The weather for 2010

Ian Currie gives a regular weather update for gardeners every week in Garden News. Here he makes his predictions for the entire year of 2010. Ian's forecasts are remarkably accurate – for 2009 he predicted the February blanket of snow, the deluges of eastern Scotland in September and the record-breaking rains in Cumbria.

He also forecast a warm autumn, which across England, turned out to be the third warmest since 1900.

IAN’s LONG RANGE 2010 weather forecast

The year as a whole could prove rather wet, though less so in the far south east and east. August may be the best month, February the driest, January the coldest and May needing the most vigilance.

January
Quite changeable with alternating spells of wintry weather, with some snow and frost, and milder interludes. Quite strong winds, too, and they could bring snow showers by the middle of the month. Overall wetter than average and rather cold.

February
Starting unsettled with strong south west winds giving rain in most places, though mild. By mid-month, it turns drier and is still quite mild though colder at night in the south east. The ground should dry out a bit for some early digging and preparation for spring.

March
Begins mild with some rain at times but the saying ‘as the days grow longer, the cold grows stronger’ could come true with cold and frosty conditions for the middle of the month After that, it is back to milder, but more unsettled south west winds. It could well end ‘roaring like a lion’. About average for rainfall and temperature.

April
Starts in blustery mode and rainfall totals look above par for this mid-spring month, but it will be milder than average with few frosts.

May
Problems for fruit growers with a mid-month cold spell as the wind blows from the north, though it should start in sunny mode. Rainfall looks about normal but it will be colder than average almost everywhere.

June
A wet month for the northern half of the UK with the wettest of the weather in the first 10 days. The weather should settle down later in the month and again, as in 2009 Wimbledon fortnight, we may have some fine weather.

July
Starts fine, but overall it will end up a wet month. This time, the south will have the heaviest rains with lightening. Scotland may fare best as low pressure areas affect the south.

August
The first half of the month should see the driest and warmest of our summer weather with the temperatures exceeding 29C (84F) – time to go on holiday! Should end up being warmer than average with rainfall about par, so a good time to enjoy the garden.

September
Make the most of the dry conditions at the beginning of September – from September 8 onwards it looks unsettled and often wet, especially in the west and north of Britain.

October
A succession of depressions will plague the north and west of the UK making it wet and in southern coastal counties, too, but nearer average for East Anglia and eastern England. Temperatures should be about normal.

November
The unsettled theme looks set to continue, but at least it will be mild. However, the south east will have less rain than usual as high pressure builds to the south and there could be some frost there after the middle of the month.

December
The pattern continues from November with wetter than average conditions, the further north west you go. In the south there could be a frosty spell in the middle of the month and then quite stormy in
most places, especially across the Midlands and
northern England.