C.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/126420/rochdale-temperatures-mark-first-winter-to-see-mercury-rise-over-20c