The mean temperature across the UK was 1.3°C above average and was the tenth warmest March on record; in Hastings it was 1.2°C above and was the seventh warmest. The mean maximum temperature recorded by the Met Office was the fourth highest across the UK whilst in Hastings it was the third highest. And yes, it was very dry across the UK, and in the town, which saw only 7% of the 30ya rainfall, the third driest since records began in 1875 and the driest in the 30ya period whereas for England it was the sixth driest.
Unfortunately, we were not able to record sunshine hours in Hastings but the Met Office report that the UK experienced 145% of the average.I suspect Hastings would have been similar. Interestingly, given the warmth, the clear skies meant ten days of ground frost compared with an average of nine – there was even an air frost recorded on the 14th March.
Explainer: the Met Office use the 30 years from 1991 – 2020 as the reference period for calculating anomalies (unless otherwise stated) and this report does the same for Hastings. The warmth of any time period is measured using the mean of the maximum and minimum over that period. We are pleased to report that efforts are underway to resume sunshine recording in the not-too-distant future.