Winter 1868-69 is the mlldest winter on record for the CET

December 1868: 7.2 (+2.9)
January  1869: 5.6 (+2.4)
February 1869: 7.5 (+3.8)

December: 14th mildest on record. 2nd-21st: 8.2
January:The first half: 6.5
February: 2nd mildest on record. First half: 8.8

The CET for the winter is 6.8 (3.0 above the 1831-60 average)

December 1868 is the 3rd wettest December on record

Winter 1868-69 is the 7th wettest winter on record

CET trackometer for winter 1868-69 December: first value; January: second value; February third value

1.     6.3       4.3        8.2
2.     7.2       6.2        7.2
3.     7.8       6.3        8.2
4.     8.6       6.6        8.8
5.     9.0       6.7        9.0
6.     9.3       6.6        9.1 
7.     9.3       6.8        9.3
8.     9.0       7.2        9.4
9.     8.8       7.2        9.2
10.   8.8       7.1        9.4
11.   8.6       6.9        9.3
12.   8.2       6.7        8.9
13.   8.2       6.6        8.8
14.   8.3       6.5        8.8
15.   8.3       6.5        8.7
16.   8.2       6.6        8.8
17.   8.2       6.5        8.7
18.   8.2       6.4        8.6
19.   8.0       6.2        8.4
20.   8.0       6.1        8.2
21.   8.1       5.9        8.2
22.   8.0       5.7        7.9
23.   7.9       5.5        7.7
24.   7.8       5.2        7.6
25.   7.7       5.1        7.6
26.   7.7       5.1        7.7
27.   7.7       5.2        7.6
28.   7.6       5.3        7.5
29.   7.5       5.4
30.   7.4       5.5
31.   7.2       5.6

Some reports from stations

Selborne
December: The mildest December I have ever recorded and the most tempestuous with prevailing SW winds
Highest max: 64.5F 
3 air frosts
January: On the whole a tempestuous month and unprecendently mild, the wind though high, being SW to SE
9 air frosts
February: Vegetation about 6 weeks earlier than average; yew and box in flower early in month.
Highest max: 51.0F 
8 air frosts

Banbury
December: Very wet month; draba verna in blossom on last day
Highest max: 56.0F
5 air frosts
January: High winds on 4th and 28th to end of month
Highest max: 54.0F
6 air frosts
February: Snow on 12th and 22nd; violets in bloom on 20th
Highest max: 56.0F
5 air frosts

Culford
December: A mild month of mild weather for the season
January: The weather throughout has been remarkably mild, no snow. Gooseberry bushes almost in leaf and apricot blooms nearly open.

Bridport
December: Very mild and stormy month. Crocuses in flower in the garden
2 air frosts
January: Very mild month
4 air frosts
February: A mild month and vegetation very forward
4 air frosts

Shifnal
December: snowdrops up and whiten 19th
January: crocus in flower on 31st
February: Nettles several inches high on 5th; willow blossoming; apricots in flower and hawthorn budding on the 16th. Wild daffodil in flower on 20th. Pastures as green as in May.

Boston
December: Roses and pinks were in flower in the open air on the 15th and strawberries were gathered in a garden at Louth.
January: Remarkably mild weather
February: Limes, elms and other forest trees in being in full bud

Derby
January: The fields and gardens having the more appearance of April than January. The proximate cause of the warmth of the season arises, no doubt, by the prevalence of southerly winds.


Aberdeen
December: Mild but wet tempestuous month
January: A remarkably mild month, no snow except a few flakes on 25th, no severe frosts. Grass growing as if in March or April, scarcely two hours' sunshine a day on average.. Whin in bloom all month.
February: A month of fine, mild dry weather  except last 4 days were stormy.

Lochbroom
February: Trees and bushes never seemed so green.

Ballater
February: Up to last week, vegetation was making alarming progress for season.

 Some horticultural notes

Cossey
4th Jan: snowdrops in bloom
20th Jan: Elder shoots 1" long
3rd Feb: crocuses out
9th Feb: weeping willow in leaf
20th Feb: Hawthorn hedges in lead

Brampton
16th Jan: hazel in bloom
17th Jan: snowdrops
7th Feb: Elder in leaf
12th Feb: hawthorn buds burst
14th Feb: lime in leaf 

