Feel like the weather has been dreary for months? There some truth in this

If you think it’s been endlessly dull, with a lack of sunshine, in your part of the UK this winter and indeed the past year - you could be on to something. The lack of sunlight this time of year can disrupt your body's internal clock and lead to lower serotonin levels, which then lead to feelings of depression, commonly diagnosed as (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder. A drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, might play a role in SAD.

The sun has finally been shining the last few days across eastern areas of the UK, but up to mid-month, large parts of the UK have been plagued by cloudy skies from dawn to dusk. Since the beginning of the month, the UK has had around a third less sunshine hours this February than the 1991-2020 climate average, mostly due to winds from the east or northeast.

Figures from the Starling Roost Weather, below, show the UK had 33 per cent less sun than average up to yesterday, with 40% less in England and around a half of the average in Wales.

Scotland has fared better, however, with sunshine levels 13% less than the average so far this month, while Northern Ireland has seen 35% less.

London saw its seventh consecutive day without sun up to last Thursday – the longest sun-free period in February since 1979, according to Met Office data. But the next day, Valentine’s Day, saw the sun finally come out across SE England.

February 2025 sunshine anomalies so far ...

Data from Starling Roost Weather

The dull first few weeks of this month over much of the UK were caused by a blocking high pressure system to the northeast over Scandinavia, which fed cold easterly winds, which picked up moisture over the warmer waters of the North Sea, creating a sheet of cloud when it arrived over the UK, the subsidence of the blocking high pressure system trapping the cloud, with the sun too weak to burn it off too.

But it’s not just this month that has been on the dull side, although January generally saw above average sunshine across many areas, apart from the far southeast, December was exceptionally dull, with just over half the monthly average sunshine overall across the UK, while for whole of 2024, much of the UK was duller than average, apart from East Anglia, Lincolnshire, East Midlands, northern and eastern Scotland - which were close to average.

December 2024 sunshine anomalies - data from Starling Roost Weather

2024 sunshine anomaly map - Met Office

Enjoy the sunshine, if you have it, early this week, as cloudy skies will return once again. This time from the Atlantic, as weather fronts move in from the west. More unsettled, milder and windier conditions will move in from Wednesday. The increasingly strong, mild and moist southwesterly flow will feed in more of the way of cloud for the rest of the week, with outbreaks of rain moving through at times, particularly in the north and west.

Saturday may bring more in the way of sunshine as we see a drier respite between systems, but a deepening area of low pressure, with its origins as a winter storm over the central US Plains today, before moving out over the North Atlantic later this week, moves in towards the northwest by Sunday, bringing more cloud, heavy rain and gales across many parts. 

The unsettled conditions look to continue next week, with further Atlantic systems moving through, perhaps further south this time, bringing spells of wind and rain. Model ensembles do suggest it turning colder through next week too, though not as cold as recently. But some snow for northern hills not out the question, as polar maritime air feeds in on westerly or northwesterly winds. But with the polar air will be more in the way of sunshine than in the mild southwesterly flow.