Work

The meteorology of the exceptional winter of 2015/2016 across the UK and Ireland

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: The meteorological winter of 2015/2016 will be remembered as another exceptional winter across the UK and Ireland, with numerous climate records broken and high impact weather events causing considerable disruption from flooding and high winds. A succession of winter storms tracked across the region, bringing persistent and in places record-breaking rainfall, including the highest 24 and 48h rainfall accumulations on record, from storm Desmond on 4?6 December. Persistent rain, particularly through the first half of the winter, resulted in new records for both monthly and seasonal rainfall accumulations widely across Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern England. Temperatures were also exceptionally high through much of December and in late January. In this paper we document the main meteorological and climate features that defined this exceptional winter season, and consider its wider historical context.

Source: Weather

DOI: 10.1002/wea.2823

Authors: Mark McCarthy, Sandra Spillane, Seamus Walsh, Michael Kendon

Institutions: Met Office, Met Éireann

Language: English

Topic: Climate variability and models

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $1,880