Moans, ramps and banter

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 raz.org.rain 2022 in my area! Spring wasn't perfect but it's never going to be. It's England after all.

But April to Sept 2022 was basically the best case scenario for warm and dry and sunny weather consistently. Followed by 2018. 

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 East Lancs Rain the same conditions like 5 days in a row lol.

Where did the phrase "if you don't like the weather in Britain just wait an hour!" Come from. Maybe it was relevant in the 1800s...certainly not now.

"If you don't like the weather in Britain just wait 5 days, and it might still be the same, or might not" is more apt, lol

[raz.org.rain]

 In Absence of True Seasons 2022 was fantastic with the exception of June here. I might be biased there though, my graduation was in June in Liverpool and there was a really nasty cold breeze, I seem to remember the summer equinox was cold too. 
 

It would seem that our hot summers are clustering closer together, so we had 2021 as a relatively poor summer and 2023 with the atrocious July and August, surrounded by comparatively better summers. Fingers crossed that comes true for 2024!

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 raz.org.rain parts of 2022 were quite location dependent, as most of our summers are. The SE likely faired better overall from May onwards.

I had a quote a few weekends plans in May and June 2022 and going through the photos on my phone from those days, they're pretty much all sunny, or mostly sunny! 

Edited January 31 by In Absence of True Seasons

[Jono E]

Hi all, I need to try and sneak a Dan Hutchings, Stateside (Boston) update in here as the mods are really on my back, that’s the qualifying moan. Anyway’s, Jet-stream heading South through Feb which opens the door to colder conditions and possible surprises. Dan is calling a significant Icelandic wedge that is going to drag and establish cold air across the UK. This could be a precursor to some Eastern promise. Hope this cheers you up and that you get to read this before the mods swoop which I’m sure they will. I’m expecting a harsh sanction for this but it’s worth it just to bring you this positive call from Dan ! 

[cheeky_monkey]

 In Absence of True Seasons when you live abroad you appreciate the British climate 

[Summer8906]

 cheeky_monkey Depends where abroad. I have visited northern mainland Greece at various times of year and I would say that for 10 months of the year (Sep-June) it's better than back home. July and August can be problematic but in a different way.

As for Edmonton I'm sure that's considerably better than anywhere in the UK from about April-October?

Edited January 31 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

1 hour ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

I had a quote a few weekends plans in May and June 2022 and going through the photos on my phone from those days, they're pretty much all sunny, or mostly sunny! 

In May 2022 we seemed to get very lucky with weekend weather. The weeks were not great but we seemed to have a long run of good weekends.

February, May and June 2022 were probably the poorest of the first 8 months though the other 5 were varying degrees of good.

Edited January 31 by Summer8906

[cheeky_monkey]

 Summer8906 Cant beat a sunny spring day in the UK or being at the beach any day of the year..the British countryside rivals the Rocky mountains for beauty and scenery IMO

[winterof79]

Shame the mod thread has become an emotional nightmare.

Horrific this disastrous that.

I actually don't think posters can read in to model output other than the latest set.

Shame as it used to be a good place.

[TheOgre]

I agree with some others that 2022 was pretty much the best you can probably get for a spring and summer combination in England.

March to early September was a mostly sunny, warm and dry affair. May was warm and dull but all the other months were sunny. 

There are definitely better springs like 2020 but I don’t think we’d have a spring 2020 followed by a summer 2022 or 2018 or if we did it’d be a once in a lifetime event. It’s just not the climate.

Actually I think I might be mistaken. 2003 looks very similar to 2022 if not better by stats but I don’t remember it.

Edited January 31 by TheOgre

[raz.org.rain]

 TheOgre it's sounding like we're in a good position for a 2003/2022 repeat but who knows.

[ChannelThunder]

For probably the only time in my life, I'm going to be joining the 'coldies'. Getting married up in Aberdeenshire on 21st Feb and my wife-to-be would be over the moon if there's snow on the ground! 

[Bristawl Si]

 Jono E Maybe if you actually explained who this geezer is you keep mentioning (as i cannot find him via google search), AND posted your location in your handle, then peeps would take you, and your posts, more seriously.

Over to you, Jono.

Edited January 31 by Bristawl Si

[MP-R]

 In Absence of True Seasons  I screenshotted this for London the other day. Ridiculous doesn’t come close…

 

[Calneee]

 winterof79 Agree 

[*Stormforce~beka*]

I'm bored of winter now ...

[raz.org.rain]

 *Stormforce~beka*

Same. Just waiting for the first signs of 20°c days now.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

 raz.org.rain Amen! Amen!!

[Metwatch]

Well, we're in the final month of winter now, so not long to go until spring. The start of this month will feel more like early April, but without the sun! Dry though which is always a plus in winter.

Edited February 1 by Metwatch

[cheese]

 raz.org.rain locally, June was pretty good (though there was one nasty day with a high of 12C early on). July was very good (even if it was too hot during that exceptional heatwave). August however was simply excellent - I’ve sung the praise of August 2022 many times on here already but it really was a classic summer month. 

Edited February 1 by cheese

[In Absence of True Seasons]

 cheeky_monkey different kind of beauty imo. British countryside or beach is a more "warm" and "homely" beauty. There's a certain solace and simplicity in it.

The Rockies are just wild, much more awe-inspiring, intense, but less peaceful as a result. 