Some station figures

Camden Town
December
Rain: 5.12"
Highest max: 58.2F 
1 air frost

January
Rain: 2.76"
Highest max: 56.3F
6 air frosts

February
Rain: 2.48"
Highest max: 60.8F
4 air frosts

Manchester
December
Rain: 8.12"
Highest max: 55.3F
2 air frosts

January
Rain: 2.69"
Highest max: 54.0F
1 air frost

February
Rain: 4.44"
Highest max: 61.8F
1 air frost

Barnstaple
December
Rain: 6.78"
Highest max: 59.5F
0 air frosts

January
Rain: 4.69"
Highest max: 56.0F
2 air frosts

February
Rain: 4.35"
Highest max: 62.0F
0 air frosts

Waterford
December
Rain: 9.81"
Highest max: 58.0F
0 air frosts

January
Rain: 2.69"
Highest max: 54.0F
7 air frosts

February
Rain: 2.34"
Highest max: 54.0F
1 air frost

Llandudno

December
Rain: 8.22"
Highest max: 62.6F
0 air frosts

January
Rain: 4.12"
Highest max: 54.6F
0 air frosts

February
Rain: 3.43"
Highest max: 58.0F
0 air frosts

Camden Square mean

3rd- 11th February 1869 : 10.1C

That is impressive that last figure, an equivalent would be something like February 1998.

Maxima at Camden Square 1st-17th February 1869

1st. 12.8C
2nd. 9.6C
3rd. 12.8C
4th. 14.0C
5th. 16.0C
6th. 14.3C
7th. 12.1C
8th. 12.2C
9th. 10.4C
10th. 13.2C
11th. 13.6C
12th. 10.4C
13th. 9.3C
14th. 10.3C
15th. 9.6C
16th. 11.3C
17th. 12.0C 

As an aside, how come we have such detailed pressure maps of the entire north Atlantic from the mid-19th century? The Wetterzentrale records go back to 1851. How can we possiblty know what was going on in the mid Atlantic back then, we didn't even have weather ships until WW2.

Great stuff Kevin. Thanks.

Surely ships would have kept logs and carry barometers on board?

I'm sure they would but surely not enough for us to be able to compile such a detailed record. Were there ships every day in all parts of the North Atlantic in the mid-19th century to be able to record accurate pressure data?  And how much of this data, after 150 years is even availablle to be be processed into meaningful pressure charts anyway. I suspect there s a high degeree of extrapalation going on here, based upon one or two obsevatons.

I found the temperature records I had for Blackford Hill, Edinburgh running from 1764 to 1959 and there were several winters as mild or milder there

1778/79: 5.73

1789/90: 5.73

1931/32: 5.67

1795/96: 5.60

1942/43: 5.50

1948/49: 5.40

1862/63: 5.37

1934/35: 5.37

1924/25: 5.33

1845/46: 5.30

1868/69: 5.30

1882/83: 5.30

Although the spreadsheet doesn't go past July 1959, I have checked the monthly weather reports for 1988/89 and the mean for that winter was 6.33C at the observatory. That is the mildest winter on record for much of Scotland and hopefully that will remain unchanged for decades to come.

It would great if winter 2018/19 was a repeat or even milder than 1868/69 

More than one or two, hopefully, but I'm sure that a fair amount of extrapolation must have been involved over the Atlantic in particular. That must apply even more to the 850mb temperature than to the surface pressure. I suspect that an important source of data would be the logs kept by RN ships, for which at some point in the 19th century maintaining a record on the weather was made compulsory. I'm not sure that would have been quite as early as 1851, though. The efforts of Admiral Fitzroy in the 1860s were probably important. 

Thanks, Kev, for your very interesting article.

Say that on the model output discussion thread and you wouldn't come out alive :)

Yes a remarkable winter, though of course it has been ran close many times since 1987.

What strikes me the most is how winter 2015-16 only fell just short of winter 1868-69, solely because of what happened in December 2015. January and February 2016 both had cold spells (though they were feeble) and this winter looks like it had virtually nothing.

If we get another winter anything like 1868-69, I'd love to have a good ole read through the winter moaning thread, just to satisfy my schadenfreude.

Well many winters since 1987 have been very similar.

Ooooh controversial.... 

Great post Kev as it’s always refreshing to see a wider perspective. 

Interesting that it’s not been beaten since - regardless of how many times it’s been close. I suspect in Roman times, having studied them recently, this was not the mildest! 

One thing I’m beginning to learn is the only constant is change....! 

Excellent info and research as always, Kevin. I was interested to see Waterford turn up as one of the stations featured.

The next mildest winter to 1868/69 was the winter of 1974/75.

Beacuse of the phenemonal mild December 2015- that winter just avoided the mildest ever.

The first half of winter 1974-75 was much milder than the second half. Infact the second half of winter 1981-82 was milder than winter's 1974-75 second half for the CET