• Driest February in 93 years

• Highest mean temperature for February since 1923

• Strong winds and fog occurrences registered

Carnival enthusiasts’ delight at last month’s unseasonal weather was not shared by those who had been counting on February to usher in some much-needed rain. Last month broke two records that had been held since 1923, none of which involved unusually large amounts of rainfall.

With a mere 2.6 mm of precipitation and a mean temperature of 15.3°C, last month became the driest and warmest February in ninety-three years. Almost half of February’s precipitation was registered on the 7th of the month, while another 0.6 mm was registered as dew.

Temperatures were unseasonably high throughout February, but a warm spell was experienced between the 12th and the 15th to plenty of picnickers’ delight. During this period the temperature peaked at 23.6°C, with temperatures this high usually experienced towards the beginning of summer. In fact, this peak was the mean temperature recorded for June 2015. Sea temperatures were also higher than usual by 1.5°C.

February enjoyed just over 200 hours of sunshine. Over ten hours of sunshine were recorded on the 19th, ending the third work week in February on an exceptionally bright note. At the other end of the spectrum, the 16th was remarkably dull, with the sun refraining from making an appearance at all. Cloud cover for this month was similar to the norm at 4 oktas.

It was also windier than usual last month and gusts measuring over 34 knots were observed on six days. The maximum gust recorded was 48 knots, which is equivalent to storm conditions on the Beaufort scale. Fog occurrences were observed on two separate days, when the minimum visibility was 900 m and 50 m respectively.