Sheffield basks in warmest ever February day, as mercury hits 18C

Today was the warmest February day on record in Sheffield, as the temperature reached 18C.
People enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centrePeople enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre
People enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre

The city’s Weston Park weather station recorded a top temperature of exactly 18C today, at around 3pm, making it the hottest February day since its records began in 1882.

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The previous highest temperature recorded at the site was 17.6C in 1998, which narrowly beat the 17.5C recorded in 1990.

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The unseasonably warm weather is set to continue tomorrow, with the Met Office forecasting a high of 16C in Sheffield.

But temperatures are expected to dip on Thursday, when a high of 9C and low of 5C is predicted, and to hover around the 10C mark heading into the weekend.

People enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centrePeople enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre
People enjoying the warm February weather at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield city centre

Alistair McLean, curator of natural science at Museums Sheffield, who runs the weather station, said it was unusual to break a record by such a margin.

He said it contrasted wildly with this time last year, when on February 28 the temperature dipped to -6C.

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Experts have said climate change has played a part in the unseasonable weather but Mr McLean said it was impossible for him to say how much this was the case.

“Our data shows we’re getting more extremes of weather, and temperatures are getting warmer in general,” he said.

“We can’t say what’s causing that, whether it’s part of the natural cycle or a man made phenomenon. That’s for larger organisations with more super computers than we have to talk about really.”

He added that temperatures in Sheffield were often warmer outside the city centre so outer suburbs may have enjoyed even warmer weather.

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The UK as a whole experienced its warmest winter day since records began for the second day running, with temperatures hitting 21.2C in Kew Gardens, London.

 

Parts of Britain were hotter today than many popular holiday destinations, including Malibu, Athens and Barcelona.