| Durham Observatory | |
|---|---|
 Observatory front view | |
  Location within Durham, England | |
| General information | |
| Type | Observatory |
| Location | Potters Bank,Durham |
| Coordinates | 54°46′05″N1°35′10″W / 54.768°N 1.586°W /54.768; -1.586 |
| Construction started | 1839 |
| Completed | 1841 |
| Owner | Durham University |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Anthony Salvin |
| Website | |
| durhamweather | |
TheDurham University Observatory is a weatherobservatory owned and operated by theUniversity of Durham. It is a Grade II listed building[1] located at Potters Bank, Durham and was founded in 1839 initially as anastronomical andmeteorological observatory (owing to the need to calculaterefraction from the air temperature) byTemple Chevallier, until 1937 when the observatory moved purely to meteorological recording.[2]
The observatory's current director is ProfessorTim Burt of the Geography Department, who is also Master ofHatfield College.
After theRadcliffe Observatory in Oxford (from 1772) and theArmagh Observatory (from 1795), Durham has the third longest unbroken meteorological record in the UK, with records dating back to 23 July 1843,[3] principally due to the work ofGordon Manley in creating a temperature record that would be comparable to Oxford's.[4] In 2022,Oxford University Press publishedDurham Weather and Climate since 1841, analysing the observatory's weather records and giving a history of the observations, as a sister volume to theirOxford Weather and Climate since 1767 (2019).[5] Observations were made manually until 1999, since when aMet Office automatic weather station has been used.[3]
The observatory is aWorld Meteorological Organization Centennial Observing Station.[6]
The university established the observatory in 1839. Funds were raised by a public appeal and the site was made available by the Dean and Chapter ofDurham Cathedral. The building was designed byAnthony Salvin and was completed by 1841 with the telescope installed in 1842. The latitude of the observatory was determined in 1843 and its longitude in 1851, byRichard Carrington. An obelisk was installed in the grounds of St Leonard's School, due north of the observatory, in 1850 to check the alignment of the telescope.[7]
Climate data for Durham Coordinates54°46′04″N1°35′04″W / 54.76786°N 1.58455°W /54.76786; -1.58455 (Durham University Observatory); elevation: 102 m (335 ft)[10] 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1843–2023 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 24.1 (75.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 30.4 (86.7) | 36.9 (98.4) | 32.5 (90.5) | 30.0 (86.0) | 25.3 (77.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 15.9 (60.6) | 36.9 (98.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) | 7.8 (46.0) | 9.9 (49.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.2 (68.4) | 19.9 (67.8) | 17.4 (63.3) | 13.5 (56.3) | 9.7 (49.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | 13.2 (55.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) | 4.6 (40.3) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10.9 (51.6) | 13.6 (56.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 15.6 (60.1) | 13.3 (55.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 6.6 (43.9) | 4.2 (39.6) | 9.5 (49.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.4 (34.5) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.1 (39.4) | 6.5 (43.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 11.3 (52.3) | 11.3 (52.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 6.5 (43.7) | 3.6 (38.5) | 1.4 (34.5) | 5.7 (42.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −16.9 (1.6) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −15.0 (5.0) | −11.1 (12.0) | −4.8 (23.4) | −0.8 (30.6) | 1.4 (34.5) | 0.0 (32.0) | −1.7 (28.9) | −5.3 (22.5) | −12.0 (10.4) | −16.4 (2.5) | −18.0 (−0.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 51.8 (2.04) | 44.6 (1.76) | 41.1 (1.62) | 51.2 (2.02) | 44.4 (1.75) | 61.0 (2.40) | 60.9 (2.40) | 66.5 (2.62) | 56.9 (2.24) | 63.4 (2.50) | 73.0 (2.87) | 61.0 (2.40) | 675.7 (26.60) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 11.8 | 9.9 | 8.6 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 9.9 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 124.1 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 60.9 | 84.4 | 121.7 | 160.8 | 187.1 | 167.1 | 174.3 | 167.3 | 135.3 | 98.9 | 64.6 | 57.6 | 1,480 |
| Source 1: Met Office[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Durham Weather[12][13][14] | |||||||||||||
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