March Blizzard

Jan 1795 must have really been something, especially when you consider that it was 2.4C colder than Dec 2010, and we all know how cold that was. In another league, hopefully Jan 2013 can steal it's thunder! (wishfull thinking...)

Dec 2010 sticks out like a sore thumb on that list, it was exceptionally below average. Out of interest, does anyone know what is the most anomalous month in the history of the CET series, in terms of below average temperatures? A top 10 list would be nice

Nearly October already, this year sure is marching on fast. I won't make my shout yet but it seems like I'll have a lot of making up to do after a poor September one. October is one of my favourite months, the leaves turning, the nights drawing in and the often windy and gloomy weather it brings. Halloween wouldn't be the same if it were in May!

I also live in Stockport and can confirm that in most cases it is quite poor for snow, in comparison to nearby areas, for a number of reasons. Firstly, Stockport is fairly sheltered to the east by the Pennines, and to a lesser extent to the north via the hills around Oldham way. Secondly, the UHI effect. It's part of one of the largest conurbations in the country and is therefore highly urban. Thirdly, most of the town is quite low lying, under 100m generally, unless you live in the east in places like Marple, Disley where the elevation starts to rise into the peak district. To its credit it's probably better for snow than neighbouring Manchester, Trafford, and everything westwards but worse than Tameside, Oldham and everything eastwards/northeast. You can find good snow just a short distance away in Lyme Park, though. It's not just Stockport, Greater Manchester in general isn't the best place for snow. Strangely, however, for an urban location in northwest England it's not too bad for low temperatures during cold spells, as evidenced by the -17.6C in Woodford in Jan 2010, I also believe Manchester itself recorded -15C in the same cold snap, if memory serves me right.

The Libyan record did seem a bit iffy, especially when considering the time of year it occured and its location so close to the coast. I would imagine the American record is more accurate, if not entirely itself. Personally, I take any "official" measurements from so long ago with a pinch of salt. It's also somewhat of a moot point anyway when you consider that the "real" record temperatures likely occur in places completely devoid of measuring equipment.

Ouch, out by just 0.1C second month running. I'll happilly settle for 8th place (seasonal) although I would have got silver if I had bothered to enter on time...my own dumb fault!

15.1C, thanks.

Apologies for the very late entry. I'll go for 16.7C

Only just noticed the replies to this thread. Absolutely gutted Woodford is gone despite the fact i somewhat expected it after the site was sold. Looking on Google earth it appears the area around Rostherne appears to average about 50m ASL. Woodford was at 88m ASL, I think. However, Rostherne is much further away from any high ground than Woodford is, Lyme Park (250 to nearly 400m ASL) is only 4 miles directly east from Woodford. As a fan of low winter mins this is a bit of a shame, it seems to me that Rostherne will have much more in common with Ringway than Woodford, maybe even milder. One of England's coldest stations for winter mins is gone. R.I.P!

15.4C. Sorry for late entry.

If im out and about and wide awake I can comfortably tolerate any low temperatures this country has to offer. I often walk my dog in shorts and a t-shirt even when its below freezing, provided it's calm and dry. However, when im tired i notice the cold alot more, even when it isn't that cold. Wind and rain also have a massive influence on how warm or cold you feel, rain more so than wind, in my opinion. Being wet completely robs your body of warmth and a stiff breeze will only add to the misery. The coldest i've ever felt in my life was when i was about 10 years old playing football in Whaley Bridge. Dressed in a thin shirt and shorts + Driving wind + sideways sleet and rain = numbing cold! Just about everyone was frozen to the spot!

I think it affects us in different ways depending on what we are doing. The last week has been hell for me at work as i have a physical outdoor job. Working in relentless sun with little/no shade for 5 hours a day, during the hottest part of the day, Monday thru Saturday is not fun one bit, in fact is was pretty brutal. By Sunday i was completely shattered and frazzled! I don't like this kind of heat, it makes you feel lethargic, makes you sweat and is just generally unpleasant. However, on the flip side, if i wasn't working in it i would have found the recent weather very pleasant. Perfect beer garden/BBQ weather. This kind of warmth is completely ideal as long as your not doing any physical activities in it for any lenghthy period of time. I haven't had any real difficulty sleeping in it either. To summarise, completely activity dependent - far too hot to work in, perfect to relax in and probably too cool if anything for "holiday" weather ie swimming in pool/sea, sitting outside throughout the night etc etc.

