The UK mean wind data contain the mean wind speed and direction, and the direction, speed and time of the maximum gust, all during 1 or more hours, ending at the stated time and date. The data were collected by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within the following message types: SYNOP, HCM, AWSHRLY, DLY3208, HWNDAUTO and HWND6910. The data spans from 1949 to 2022.

This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. These include the addition of data for calendar year 2022.

For further details on observing practice, including measurement accuracies for the message types, see relevant sections of the MIDAS User Guide linked from this record (e.g. section 3.3 details the wind network in the UK, section 5.5 covers wind measurements in general and section 4 details message type information).

This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by the Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record.

Over the past two decades, the average wind speed in the United Kingdom has remained relatively stable. In 2024, the average wind speed in the UK was 8.4 knots. Speeds peaked during this period in 2015 at 9.4 knots, before falling to 8.4 knots the following year. One knot is equivalent to one nautical mile per hour. Overall, wind speeds have mostly remained between eight and nine knots, dropping to a low of 7.8 in 2010. The first and fourth quarters were the windiest Since 2010, the first and fourth quarters of each year generally recorded the highest wind speeds. The highest quarterly wind speed averages occurred in the first quarter of 2020, with speeds of approximately 11.5 knots. Between 2015 and 2023, the most noticeable deviation from the 10-year mean was recorded in February 2020. In this month wind speeds were 4.2 knots higher than normal. Optimal wind conditions for wind energy The United Kingdom has some of the best wind conditions in Europe for wind power, so it is no surprise that it plays an important role in the country's energy mix. As of 2023, there were 39 offshore wind farms operating in the UK, by far the most in Europe. Furthermore, in the same year, offshore wind power additions in the UK reached 1.14 gigawatts.

The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform's wind speed database is available from this website. It contains estimates of the annual mean wind speed throughout the UK. The data is the result of an air flow model that estimates the effect of topography on wind speed. There is no allowance for the effect of local thermally driven winds such as sea breezes or mountain/valley breezes. The model was applied with 1km square resolution and takes no account of topography on a small scale or local surface roughness (such as tall crops, stone walls or trees), both of which may have a considerable effect on the wind speed. The data can only be used as a guide and should be followed by on-site measurements for a proper assessment. Each value stored in the database is the estimated average for a 1km square at either 10m, 25m or 45m above ground level (agl). The database uses the Ordnance Survey grid system for Great Britain and the grid system of the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

This is version v3.4.0.2023f of Met Office Hadley Centre's Integrated Surface Database, HadISD. These data are global sub-daily surface meteorological data.

This update (v3.4.0.2023f) to HadISD corrects a long-standing bug which was discovered in autumn 2023 whereby the neighbour checks (and associated [un]flagging for some other tests) were not being implemented. For more details see the posts on the HadISD blog: https://hadisd.blogspot.com/2023/10/bug-in-buddy-checks.html & https://hadisd.blogspot.com/2024/01/hadisd-v3402023f-future-look.html

The quality controlled variables in this dataset are: temperature, dewpoint temperature, sea-level pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud data (total, low, mid and high level). Past significant weather and precipitation data are also included, but have not been quality controlled, so their quality and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Quality control flags and data values which have been removed during the quality control process are provided in the qc_flags and flagged_values fields, and ancillary data files show the station listing with a station listing with IDs, names and location information.

The data are provided as one NetCDF file per station. Files in the station_data folder station data files have the format "station_code"_HadISD_HadOBS_19310101-20240101_v3.4.1.2023f.nc. The station codes can be found under the docs tab. The station codes file has five columns as follows: 1) station code, 2) station name 3) station latitude 4) station longitude 5) station height.

To keep informed about updates, news and announcements follow the HadOBS team on twitter @metofficeHadOBS.

For more detailed information e.g bug fixes, routine updates and other exploratory analysis, see the HadISD blog: http://hadisd.blogspot.co.uk/

References: When using the dataset in a paper you must cite the following papers (see Docs for link to the publications) and this dataset (using the "citable as" reference) :

Dunn, R. J. H., (2019), HadISD version 3: monthly updates, Hadley Centre Technical Note.

Dunn, R. J. H., Willett, K. M., Parker, D. E., and Mitchell, L.: Expanding HadISD: quality-controlled, sub-daily station data from 1931, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 473-491, doi:10.5194/gi-5-473-2016, 2016.

