This section presents information on the baseline climate across the region.

It uses the most recent set of climate averages for the UK, published by the Met Office.  These cover a range of climate variables for the period 1971-2000 (commonly referred to as ‘the 1980s’).

The variables include:

• Temperature
• Sunshine
• Rainfall
• Snow
• Air and Ground Frost
• Soil Temperature
• Thunder

These values are considered to be the best available representation of the present baseline climate across the region.  

The region’s baseline climate is strongly influenced by two principal factors: (i) altitude; and (ii) proximity to the coast.

Altitude:
The baseline rainfall, snowfall and frost vary across the region, and this is attributable to altitude.  Greater rainfall, snowfall and frost occur in upland areas compared with the lowlands and coastal locations.

Proximity to the Coast:
The latent heat of the sea means that it warms up and cools at a slower rate than the land, resulting in sea temperatures having a big influence on air temperatures close to the coast.  This means that the warmest temperatures are usually along the coastal margin.  The inland sites have a slightly lower baseline temperature as they are too far inland to be influenced by sea temperatures.  The upland baseline temperatures are lower again still and this is due to their increased altitude compared to the other sites. 

This results in a temperature gradient across the region, from the typically cooler uplands of the North York Moors and the south Pennines to the warmer climate of the lower lying inland areas and warmer still at the coastline.