February was warmer, drier and less windy than usual, according to the Met Office.

It says that, while the month had a chilly start, air coming to the British Isles from the south or southwest meant it was warmer.

The cooling effect of the Irish Sea meant the Isle of Man didn’t see the 20+ degrees that some places achieved but our temperatures were often in double figures.

The mean maximum over the month was 9.8°C, which is 2°C above the long term average, and the second highest on record behind February 1998.

The warmest day was the 22nd, with 12.5°C recorded at Ronaldsway.

There was an air frost on the first three nights of the month, with -1.7°C being the coldest, on the morning of February 3.

There was just 48mm of rain collected in the gauge. That is about 20% below the long term average. The wettest day was the 7th with 11.9mm.

There were 93 hours of sunshine - about 20% above the average. The best day was the 26th with 9.9 hours.

The mean wind speed was quite low at 13.6 knots, compared with the average of 14.8. The strongest winds were during storm ’Erik’ on the 8th/9th, with a gust of 60 knots (69mph) recorded at Ronaldsway.

There were two days with sleet and two days with fog.