Dunn, R. J. H., et al. (2012), HadISD: A Quality Controlled global synoptic report database for selected variables at long-term stations from 1973-2011, Clim. Past, 8, 1649-1679, 2012, doi:10.5194/cp-8-1649-2012

Smith, A., N. Lott, and R. Vose, 2011: The Integrated Surface Database: Recent Developments and Partnerships. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 92, 704–708, doi:10.1175/2011BAMS3015.1

For a homogeneity assessment of HadISD please see this following reference

Dunn, R. J. H., K. M. Willett, C. P. Morice, and D. E. Parker. "Pairwise homogeneity assessment of HadISD." Climate of the Past 10, no. 4 (2014): 1501-1522. doi:10.5194/cp-10-1501-2014, 2014.

The UK hourly weather observation data contain meteorological values measured on an hourly time scale. The measurements of the concrete state, wind speed and direction, cloud type and amount, visibility, and temperature were recorded by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within SYNOP, DLY3208, AWSHRLY and NCM messages. The sunshine duration measurements were transmitted in the HSUN3445 message. The data spans from 1875 to 2019. This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. Of particular note, however, is that as well as including data for 2019, historical data recovery has added temperature and weather data for Bude (1937-1958), Teignmouth (1912-1930), and Eskdalemuir (1915-1948). For details on observing practice see the message type information in the MIDAS User Guide linked from this record and relevant sections for parameter types. This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. Note, METAR message types are not included in the Open version of this dataset. Those data may be accessed via the full MIDAS hourly weather data.

This is version v3.3.0.2022f of Met Office Hadley Centre's Integrated Surface Database, HadISD. These data are global sub-daily surface meteorological data.

The quality controlled variables in this dataset are: temperature, dewpoint temperature, sea-level pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud data (total, low, mid and high level). Past significant weather and precipitation data are also included, but have not been quality controlled, so their quality and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Quality control flags and data values which have been removed during the quality control process are provided in the qc_flags and flagged_values fields, and ancillary data files show the station listing with a station listing with IDs, names and location information.

The data are provided as one NetCDF file per station. Files in the station_data folder station data files have the format "station_code"_HadISD_HadOBS_19310101-20230101_v3.3.1.2022f.nc. The station codes can be found under the docs tab. The station codes file has five columns as follows: 1) station code, 2) station name 3) station latitude 4) station longitude 5) station height.

To keep informed about updates, news and announcements follow the HadOBS team on twitter @metofficeHadOBS.

For more detailed information e.g bug fixes, routine updates and other exploratory analysis, see the HadISD blog: http://hadisd.blogspot.co.uk/

References: When using the dataset in a paper you must cite the following papers (see Docs for link to the publications) and this dataset (using the "citable as" reference) :

Dunn, R. J. H., (2019), HadISD version 3: monthly updates, Hadley Centre Technical Note.

Dunn, R. J. H., Willett, K. M., Parker, D. E., and Mitchell, L.: Expanding HadISD: quality-controlled, sub-daily station data from 1931, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 473-491, doi:10.5194/gi-5-473-2016, 2016.

Dunn, R. J. H., et al. (2012), HadISD: A Quality Controlled global synoptic report database for selected variables at long-term stations from 1973-2011, Clim. Past, 8, 1649-1679, 2012, doi:10.5194/cp-8-1649-2012

Smith, A., N. Lott, and R. Vose, 2011: The Integrated Surface Database: Recent Developments and Partnerships. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 92, 704–708, doi:10.1175/2011BAMS3015.1

For a homogeneity assessment of HadISD please see this following reference

Dunn, R. J. H., K. M. Willett, C. P. Morice, and D. E. Parker. "Pairwise homogeneity assessment of HadISD." Climate of the Past 10, no. 4 (2014): 1501-1522. doi:10.5194/cp-10-1501-2014, 2014.

The UK hourly weather observation data contain meteorological values measured on an hourly time scale. The measurements of the concrete state, wind speed and direction, cloud type and amount, visibility, and temperature were recorded by observation stations operated by the Met Office across the UK and transmitted within SYNOP, DLY3208, AWSHRLY and NCM messages. The sunshine duration measurements were transmitted in the HSUN3445 message. The data spans from 1875 to 2018. This version supersedes the previous version of this dataset and a change log is available in the archive, and in the linked documentation for this record, detailing the differences between this version and the previous version. The change logs detail new, replaced and removed data. For details on observing practice see the message type information in the MIDAS User Guide linked from this record and relevant sections for parameter types. This dataset is part of the Midas-open dataset collection made available by the Met Office under the UK Open Government Licence, containing only UK mainland land surface observations owned or operated by Met Office. It is a subset of the fuller, restricted Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations dataset, also available through the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis - see the related dataset section on this record. Note, METAR message types are not included in the Open version of this dataset. Those data may be accessed via the full MIDAS hourly weather data.

