earth science

United Kingdom weather records

United Kingdom weather records is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand United Kingdom weather records rather than just read about it. In short: The United Kingdom weather records show the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as temperature, wind speed, and rainfall records. Reliable temperature records for the whole of the United Kingdom go back to about 1880.

Key takeaways

United Kingdom weather records belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect United Kingdom weather records to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of United Kingdom weather records from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The United Kingdom weather records show the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as temperature, wind speed, and rainfall records. Reliable temperature records for the whole of the United Kingdom go back to about 1880.

Records Daily records unless otherwise specified are from 0900-2100 UTC. As of 13 August 2026, the records, as recorded by the Met Office, are:

Temperature and sunshine records

Highest temperature by constituent country

Earlier records for England/UK since 1911 are shown with a * in the "Top 10 hottest days" table below.

Top 10 hottest days by maximum temperatures recorded in the UK

Hottest days by month of the year

Coldest days by month of the year

Lowest temperature by constituent country

Most hours of sunshine

Rainfall records

Most rainfall in periods of time

Wind records

Highest wind speed

Shetland holds the unofficial British record for wind speed. A gust of 197 mph (317 km/h) was reported on 1 January 1992. An earlier gust in 1962 was recorded at 177 mph (285 km/h), both at RAF Saxa Vord. However, it is expected that higher gusts than those reported would have been achieved as during both storms the measuring equipment was destroyed by the extreme weather. A wind gust of 194 mph (312 km/h) was recorded at Cairn Gorm on 19 December 2008 but was discovered too late to be verified by the Met Office. The highest wind speed in England was a wind gust of 125.4 mph (201.8 km/h) recorded at The Needles, Isle of Wight, on 18 February 2022 during Storm Eunice.

Snowfall records

Most snowfall in a day

Other notable records

Atmospheric pressure

Notelist

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with United Kingdom weather records

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what United Kingdom weather records claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to United Kingdom weather records before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about United Kingdom weather records ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of United Kingdom weather records

In research: United Kingdom weather records appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses United Kingdom weather records in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: United Kingdom weather records is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Climate of the United Kingdom, Lists of weather records, United Kingdom history-related lists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for United Kingdom weather records outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study United Kingdom weather records in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what United Kingdom weather records means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain United Kingdom weather records out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is United Kingdom weather records in simple terms?

Why does United Kingdom weather records matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study United Kingdom weather records?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on United Kingdom weather records.