UKCP09: Winter Coldwave Duration Averages on a 5km UK Grid

UKCP09 gridded data provides annual averages for winter coldwave duration across the United Kingdom. The dataset contains 12 files, one for each month, representing the 1961-1990 average period. It was created with support from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is promoted by the UK Climate Impacts Programme.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical winter climate extremes based on the 1961-1990 reference period
• Analyzing spatial patterns of coldwave duration across the UK based on the 5km gridded format
• Benchmarking contemporary coldwave events against the 30-year average data
• Incorporating baseline climate data into regional environmental impact assessments

Strengths

• Data is gridded at a 5km resolution, providing detailed spatial coverage
• Covers a 30-year climatological reference period from 1961 to 1990
• Includes 12 separate monthly average files for granular temporal analysis

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update is dated 2026-07-08
• The dataset's scale and row count are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

Met Office (UK), with support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Collection Method

Likely derived from meteorological station observations and modeling, gridded to 5km resolution.

Time Range

1961-1990 (average period)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:42.013214; freshness should be verified

Geography

United Kingdom, gridded at 5km resolution