1999-2017 - London SWT Weather data

1. Site: SWT
2. Country\City\Location: UK\London\ Southwark WoodsfordTower SWT
3. Latitude: 51.487760; Longitude: -0.091069
4. Anemometer height: 60 m
5. Weather station owner: Bill Legassick, Southwark Council. Contact: Tel: 020 7525 4253 | Fax: 020 7525 5705
6. Email: Bill.Legassick@southwark.gov.uk

1. Sensor:
2. Sensor type:---- Model -------------: Date Installed
3. Anemometer : CDL Windset (EC8) ......... : 1999
4. Rain gauge : Campbell Scientific ARG-100 : 1999
5. Temperature: T107_C .....................: 1999
6. Humidity : HMP45A .....................: 1999

1. Files: Are Zipped
2. Filenames: Weather_Data_2008.CSV
3. Filetype: comma delimited

4. Header Row:Date and Time,Battery Voltage,CR10 Temperature,Wind Direction 10 Minutes,Wind Speed 10 Minutes,Wind Gust 10 Minutes,Hourly AverageDirection,Hourly Average Speed,Hourly Maximum Gust,Hourly Gust Time,Hourly Gust Direction,Last Minute Average Temperature,Total Hourly Rain,Average RH over previous minute,Maximum Hourly Air Temperature,Minimum Hourly Air Temperature,MaximumHourly Rainfall Rate,Time of Rainfall

5. Data: hourly averages

Gridded daily meteorological variables over Great Britain for the years 1961-2017 at 1 km resolution. This dataset contains time series of daily mean values of air temperature (K), specific humidity (kg kg-1), wind speed (m s-1), downward longwave radiation (W m-2), downward shortwave radiation (W m-2), precipitation (kg m-2 s-2) and air pressure (Pa), plus daily temperature range (K). These are the variables required to run the JULES land surface model with daily disaggregation. The data are provided in gridded netCDF files. There is one file for each variable for each month of the data set. This data set supersedes the previous version as temporal coverage has been extended to include the years 2016-2017 and the netCDF metadata has been updated and improved.

This data (csv file) provides simulated hourly time series of onshore wind generation with specific power (SP) 199 W/m2 turbines at hub height (HH) of 200 m for the regions shown in the attached map. The analysed wind power plants are sited at the 50 % lowest mean wind speed locations in each region, i.e., in resource grade (RG) C. The map shows the resulting capacity factors (annual mean). The Excel file gives a rough indication if this wind technology is suitable for the different regions for this RG or not. The available land considers all onshore land area of a region, except lakes, cities, and very high elevation locations. The possible impact of any existing onshore wind installations in the region is not considered. Wake losses are modeled, with additional 5 % of other losses and unavailability considered. The time stamps are in GMT; the variable (column) names relate to the region names shown in the maps. The data include also country-level aggregations, e.g., UK00 is the aggregated onshore wind generation of all the UK regions (weighted by regional installed capacities). The data are part of the variable renewable energy generation time series created for ENTSO-E in the 2021 update of the Pan-European Climate Database (PECD) dataset. ENTSO-E has used the data in ERAA 2021 and Winter Outlook 2021-2022 assessments, and they are used in TYNDP 2022. The simulations are carried out by DTU Wind Energy, with the future technology selection and data validation discussed and agreed with ENTSO-E and its members. The linked journal paper (1st link) describes the simulation methodology (combination of ERA5 and GWA data is used). It is requested that the paper is cited when the data are used. The linked related journal paper (2nd link) describes the concept of resource grades and how they can be applied in energy system analyses. This item is part of a larger collection of wind and solar data: https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.c.5939581

The Hadley Centre at the U.K. Met Office has created a global sub-daily dataset of several station-observed climatological variables which is derived from and is a subset of the NCDC's Integrated Surface Database. Stations were selected for inclusion into the dataset based on length of the data reporting period and the frequency with which observations were reported. The data were then passed through a suite of automated quality-control tests to remove bad data. The current version presented here is HadISD.1.0.0.2011f, with data through the year 2011. A preliminary version which includes 2012 data (HadISD.1.0.0.2012p), is available from the HadISD web site. Once that version is made final, we will archive it here in the RDA.