I'm surprised by just how cloudy we are when you check our sunshine hours against other so called "cloudy" places. For example, Seattle averages nearly 2200 hours a year; compare that to Manchester's 1400. Seattle has more sun in March than Manchetser does in June! Even "sunny" London is in fact one of the cloudiest capital cities in the world. If i could be bothered, I'd be tempted to compile a list of all capital cities by sunshine hours. I'd hazard a guess that London would be in the bottom 10%. Slightly off topic, I know. Sorry!

Not a fan of this current weather, sure, it would be nice sat in a beer garden with a cold pint for an hour or two, but when you are walking mile after mile in it for up to 5 hours, with little to no shade and a hefty bag on your back it isn't fun. Simply too hot. The sunshine is pleasant and the wind today was a godsend but, for me, i could do with it being a good 5C cooler at least. By the end of the month I'll be fully prepared to train for the French Foreign Legion. No prizes for guessing what my job is...

Thunderstorms for me. Some of my most fond weather memories were during thunderstorms. I remember once being in awe at a bucket filling up in seconds in torrential rain as it was falling off a neighbours gutterless roof. The best lightning display ive seen was at night in Zante, Greece. Sitting on a beach deck chair watching lightning strike the sea only a few miles out but in relative calm was eerie but exciting. The next day literally hundreds of jellyfish washed up on the beach. The closest ive been to a lightning strike is 100 yards or so, it hit the telephone communications tower that was just behind my old house, you could actually hear the electricty in the lightning - a sound I'll never forget. I was inside at the time but a few of my friends were playing football on the astro turf pitch about 3/4 mile up the road and said that lightning hit one of the floodlights. I wouldn't have believed them if i didn't see it for myself on the tower! Most recently I was only about 1/4 mile from the infamous "Stockport tornado" when it struck Heaton Moor in November last year. Thankfully i was in my work van at the time when the sky went a shade of black, rain and hail rendered my wiper blades useless and the wind made my steering feel light. Every car had to put full beam lights on; I've never seen it so dark during the daytime and suspect i never will again. At the time i obviously didn't know what had happened, but when i saw the news later that day i said to myself - "Well, that explaines it!". I actually count myself lucky i was so close to the action!. Also, it's hard to beat the ominous feeling when a good thunderstorm is brewing up and the way it breaks the humidity before it to leave a fresh feel to the air afterwards. Snow has its charms but for sheer excitement, for me, it doesn't beat a good thunderstorm.

I too dislike warm nights, nothing more annoying than sweating in bed with moths and daddy long legs buzzing around your head! I would be rubbish in the jungle...

I understand that it likely goes against the criteria of where they place their stations but it would make sense to have accurate weather observations in places and in conditions where most of the population live, rather than relying on data from semi rural/rural stations that are often nearby, but can sometimes be a world away in terms of weather. Please expose my ignorance if they infact do do this. I often notice places like Hulme Library (Manchester) on the 24 hour extremes which hints that they infact do have stations comfortably inside the UHI. Is Hulme an official met office station? If so is it a one-off or do the Met have similarly placed stations across the country?

To the London-centric media Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester are a suburb of Wales and Lancashire and Cumbria are a suburb of Scotland...ie they don't matter

If we used the NW CET tracker my 7.7C would have been spot on! Oh well...

Mine is only ever on to help dry washing or when guests come round. I've not put mine on to warm the house since early Feb. The cold doesn't bother me much, perhaps because I work outdoors?

9.6C, please.

1917 sticks out on that list. A difference of 5.6C between the first and second half, surely one of the biggest rises in the CET series? Anyway, just goes to show how chilly April can be, especially in the first half.

7.7C, please!

"About some people probably thinking summers here, I heard a few people discussing wanting a swim at the beach, the sea's probably nearly at it's coldest still!" The media don't exactly help with headlines like: "Summer's here, temps to hit 24c!". A few poor people have found out the hard way that March isn't a fun time of year to go swimming, the water is still seriously cold at this time of year, as you said.

I'd love some cold weather, if only to confuse the clueless masses who now think we are already in summer. If not cold then at least something remotely changeable and lively, please.