From freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall to scorching heatwaves and powerful winds, the UK certainly has its fair share of dramatic weather. Using facts, stats and record-breaking figures from the Met Office’s new book, Very British Weather, we bring you 30 revelations about the glorious ever-changing British climate and its elements.

The lowest temperature ever recorded was a freezing -27.2°C (-16.96°F) in Braemar, Scotland on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982. The same sub-zero temperature was also recorded in Altnaharra, Scotland on 30 December 1995.

It may not come as a huge surprise to learn the snowiest place in the UK is Scotland. But it may shock you to discover the snow or sleet here falls on a massive 38.1 days on average per year. That's more than a month's worth!

During the harsh winter of 1946-47, cold spells triggered large amounts of snow across the UK. The deepest snow recorded in an inhabited area measured with a level snow depth of 5ft 4in (1.65m) near Ruthin in North Wales in March 1947.

Britain’s longest icicle on record was discovered on a bridge over the River Spey in Grantown, Inverness-shire in Scotland, and measured a spectacular 26ft 10in (8.2m). The huge icicle was thought to have been caused by water from a leaking pipe freezing on the bridge.

Cornwall on England's southwest coast is the area least likely to receive snowfall, with an average of just 7.4 days of snow or sleet falling there per year.

A fatal avalanche struck Britain after the bad winter of 1836-37 triggered harsh snowstorms and freezing temperatures to chill parts of the country. On 27 December 1836 in Lewes, a snow drift caused a huge build-up of snow to form on a cliff overlooking the town. The snow broke free and completely destroyed a row of cottages at the bottom of the hill, killing at least eight people while seven had to be rescued. The Snowdrop Inn (pictured) now stands on the site of the avalanche, named to commemorate the tragedy. 

Thunderstorms in the UK are usually most common in the East Midlands, East Anglia and the southeast. These areas are also the warmest parts of the UK during summer, which means that they also have the highest available heat energy.

As the season shifts from spring to autumn, falling temperatures cause the chemical that makes leaves green (chlorophyll), to break down. The other chemicals in the leaves (such as carotene) remain which gives the leaves the pretty autumn colours we all love. The leaves are most vibrant when a dry summer is followed by dry, sunny and cold autumn nights. Cooler air at night and sunshine (without being freezing) in the day is when the autumn colours will really pop.

Shetland in the Northern Isles of Scotland is the windiest place in the UK, with an average wind speed of 14.7 knots, nearly 17mph (27kmh). The dramatic, rugged coast attracts visitors with its adorable puffin colonies, but it's best not to go in January, where winds can reach a speed of 23.4mph (37.8kmh). See more of the windiest places on Earth here.

London’s foggy weather has been the inspiration of many artists, including French Impressionist Claude Monet. The artist made several trips to the city throughout his life, painting almost 100 views of the River Thames. Monet famously said: “Without fog London would not be a beautiful city.”

The harsh British weather was a huge factor in the Great Fire of London spreading so quickly in 1666. The fire, which started after a long hot summer, quickly grew after strong easterly winds made the fire easily spread between London's tightly packed streets. It was only when winds dropped on the third night of the fires that the amateur firefighters were able to get the flames under control and finally extinguish the fire after five days of burning.

Britain’s strongest gust speed ever recorded was a staggering 150.3 knots (173mph/278kmh) on 20 March 1986, right on the summit of Cairngorm in Scotland.

Storms are typically named by the Met Office when they have the potential to cause an amber or red alert warning. Since starting their ‘Name Our Storms’ initiative in 2015, names are now suggested by the public and the most popular make up a list of storms for the year to come. The system is the same as the National Hurricane Center in the US, which starts at the beginning of the alphabet and makes its way down the list, not including Q, U, X, Y, and Z, and names related to politicians and the British royal family are usually avoided.

On 5 December 2015, Honister Pass in Cumbria recorded a staggering 13.4 inches (34.1cm) of rain in a single day. The record-breaking rainfall was caused by Storm Desmond which brought heavy rain and harsh winds to northern England and parts of Scotland. Pictured here are fields that flooded due to the heavy rain just outside the village of Keswick, near Honister Pass.

The Great Storm of 1987 caused extreme weather to sweep across the country. Strong gusts of up to 100mph (161kmh) caused around 15 million trees to be blown down by the powerful storm. The conditions were so severe that numerous small boats in Dover were completely wrecked or blown over and a Channel ferry (pictured) was blown ashore near Folkestone. At least 18 people in England were tragically killed by the powerful storm.

The wettest parts of the UK tend to be the more mountainous regions such as Snowdonia, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands, which all receive over 13ft 1in (4m) of rainfall in a year. Discover more secrets of the world’s most beautiful mountains here.

