North Wales basks in second sunniest March on record

March 2025 delivered record-breaking sunshine across North Wales and the wider UK, with provisional figures showing it was the second sunniest March on record for Wales and the sunniest ever for England since records began in 1910.

The Met Office confirmed that persistent high pressure and a lack of rain-bearing weather fronts led to an exceptionally dry and sunny month, particularly across southern parts of the UK.

In North Wales, sunshine hours reached at least 150% of the seasonal average, with many areas enjoying long stretches of dry, bright weather.

England recorded 185.8 hours of sunshine, 59% above average, beating the previous March sunshine record set in 1929.

Wales, meanwhile, also basked in unusually bright conditions, contributing to what became the UK’s third sunniest March on record.

Emily Carlisle, a Met Office Scientist, said:

“Persistent high pressure, along with a lack of fronts arriving from the west, has meant that many have enjoyed a warm, dry and very sunny March.”

Wales also experienced its fourth driest March since records began in 1836, with just 23.9mm of rainfall recorded — only 23% of its average.

England was even drier, with just 25% of typical rainfall, and some areas recording less than 5mm of rain all month.

The unusually dry conditions in Wales were reflected locally in Gwynedd, which saw one of its driest Marches on record.

Temperatures were also above normal across the UK, with a mean increase of 1.3°C overall.

Wales recorded an average temperature of 7.0°C, 1.0°C above the 30-year norm. Scotland experienced the biggest anomaly, at 1.7°C above average.

The highest UK temperature of the year so far, 21.3°C, was recorded in west London and Surrey on 20 March.

The UK as a whole experienced its tenth warmest March by mean temperature and fourth warmest by average daytime highs, as clear skies allowed heat to build during the day but also escape at night, leading to cooler evenings.

Looking ahead, forecasters expect the dry and sunny trend to continue into the first week of April, with spring 2025 shaping up to be one of the most settled and sun-filled starts to the year in recent memory.

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