Rochdale temperatures mark first winter to see mercury rise over 20C

Sunrise over Ogden, Kitcliffe and Piethorne Reservoirs in the first half of February

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

Despite starting with snow and freezing temperatures, February 2019 ended with England, Scotland, Wales and the UK as a whole all recording the warmest February day, plus the warmest winter day since records began, smashing the previous UK record of 19.7C at Greenwich on 13 February 1998.

It is also the first time the north west has reached over 20 degrees during the winter months, over two and a half degrees above the previous north west record set 67 years ago at Whitworth Park in Manchester - 17.2C in 1952.

In total, 21 locations in the Met Office observing network broke previous national records, some of these on multiple days. 

With the high temperatures came plenty of sunshine – and plenty of flip-flops were spotted gracing Rochdale’s unseasonably sunny streets as though it were high summer, not the end of winter.

February concluded a warm, dry and sunny winter season (December to February) for the country as a whole, also recorded as the sunniest February on record in England, narrowly beating 2008, and the second sunniest for the UK as a whole.

It’s a far cry from last year’s temperatures; the pendulum violently swinging from the opposite direction in only 12 months.

By comparison, February and March 2018 saw the ‘Beast from the East’ and Storm Emma batter Rochdale through howling winds and incessant snow.

Temperatures fell below zero, feeling even colder due to the bitter cold winds, with many stranded across the region.

Hundreds of drivers spent the night stranded in their cars when the M62 was closed, resulting in numerous unsung heroes distributing essential provisions up and down the motorway and emergency centres opened for those being diverted.

While the latter part of this February had a spring-like feel to it, we are however, seeing a change in the weather in March as warnings have been issued and a named storm, Storm Freya, is pushing across the UK.