Machu Picchu

Last year i came home on the 4th Jan from our annual New Years week in Prague and the first thing i did was check the mod thread to find that the outlook was no different to when i left regarding cold. Last New Year was the first i've spent in Prague without deep cold or snow, it was overcast with temps between -1 and 5C and this year is going to be pretty much the same. I think we were well into the 2nd week of Jan before signs of cold started showing and i remember the mood in the mod thread being similar to now with many feeling anxious at being half way into winter without any sign of seasonal weather. Still plenty of time left yet with the best 2 months for proper winter weather ahead of us.

A very Happy Christmas to all you awesome weather geeks and a big thankyou to the fantastic Netweather site and all the members input for helping noobs like me understand (sort of) and educate ourselves. Santa got me a new weather station so i'm now retreating to the shed to play with it

Really SI? Did you not get anything from 19th Jan, 20-21st Jan and 22-23rd March 2013 over your way?

We've had 2 rain to snow showers, 1 quite heavy but it didn't last long, lowest temp --1.9C The worst thing is its not been really cold but its not been mild (excuse my language) enough to make do without the heating on.

Theres a lurker in the shadows of the Mod thread liking any post containing zonal, mild, winters over type curse words. 10 points to anyone who can guess who it is. Its chilly out there so keep your Extra Large Teapot full and a very Merry Christmas Pudding to you all.

This is the model output discussion thread, the current set-up has already been discussed if you want to go back and have a read. I'm sure many of the members posting in here are also posting in the regionals etc regarding the current storms.

I agree Gaz, very true, just a shame the UK as a whole doesn't get the favoured set-ups more frequently. I suppose my impressive could be another mans average or mediocre, i spent the first 26yrs of my life in Lincoln which is not the greatest location for snow and seems to have a 6" snow cap in place (although Dec 2010 was epic, better than here) Then i spent 5yrs on the south coast moving between Brighton and Eastbourne, i saw a few snow showers and a slight covering once so its a different world up here. On a few occasions i've left Barnsley/Sheffield in the rain for it to turn to snow a couple miles from home and have lying snow when i get here so 100m or so can really make a difference like you say. Theres places within a few miles of here that tend to do much better, especially over the Woodhead way and more exposed areas so location plays a big part and works the same way i suppose as it can be raining here but snowing a couple of miles away. Its not uncommon to see cars drive through the village covered in snow when its raining/sleeting here. I wouldn't mind moving to the Dales or the Moors though.

Maybe IB melted in the furnace like zonal flow, also Steve Murr posting 2 days on the bounce is a good sign.

This is my 10th winter in Penistone and i can honestly say that i've seen more snow showers in November and even October than i've seen in December. Temps tend to be a degree or two lower than Sheffield, Barnsley etc but no real what i would call winter weather, but when it does come it can be impressive,

Cant really argue with that bud, i've lived through 39 Decembers and from the ones i remember they usually feel like autumn. Theres the months that crossover like March for example which is a mix of winter and spring or winter or spring orientated but the Decembers i've experienced have mostly been autumnal, i wish they were more winter like then we would stand a chance of snowfall and accumilations at Xmas but we all know that is as rare as rocking horse poop in the UK. Can anyone say that Decembers feel like winter? Everyone obviously knows that December is placed in the winter box but my idea of winter isn't wind, rain and mild damp muck and thats usually what we get in some form or other. I would class March as more of a winter month over December.

I think he meant autumnal (i would hope he did anyway ) I never expect anything out of December, IMO it tends to be an uninspiring start to winter (from a cold lovers perspective) A mixed month with a bit of allsorts, chilly, mild, some frosts, sunny spells, foggy, windy, rainy, i keep hearing that this December is mild but my heating keeps going on and also my hat and gloves as its chilly in the wind and feels much colder than what the thermometer tells me. Looking back to growing up in Lincoln in the 80's, the sun blazing through the window on Xmas day reflecting off the telly and eating Xmas dinner in a t shirt feeling too hot. Snow usually came between the end of Jan to mid March but not guranteed, i remember some snowless winters and also some epic cold spells with snow on the ground for weeks which feels like an eternity as a kid. Lincolns not the greatest place for snow though, especially compared to my current location. The last few years have given us epic early and late events (Dec 2010 and March 2013) Were they one offs or the new norm? For me, as always once we get into the second week of Jan i'll start expecting some proper cold winter weather and if we hit Feb without any sign of it i'll start getting anxious. (memories of 2011/2012 are still raw) Whatever the stats show for this December, to me its been nothing out of the ordinary and has produced nothing that i wouldn't expect from the first month of winter whereas Dec 2010 was something i've not experienced before (or since) so could it be classed as a freak event?

Thanks a lot chaps, much appreciated. I really dont want to use the ignore option, everyone is entitled to their opinion but the bickering and one up attempts are seriously annoying at the minute. Im a total noob but learning a lot from both coldies and mildies, the reality posts showing what we have and also the posts explaining options and scenarios that could lead to cold. I know its frustrating for many at present but seeing the aggro posts puts members in my position off from posting in the mod thread, its a scary place full of knowledge, intelligence, experience and ego which is daunting enough without seeing that the wolves also bite.

Got to agree with you ther CiB, i look to see if Steve Murr's posting and if he's not then nothings happening, it only takes a sniff for him to appear, no SM, no sniffs. How do i use the ignore option? I could quite easilly fill a couple of pages at present.

BwaHaHaHa

So focused on the pot of gold they miss the wonder and beauty of the rainbow.

A little winter fix this morning, the fields have a white tint and the windscreens are lightly frosted, it got down to 0.4C in the night and Monday night dropped to 2.8C, both nice clear nights. Its bloody typical, the clearest nights for setting up the telescope are always when im working nights, i guarantee the weekend will be cloudy

Ouch, --38C average today, thats just too cold for me. I've been in Prague at --20C, if you stopped moving then you felt it nipping.

Looks like the USA is the place to be, i'd happily give my nads for a taste of this right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0qBQ7CRcTg

My weather station seems to be malfunctioning, its stuck in the 9C range, 9C all through the day, 9C all through the night, every day just like the last. I've got the 9C blues.

Thats the thing Peter, everyone on the model thread knows this, its not like the coldies are kidding themselves, its obvious what the models are showing and how bad its looking from a cold perspective, they're not in denial, they're looking for signs and discussing possibilities and options that would need to happen to bring colder options but other members are jumping on them with smarmy sniping remarks which are stating the obvious that everyone can see for themselves. Without the coldies ever optimistic searching the model thread would be dead at present.

Mods should name the model thread "The Hunt for Cold" like they did last year as thats what 95% of the members are actually doing. It's sad seeing the same few wind-up merchants falling over themselves to jump on others posting about signs,options and possibilities for cold in FI.