This data (csv file) provides simulated hourly time series of onshore wind generation with specific power (SP) 277 W/m2 turbines at hub height (HH) of 200 m for the regions shown in the attached map. The analysed wind power plants are sited at the 50 % lowest mean wind speed locations in each region, i.e., in resource grade (RG) C. The map shows the resulting capacity factors (annual mean). The Excel file gives a rough indication if this wind technology is suitable for the different regions for this RG or not. The available land considers all onshore land area of a region, except lakes, cities, and very high elevation locations. The possible impact of any existing onshore wind installations in the region is not considered. Wake losses are modeled, with additional 5 % of other losses and unavailability considered. The time stamps are in GMT; the variable (column) names relate to the region names shown in the maps. The data include also country-level aggregations, e.g., UK00 is the aggregated onshore wind generation of all the UK regions (weighted by regional installed capacities). The data are part of the variable renewable energy generation time series created for ENTSO-E in the 2021 update of the Pan-European Climate Database (PECD) dataset. ENTSO-E has used the data in ERAA 2021 and Winter Outlook 2021-2022 assessments, and they are used in TYNDP 2022. The simulations are carried out by DTU Wind Energy, with the future technology selection and data validation discussed and agreed with ENTSO-E and its members. The linked journal paper (1st link) describes the simulation methodology (combination of ERA5 and GWA data is used). It is requested that the paper is cited when the data are used. The linked related journal paper (2nd link) describes the concept of resource grades and how they can be applied in energy system analyses. This item is part of a larger collection of wind and solar data: https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.c.5939581

This data (csv file) provides simulated hourly time series of onshore wind generation with specific power (SP) 335 W/m2 turbines at hub height (HH) of 150 m for the regions shown in the attached map. The analysed wind power plants are sited at the 10...50 % highest mean wind speed locations in each region, i.e., in resource grade (RG) B. The map shows the resulting capacity factors (annual mean). The Excel file gives a rough indication if this wind technology is suitable for the different regions for this RG or not. The available land considers all onshore land area of a region, except lakes, cities, and very high elevation locations. The possible impact of any existing onshore wind installations in the region is not considered. Wake losses are modeled, with additional 5 % of other losses and unavailability considered. The time stamps are in GMT; the variable (column) names relate to the region names shown in the maps. The data include also country-level aggregations, e.g., UK00 is the aggregated onshore wind generation of all the UK regions (weighted by regional installed capacities). The data are part of the variable renewable energy generation time series created for ENTSO-E in the 2021 update of the Pan-European Climate Database (PECD) dataset. ENTSO-E has used the data in ERAA 2021 and Winter Outlook 2021-2022 assessments, and they are used in TYNDP 2022. The simulations are carried out by DTU Wind Energy, with the future technology selection and data validation discussed and agreed with ENTSO-E and its members. The linked journal paper (1st link) describes the simulation methodology (combination of ERA5 and GWA data is used). It is requested that the paper is cited when the data are used. The linked related journal paper (2nd link) describes the concept of resource grades and how they can be applied in energy system analyses. This item is part of a larger collection of wind and solar data: https://doi.org/10.11583/DTU.c.5939581

Data were collected by UK stations from 1853 until 2000. These data are the Met Office's 'old' Land Surface Observation data and have been superseded by the MIDAS dataset collection. This dataset remains for historic purposes only. The data contain measurements of hourly and daily meteorological values, such as rainfall, sunshine duration, temperature, and wind speed.

The MIDAS dataset supersedes this dataset and new users should apply for access to that by following the on-screen instructions. If necessary, you will be able to access this historic dataset once you have been granted access to the MIDAS data.

