Seasons at the allotment: February 2022

Apart from staying with the 'milder than average' theme, February proved a real contrast to January.

It will probably be most remembered for having three named storms hitting the UK in just a week. Dudley (16th-17th), Eunice (18th) and Franklin (20-21st) all brought strong winds, with snow and heavy rain also a feature. It is the first time we have had three named storms in such a short period - the naming of storms began in 2015.

February was also wet. It is the 9th wettest February on record, with 50% more rainfall than average.

During February temperatures have been above average by around 2 °C over most of England and Wales, and around a degree above average for southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Overall that makes it the seventh warmest on record.

Winter 2022: The UK’s mean temperature was 1.1 degrees higher than the long-term average. Winter as a whole was slightly drier than average. The eastern half of the UK saw much more sunshine than the west, with the north of England actually seeing its fifth sunniest winter ever with 115 per cent of its average sunshine hours.