The UK experienced summertime conditions in early spring - with temperatures hitting more than 26C in the south. May and June have been wetter than average, with floods causing deaths and forcing people from their homes in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Here is a summary of this year's changeable weather. Record highs and observations will be updated through what the Met Office predicts could be the hottest year yet recorded.
JANUARY
The year began with stormy weather for many parts of the UK with some places being battered by gusts in excess of 70mph.
New Year events in major cities, including Edinburgh, were cancelled
|
Hogmanay street parties in Glasgow and Edinburgh, firework events in Newcastle and Liverpool and an outdoor concert in Belfast had all been cancelled on New Year's Eve.
Met Office figures showed that 2006 was the warmest year in the UK since records began in 1914.
And, perhaps incredibly after the stormy start to the month, it was revealed on 31 January that the month had been the second warmest January on record. The warmest was in 1916.
January also saw 17% more sunshine and 21% more rain than normal, the Met Office said.
FEBRUARY
On 8 February, heavy snowfall throughout England Wales forced thousands of schools to close with some households left without power.
Heavy snowfall caused widespread disruption in February
|
Despite this, the Met Office, on 27 February, announced that the UK had experienced its second warmest winter on record. Its conclusion was based on figures from December, January and February.
The results of a survey published by the RSPB suggested the mild winter was the reason for a fall in the number of songbirds visiting UK gardens - the number of song thrushes spotted in gardens fell 65% in a year, it said.
This was because the mild winter had "provided more food" for the birds, the RSPB added.
As well as being a mild winter, it had also been "a very wet winter in terms of ground water," BBC forecaster John Hammond said.
Also, at the end of February, Kent Water become the last of the water companies in southern England with hosepipe bans in place to lift restrictions.
Restrictions in parts of the South East were introduced in 2005 and 2006 following record dry winters for two consecutive years.
MARCH
A cold snap in mid-March in parts of the UK caused all manner of problems with hail and snow showers creating disruption.
Farmer John Garnett, of Skipton, provided cagoules for his lambs
|
And the Met Office, ahead of 21 March - "officially the first day of spring" - noted that the weather had "more of a wintry feel to it as overnight frosts along with hail, sleet and snow showers continue to affect much of the country".
In some parts of the UK, the cold snap meant a bleak start to life for new-born lambs.
BBC Northern Ireland environment correspondent Martin Cassidy said the cold had resulted in heavy losses on some farms "with the bitter blast hitting many flocks at their most vulnerable time".
The weather prompted one farmer in the Yorkshire Dales to keep his new flock warm by kitting them out with special plastic lamb cagoules.
However, March was relatively mild despite the cold snap.
It was later reported that sales of clothing and gardening equipment had been boosted by the weather.
Overall sales in March rose by 3.9% compared with March 2006, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
APRIL
This month was a record breaker, as it was the warmest April in the UK on record, with virtually no rain in some areas.
BBC forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said it had been an "absolutely incredible" month across the whole of the UK.
The average temperature was 10.2C (50.4F), beating the previous April high of 9.2C (48.6F), recorded in 1943.
Temperatures reached as high as 26.5C on Sunday 15 April
|
People across the country flocked to beaches and parks to sunbathe, particularly during the weekend which saw a temperature of 26.5C - about 10 degrees above average - reached on Sunday 15 April at Herstmonceux in East Sussex.
Sunshine hours were also as much as 50% higher than average across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
MAY
Above average rainfall across the majority of the UK in May washed out the annual two-day Ten Tors walk on Dartmoor and many Spring Bank Holiday events.
East Anglia experienced its wettest May and the day-time maximum temperature of 7.9C (46.2F) at Heathrow on the 28th was the second coldest May day on record.
The Ten Tors walk ended early for all 2,400 participants
|
But overall, temperatures ranged from close to average in north-west Scotland to over 1C above normal across southern and eastern England.
The UK's monthly average high of 10.6C (51.1F) was 0.8C above 1961-1990 levels.
The month began with several days of dry, sunny weather, continuing the theme from the end of April.
Sunshine amounts were above average in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
JUNE
Three people died and thousands were forced from their homes after severe flooding hit Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Wales on 25 June.
The Environment Agency labelled the conditions "phenomenal" and said a sixth of the annual rain had fallen in some places in 12 hours.
Torrential rain brought flooding to many areas in June
|
The Glastonbury Festival was also blighted by rain and earlier in the week the Cornish village of Boscastle was only saved from a repeat of serious flood damage in 2004 by a new defence system.
Earlier in the month, a teenage soldier died after falling into the swollen Risedale Beck on Hipswell Moor in North Yorkshire.
Torrential rain also caused flooding in areas including Kent, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~19~RS~)
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~19~RS~)
One-Minute World News
News services
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