I don't think anywhere in Britain compares to, say, the likes of Jasper National Park though for sheer power and impressiveness of natural beauty though. Back in 2019 with a friend I hiked and camped for 3 weeks in Alberta / BC. Did Tonquin Valley, some of the Jasper Skyline, Berg Lake (although that's Mt Robson), as well as a 3 day hike in Mt Assiniboine area. 

Don't get me wrong...I love Cornwall and the Peak District on a sunny June day...but it's not quite seeing wild Caribou in Tonquin Valley and then spitting grizzly paw prints in the mud on the trail path on the same day!

Edited February 1 by In Absence of True Seasons

[East Lancs Rain]

6 hours ago, raz.org.rain said:

2022 was fantastic with the exception of June here. I might be biased there though, my graduation was in June in Liverpool and there was a really nasty cold breeze, I seem to remember the summer equinox was cold too. 
 

It would seem that our hot summers are clustering closer together, so we had 2021 as a relatively poor summer and 2023 with the atrocious July and August, surrounded by comparatively better summers. Fingers crossed that comes true for 2024!

I found June 2022 to be ok and remember it as just being a pretty average month. Some sunny days, some cloudy days. Cannot remember anything remarkable about it tbh. I’d rate Summer 2021 as one of the better summers in recent years. Certainly better than summer 2023, 2020 and 2019 in my area.

7 hours ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

Where did the phrase "if you don't like the weather in Britain just wait an hour!" Come from. Maybe it was relevant in the 1800s...certainly not now

I don’t know, but it’s one of those British weather stereotypes that we get “four seasons in one day”. However, I’ve noticed we don’t get days like that very often anymore. Instead we just seem to get days or blocks of days featuring one weather type, for example sun (June 2023), or rain (July 2023). The classic British weather conditions of sunshine and showers doesn’t seem to happen very often anymore. Unsettled days just tend to be completely overcast now. Very boring. Although I came across this video on YouTube today which basically sums up stereotypical British weather. 

 

7 hours ago, In Absence of True Seasons said:

2022 in my area! Spring wasn't perfect but it's never going to be. It's England after all.

But April to Sept 2022 was basically the best case scenario for warm and dry and sunny weather consistently. Followed by 2018

Spring 2022 was a very benign spring here. There was very few cold days but few very warm days either. Temperatures were consistently around average or slightly above. I don’t think the temp reached 20°C here once, but I don’t remember any single digit days either.. I remember one Saturday afternoon in May it was 19°C and sunny which was very nice, but the Saturday after it was only around 15°C, mostly cloudy and breezy. I personally consider it a mild spring. Not warm, but mild. I think it was generally milder than average, drier than average and sunnier than average overall, but May was quite cloudy.

 

1 hour ago, Metwatch said:

Well, we're in the final month of winter now, so not long to go until spring. The start of this month will feel more like early April, but without the sun!

And here it will also feel like early April, except not only will it be without the sun but it will also be damp!

2 hours ago, MP-R said:

I screenshotted this for London the other day. Ridiculous doesn’t come close…

At least it will be dry and mild though, which is more than I can say for my area…

 

As the old saying goes, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!

[Sun Chaser]

 In Absence of True Seasons May 2022 I remember as having nice weekend weather and then being completely grim in the weekdays. Remember 7th/8th then 21st/22nd and 27th/28th all being very sunny while the preceding days were dull and wet.

While June was the opposite with some grim weekends surrounded by lovely weather in the week - a good example being a hot week from Mon 13th to Fri 17th followed by a cool wet weekend, then another warm sunny week from Mon 20th to Fri 24th!!

[East Lancs Rain]

9 hours ago, cheese said:

the heavy stuff isn't crossing the Pennines though, so I think we'll be fine.

Today is actually a pretty good example of the Pennine rain shadow in action:

 

He lives in West Yorkshire though, which if he lives closer to the Pennines eg Skipton, it will be much wetter.

On 30/01/2024 at 06:33, cheese said:

it’s always interesting how effective the Pennines are at blocking precipitation even though they’re not particularly big. I dread to think how much rain we’d get without them! 

Sometimes the rain shadow does work the other way around though, if the wind is coming from the east. I remember during the beast from the east in 2018, some areas of NW England didn’t get any snow at all, so they acted as a snow shadow then. So not only do the Pennines make NW England much wetter (as well as duller) as the rain clouds get stuck, they also make it even less snowy!   A double whammy. NE England definitely the better and more interesting climate than NW England. The only time the Pennines work in favour of NW England is during a sunny Easterly in May or June. The (still cold) North Sea often brings a lot of mist and murk to NE England and Yorkshire, but the Pennines help to block a lot of that out, leaving NW England much warmer and sunnier in this setup. In this setup, it can only be 12°C, misty and overcast on the east coast with a cold sea breeze making it feel even colder (I know first hand since I experienced it when I was on holiday in Tyne and Wear in late May/early June 2018) while on the west coast it can be sunny and 22°C.

On 30/01/2024 at 09:58, cheese said:

My closest station gets 603mm of rain with 114 days of rain on average.

The closest station to me (Rochdale) gets 1197 mm of rain per year (so practically double what you get) and 170 rainy days a year!

 

603 + 1197/2 = 900

 

So if the Pennines did not exist, me and you would probably both get around 900 mm of rain a year.

 

There is also a huge difference in rainfall between Edinburgh and Glasgow, despite both cities only being 40 miles away from each other. Glasgow gets 1262 mm per year while Edinburgh only gets 727 mm a year.