Met Office historic UK climate records

The Met Office holds an extensive archive of weather observations from thousands of different locations around the UK. The number of stations operating at any one time, the methods of observation and the surroundings of individual sites have all changed over the years - making the interpretation of these data a complex and challenging task. Collectively these weather records comprise our best available description of the climate of the UK.

The National Meteorological Library and Archive hold original manuscript records dating back to the 1730s. A significant number are also held electronically. This computer database contains all of the climate records since 1959, plus a proportion of earlier data. See a selection of station records.

In addition to the records from individual observing stations, the Met Office also maintains several time series calculated from the station records, which are used to monitor the climate of the UK at a regional and national level. There are two main types of series – the Met Office UK Climate series and the Met Office Hadley Centre series.

Met Office UK Climate series

Data from every available observing station in the UK are used to create our best estimate of the 'true' average for the UK, its countries and regions.

Individual station data are used to estimate monthly values at 5 km grid points, taking into account factors such as topography, i.e. hills and valleys, and land use, i.e. urban or rural.
The 5 km grid values are then averaged over areas including: the entire UK; individual countries, e.g. Wales or Scotland climate districts and counties.
Series are produced for a wide variety of climate elements, including average maximum temperature, rainfall amount and hours of sunshine.
The series generally start in 1961, however, the air temperature, rainfall and sunshine series extend further back as a result of an ongoing programme to digitise the Met Office archive of station records.
Provisional values are produced as near to real-time as possible using data available at the time. Final values are issued several months later, based on fully quality-controlled data from the entire network.
To create the gridded data set an evenly distributed network of stations is needed in digital format. Sufficient data only currently exist in the Met Office electronic databases from the start dates given in the table.

Start dates
1914	UK and regional gridded temperature and precipitation	monthly
1929	UK and regional gridded sunshine duration	monthly
1961	UK and regional gridded weather variables, e.g. frost, cloud cover, wind	monthly

The gridded monthly data used to create the series can be downloaded free of charge for research purposes only.

These time series are used to post information on the UK climate and weather statistics page.

Met Office Hadley Centre series

The Central England Temperature series (HadCET) and the United Kingdom Precipitation series (HadUKP) have been developed to study changes in our climate. They are calculated using a limited set of carefully selected stations so that the data are comparable over time.

A consequence of using a smaller sample of stations is that the series exhibit greater variability. Provisional values are produced as near to real time as possible with final values issued after data quality-control. The HadCET and HadUKP are calculated differently as described below.

The Central England Temperature series (HadCET)

These series are representative of an area from the south Midlands to Lancashire.
Series are produced for maximum, minimum and mean temperature – both daily and monthly.
Data from a small number of stations are used, the 2007 core network being Rothamsted (Herts), Pershore (Worcs) and Stonyhurst (Lancs).
Any effects of urbanisation are minimised by comparison with nearby rural stations.
Estimates of the uncertainty associated with the values are available at all timescales, from daily to annual.

Start dates
1659	Mean Central England Temperature	monthly
1772	Mean Central England Temperature	daily
1878	Maximum and Minimum Central England Temperature	daily and monthly mean

The UK Precipitation series (HadUKP)

The HadUKP series is available for the combined area of England and Wales; five sub-regions of England and Wales; Scotland; three sub-regions of Scotland; and Northern Ireland.
The series is produced using a limited number of selected stations, currently approximately 80, or about 3% of those used to produce the Met Office UK Climate series.
The series is produced for both daily and monthly figures.

A project is running to merge the HadUKP and the Met Office UK Climate series. The outcome will be a single historical series for the UK. If you would like further information about this project, please contact climate@metoffice.gov.uk.

Start dates
1766	England and Wales	monthly
1873	Five sub-regions of England and Wales	monthly
1931	Scotland, three Scottish sub-regions and Northern Ireland	monthly
1931	England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and eight sub-regions	daily

Met Office historic UK climate records

Met Office UK Climate series

Met Office Hadley Centre series

The Central England Temperature series (HadCET)

The UK Precipitation series (HadUKP)

Further Reading