Record-breaking spring weather: How the UK nations compare
All four UK nations saw their warmest spring on record this year, but experienced different levels of rainfall and sunshine.
Here the PA news agency looks at how the nations compare, using the latest data from the Met Office.
– England
Just 75.8mm of rain fell in England across March, April and May this year, making it the second driest spring on record, behind only 1893 (65.7mm rain).
It is a stark contrast with last year, when England experienced 263.7mm rain over these three months – enough to make it the fifth wettest spring on record.
England saw 221.1mm in the first five months of the year, the lowest total for this period since 1976 (212.4mm).
Met Office rainfall data begins in 1836.
The mean temperature in England this spring was 10.23C, the warmest on record and just ahead of the previous record of 10.21C which was set only last year.
Eight of England's top 10 warmest springs have all occurred since 2000, four of them in the past six years.
Met Office temperature data begins in 1884.
It was the second sunniest spring on record for England, with 691.6 hours of sunshine across the three months – just behind the record of 692.6 hours set in 2020.
Met Office sunshine data starts in 1910.
– Scotland
An average of 204.1mm rain fell in Scotland this spring, comfortably outside the top 10 driest on record (ranking in 22nd place) and well above the all-time driest (108.4mm in 1852).
It was the driest spring in Scotland since 2001.
Scotland saw 396.9mm rain in the first five months of 2025, the lowest total for this period since 2001.
The mean temperature in Scotland this spring was 8.23C, the warmest on record.
The previous record was 7.97C in 2024.
As with England, eight of Scotland's top 10 warmest springs have occurred since 2000.
It was the sunniest spring on record for Scotland, with 593.7 hours across the three months.
The previous record was 520.4C in 2020.
– Wales
Wales saw its sixth driest spring on record this year, with 145.8mm rain.
It was the driest spring since 1990.
The lowest spring rainfall recorded for Wales was 110.5mm in 1893.
Total rainfall in Wales in 2025 to the end of May is 382.8mm, the lowest for the first five months of the year since 2010.
The mean temperature in Wales this spring was 9.69C, the warmest on record.
The previous record was 9.66C in 1893, with 2024 (9.43C) now in third place.
As with England and Scotland, eight of Wales' top 10 warmest springs have been since 2000.
It was the sunniest spring on record for Wales, with 660.4 hours across the three months, ahead of the previous record of 647.1 hours in 2020.
– Northern Ireland
An average of 168.6mm rain fell in Northern Ireland this spring, just inside the top 40 lowest totals on record.
The driest spring on record here was in 1837, when just 98.3mm rain was measured.
Total rainfall in Northern Ireland in 2025 to the end of May is 315.2mm, the lowest for this period since 1987.
The mean temperature this spring was 9.78C, the warmest on record.
The previous record was 9.42C in 1893, with 2024 (9.28C) in third place.
Eight of Northern Ireland's top 10 warmest springs have occurred since 2000.
This includes 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
It was the sunniest spring on record for Northern Ireland, with 614.3 hours across the three months, beating the previous record of 559.0 hours in 2020.
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The Herald Scotland
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- The Herald Scotland
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Western Telegraph
28 minutes ago
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