The UK mean temperature for the winter months (December to February) was 3.2 °C, which is 0.5 degC below the 1971-2000 average. Provisionally it was the coldest winter over the UK since 1996/1997 (also 3.2 °C), whereas over England and Wales it was the coldest since 1995/1996. In terms of mean daily minimum temperature and the occurrence of air frost, England and Wales experienced its coldest December since 2001 and coldest January since 1997. Over Northern Ireland, the number of December air frosts was the greatest since December 1981. Despite a cold start to February, milder conditions later resulted in near-normal temperatures overall.
Winter rainfall was below average for the majority of the UK, particularly over the western half where some areas recorded less than 70% of the average. For Wales it was the twelfth-driest winter in the areal series back to 1914. December and, particularly, February were relatively dry months with less than 50% of the monthly averages in some areas. Significant snowfalls occurred in the first half of February, particularly over England and Wales during the first week when depths greater than 15cm were recorded quite widely. The last time a comparable snowy spell occurred was in February 1991.
Sunshine duration was above average generally across the UK during the winter. In December most of the southern half of the UK received over 150% of average sunshine and in the UK areal series back to 1929 provisionally it was the second-sunniest December (2001 was sunnier). Sunshine was also above normal in January, particularly over western and northern areas, with Wales having its sunniest January since 1963. February was generally duller than average, particularly in western and northern areas of the UK. Despite this, provisionally the winter overall ranked eighth in the UK series from 1929.