The dataset contains the measurements of the following parameters: Sunshine duration Snow depth Visibility Wind speed and wind direction Temperature Cloud type Past and present weather

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2019. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network records the following hydrometeorological and soil data at 30 minute resolution: Radiation (short wave, long wave and net), precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, soil heat flux, and soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC), measured by point senors at various depths. Each site hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which counts fast neutrons in the surrounding atmosphere. In combination with the recorded hydrometeorological data, neutron counts are used to derive VWC over a field scale (COSMOS VWC), at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). The presence of snow leads to erroneously high measurements of COSMOS VWC due to all the extra water in the surrounding area. Included in the daily data are indications of snow days, on which, the COSMOS VWC are adjusted and the snow water equivalent (SWE) is given. The potential evapotranspiration (PE), derived from recorded hydrometeorological and soil are also included at daily resolution. Two levels of quality control are carried out, firstly data is run through a series of automated checks, such as range tests and spike tests, and then all data is manually inspected each week where any other faults are picked up, including sensor faults or connection issues. Quality control flags are provided for all recorded (30 minute) data, indicating the reason for any missing data. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability.

Gridded daily meteorological variables over Great Britain for the years 1961-2019 at 1 km resolution. This dataset contains time series of daily mean values of air temperature (K), specific humidity (kg kg-1), wind speed (m s-1), downward longwave radiation (W m-2), downward shortwave radiation (W m-2), precipitation (kg m-2 s-2) and air pressure (Pa), plus daily temperature range (K). These are the variables required to run the JULES land surface model with daily disaggregation. The data are provided in gridded netCDF files. There is one file for each variable for each month of the dataset. This research has been carried out under national capability funding as part of the NERC Hydro-JULES programme (NE/S017380/1) and under the NERC Changing Water Cycle program (NE/I006087/1).

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil moisture observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2022. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network records the following hydrometeorological and soil data at 30-minute resolution: Radiation (short wave, long wave, and net), precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, soil heat flux, and soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC), measured by point sensors at various depths. Each site hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which counts fast neutrons in the surrounding atmosphere. In combination with the recorded hydrometeorological data, neutron counts are used to derive VWC over a field scale (COSMOS VWC), at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). The presence of snow leads to erroneously high measurements of COSMOS VWC due to all the extra water in the surrounding area. Included in the daily data are indications of snow days, on which, the COSMOS VWC are adjusted, and the snow water equivalent (SWE) is given. The potential evapotranspiration (PE), derived from recorded hydrometeorological and soil are also included at daily resolution. Two levels of quality control are carried out, firstly data is run through a series of automated checks, such as range tests and spike tests, and then all data is manually inspected each week where any other faults are picked up, including sensor faults or connection issues. Quality control flags are provided for all recorded (30 minute) data, indicating the reason for any missing data. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability.

The dataset comprises scanned images of historical analogue charts and data ledgers from eight tide gauge sites around the UK. The sites include: Sheerness, Belfast, and several sites around Liverpool managed by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company namely, Eastham, Gladstone, Hilbre, Princes Pier, Tranmere and Waterloo. The Sheerness ledger data represents some of the earliest records of sea level data in the UK and cover the periods - January 1870 to December 1881, July 1882 to October 1894 and December 1929 to April 1941. Data availability for the other sites are: Belfast analogue charts - 27 November 1901 to 24 May 1902; Princes Pier ledgers: - 1941 to 1950, 1951 to 1960 and 1961 to 1970; Eastham, Gladstone, Hilbre, Princes Pier, Tranmere and Waterloo ledgers: - 1982 to 1988. The data recorded in some of the ledgers also describe meteorological measurements for example, air pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, and precipitation and evaporation. Funding to rescue these historical sea level data came from the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC).These images have now been added to the National Oceanographic Database and are freely available to registered users (subject to licence agreement).

The Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) messages data describe hourly observations from around 120 stations distributed globally. The observations, which are later transmitted in reports, give measurements of parameters such as wind speed, and temperature. The data are collected by observation stations worldwide and transmitted within the RASS message.

Data are extracted daily at around 00 UT from the Met Office's MetDB system for the previous day's coverage.

The dataset contains measurements of the following parameters:

• Station height (in m)
• Virtual temperature (in Kelvin)
• Wind w velocity component (in m/s)
• Signal to noise ratio

See linked documentation for general information about surface station readings can be obtained from the abridged version of "MIDAS Data Users Guide", provided by the Met Office. This document describes the meteorological surface data in the Met Office Database - MIDAS. This guide is rich in information and is aimed at those with little familiarity with observing methods or instrumentation. Details of the WMO Meteorological codes used at weather observing stations (daily and hourly weather) explain the codes used in this dataset further are also linked to on this record.