From 1883 to 1904, the highest weather observatory in Britain was located on top of its highest mountain, Ben Nevis. At roughly 4,413 feet (1,345m), the people who operated the observatory lived there year round and the average recorded temperature was freezing. Today, a survival shelter (pictured) has been built on top of the observatory ruins.

You’ve heard of raining cats and dogs, but how about fish? This bizarre phenomenon actually happened in 1830, when fresh herring fell on fields in Islay off Scotland’s west coast and also in February 1859, when dozens of fish fell in Mountain Ash, South Wales. It’s likely that the strange occurrence was caused by waterspouts or tornadoes crossing bodies of water that picked up the fish before dropping them on the ground.

A 2017 study in the International Journal of Meteorology found that 58 people in the UK were struck and killed by lightning between 1987 and 2016, which is roughly two people per year on average. This equals to a one in 33 million chance that you’ll ever be struck by lightning in the UK. Strangely, the biggest number at 72% were people playing sports or doing leisure activities like fishing when they were struck and killed, and 83% of those were men. Roughly 80% of these fatalities happened between May and August and 26% happened on a Sunday. This image shows lightning striking Poole Harbour in Dorset.

The longest-lasting rainbow ever recorded in the UK occurred in Sheffield on 14 March 1994. The rainbow was visible for a whopping six hours from 9am until 3pm and held the global record until a rainbow in Taiwan on 30 November 2017 lasted eight hours and 58 minutes. Discover the strangest weather phenomena in the world here.

One of the most important weather forecasts the Met Office has ever predicted was for the Allied invasion of mainland Europe in 1944, also known as D-Day. A day with good visibility and low tide conditions was the key to success so that the landing vessels would safely avoid any obstacles. Meteorologists from the Army, Navy and Air Force alongside the Met Office predicted that 6 June 1944 would have the best weather after the cold front had passed. Thankfully, the forecasters got it right and on 6 June, thousands of Allied troops successfully invaded Normandy.

The summer of 1975 brought some of the weirdest weather on record. On 2 June, widespread snow was reported in the Midlands, East Anglia and even in London. Several cricket matches had to be abandoned due to the strange weather. It was the first time snow had been reported so far south since 1888. Discover more of the world's most unexpected weather events.

The country's highest temperature ever on record was a sweltering 38.7°C (101.66°F) on 25 July 2019 at the Cambridge Botanic Garden. These are the hottest places in the world.

It’s no surprise that during the lovely British summer, a temperature rise from 20°C (68°F) to 24°C (75.2°F) can see the sale of burgers increase by more than 40%. The first hot weekend of the year also sees strawberry sales increase by 20%, and BBQ meat sales increase as much as 300%. 

With our chilly location at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and being subjected to the colder south-westerly winds and weather fronts, we sadly enjoy fewer days of sunshine than other European countries. Parts of the north of England, Scotland and Ireland see fewer than 1,200 hours of sunshine per year (3.3 hours and 4.4 hours per day) while parts of southern Europe see more than 2,500 hours per year (6.8 hours). No wonder we get excited at the slightest bit of sunshine.

The areas that get the most sunshine in mainland UK tend to be on the south coast. The sunniest place on record is Eastbourne, Sussex which experienced 383.9 hours of sunshine in July 1911.

The most dramatic temperature shift recorded by the Met Office was on 14 January 1979 in Lagganlia, Scotland, after the temperature climbed from -23.5°C(-10.3°F) to 6.6°C (43.88°F) in just a day. The temperature went up by a jaw-dropping 30.1°C (86.18°F).  

Hotter weather in the UK can be just as extreme. Rising temperatures between 1975 and 1976 caused the most significant drought that the UK had experienced in the last 150 years. Parts of England and Wales received less than 65% of their average rainfall from May 1975 to August 1976, with some areas in southern England experiencing just 55%. The drought abruptly ended after wet weather hit the UK in September and October.

In June 2018 a huge fire broke out on Saddleworth Moor near Marsden in northwest England. The fire was so big that the smoke could be seen from space. On 26 June, a major incident was declared and at least 150 people were forced to evacuate from their homes. The Saddleworth Moor wildfire is thought to be the first time a wildfire in the UK has caused a large-scale evacuation to take place. The year 2019 was a scorcher for the UK, and this resulted in more wildfires being reported than any other year on record. Take a look at the world's most dramatic weather photos since 1900.

The spring of 2020 saw the most sunshine in a while. There was so much sun that it broke the Met Office sunshine graph, recording 626.2 hours of sunshine across the UK between 1 March and 31 May, when the graph previously stopped at 600 hours. It also broke the previous sunshine record, set in 1948 of 555.3 hours. 

Read more: Snow isn't white and other mind-blowing weather facts

This book extract was taken with permission from Very British Weather (Ebury Press). It's a weather adventure through the great British seasons and available from Amazon now.