Spring forecast 2009

The Met Office in the UK have published their Spring weather predictions for Europe, which can be summarized as...

Rainfall

For the UK and much of northern Europe precipitation is likely to be average or below average.

In contrast, average or above-average rainfall is likely over southern Europe and the central Mediterranean.

What do we mean by average rainfall?

We base our average rainfall measurements on readings taken between 1971 and 2000. In the UK for March to May, this is 231.7 mm.

Temperatures

For the UK and western Europe spring this year is likely to be cooler than last year, with mean temperatures either near or below average.

In contrast, mean temperatures are likely to be near average or above average over much of eastern Europe.

What do we mean by average temperature?

As you would expect, temperatures are usually higher at the end of spring than they are at the start. So we take the average of the whole season and measure against that. The average for March–May from 1971–2000 is 7.4 °C.

Future updates

An update to the spring forecast will be issued at 10 a.m. on 25 March 2009.

A first outlook for summer 2009 will be issued at 10 a.m. on 31 March 2009.