LetItSnow!

Summer8906 Before getting on with my next entry, I have to say how January 1918 looks like many a failed cold spell nowadays. Would have been a nail-biting spell if it happened in the forums now. Not entirely dissimilar to January 2024. Now onto my next entry... Randomiser button being pressed. January was an unusual combination of being quite cold but also wet and stormy but also rather sunny. February continued and amplified the wet theme but it became much milder. It was an unusually mild February for much of the continent and the UK tapped into that, though the far north was actually rather cold. Rather dull. March was also abnormally mild across much of Europe but slightly less so for the UK, though it was mild. Some very warm weather in the first-half but then becoming wet and windy but with some ridges at times so a wet month but not extremely so. Colder later. Very dull. April was cool but rather dry and sunny. The first-half was cold with quite a lot of northerlies but the second half was more changeable with more in the way of westerlies and milder. May was quite cool but very sunny and rather dry. It was particualrly a fine month in the north and west. June was very cool, quite wet and rather dull. The first half was particularly low pressure dominated, wet and windy. A near-miss plume of very hot air around mid-month that lead to some big thunderstorms. July was very dry and sunny but not overly warm. It was cool in the south but quite warm in the north. The first half was anticyclonic but the second half was more changeable but rainfall amounts were small and nights were chilly at times. August was a very wet month for most and very thundery but quite cool. September was cool, dull and dry. While it was only rather cool here it was quite a cold one across much of Europe. October started unsettled with thunderstorms and generally wet and windy conditions but became drier. Generally a warm and dry month with some very warm weather in the second-half of the month. November had about average temperatures but was wet though very sunny. The first half was very mild at times and stormy but the second-half was much colder with a lot of northerlies. December had a near-miss cold spell in the first-half then generally became very mild but changeable. A mild, rather wet and dull month. Overall the year was slightly cooler, wetter but sunnier than average.

This remarkable spring still holds the title of the warmest spring on record by maxima, 0.6C higher than spring 2020. Overall it still ranks within the top 3 on mean temperature, though will be getting pushed down to 4th by this current spring. However, for many I’m sure they’d say that spring 2024 has nothing on spring 1893 and 1893 is how you properly do a warm spring. I’d be interested in comparing it to the spring of 2020. Both had changeable and warm summers that followed with big storms and both cooled off into the autumn, though 1893 far more so.

Weather-history Ding ding! You’ve got it. I can only surmise that July and September of 1918 weren’t horrifically dull because the unsettled weather often had a northerly element to it rather than the tropical maritime air that bathes wet months a lot now. Will get to my next entry in a bit.

SunSean That’s what happens when high pressure dominates in spring. It’s second warmest for maxima. Interesting that upon checking, the warmest spring on record by daytime temperature is still 1893 and by a 0.6C margin. Those chillier nights under high pressure stopped 2020 from ranking the very highest. Does feel like we’ve entered that stage now where the same weather patterns don’t really bring the same weather. I wonder if sea temperatures around us are aiding mild nights and stopping extensive fog and low cloud in the east. The uppers and even the pattern aren’t remarkable but I feel the surface is reacting so differently.

B87 B87 Summer8906 Not 1922 or 1944. Another clue for the weather buffs out there. This year had a brutal historic winter across the pond.

B87 Summer8906 You’re both incorrect with your guesses. It’s fun that it’s a harder one! Some clues. It’s pre-1948, yes. Many hardships globally which make this probably stand alongside the worst years in at least modern history.

Weather-history Absolutely a part of it, but hasn’t there been a detected decrease in thundery activity in the past 20 years anyway? I think it was actually noted and not just a “feels like thing”. There’s definitely a reason why but I’m stumped.

Next one! January was mostly cold–even bitterly cold–with some snowy spells, but the cold broke down rather spectacularly in the second-half and then it became extremely mild, so much so the month wasn't that cold. February was very mild and very dull but rather dry with a bloated Azores high/Bartlett shielding much of the sound from the rain. March was synoptically changeable but very dry and rather sunny with average temperatures. There was an impressive warm spell for a time in the second-half. April was a cold, easterly month with near-normal rainfall but quite wet in the south. May was warm but not especially dry or sunny. The second-half was particularly hot with 30°C reached but there were also a great deal of thunderstorms, some of which produced notable hail. June was very sunny and very dry but not overly warm, particularly by night. July began and ended warm, dry and fine but had a long spell of cold, wet and windy weather inbetween so overall it was a cool and wet month, though oddly it was sunny too. August had an unsettled first week and very end, but was generally high pressure dominated for the most part, so rather dry, slightly on the warm side but also rather dull. There was a brief plume of very hot air (20C line grazed the south coast) in the second-half which gave a very hot day in the south. September was cold and very wet yet somehow slightly sunnier than average. October began with further unsettled and this time quite mild weather but eventually became anticyclonic. It was fairly dry but very dull and rather chilly. November was briefly unsettled and mild but then became an anticyclonic month. Rather chilly but sunny and dry. The anticyclone gave way to rather more unsettled weather at month's end. December was balmy, dull and wet with very little in the way of wintry weather. The year had average temperatures, was slightly sunnier than average and was rather wet.

It may be wrong but it seems to be that thunderstorms seems to be of much more greater intensity and frequency in colder times compared to today. I don't think this is the case worldwide so why here it's a mystery. These look to be awesome storms, particularly 1/8/1846. The same summer that produced the hottest ever June so clearly a notable one.

Summer8906 Well just like getting an idea for it and seeing if the CETs vaguely go along. Not like looking at events or synoptics.

Summer8906 Maybe I'm cheating but after looking at some of the months I was looking at data that fits. Give the clues if you feel you need them. If I hadn't looked I may not have got it.

Summer8906 1951? Will concoct my next one.

Summer8906 1914 is correct! 1914 has the most lightning deaths in a year in the UK. 14 spookily. Probably one of the more thundery years we’ve had. It was also of course the start of WWI. September 1914 still ranks within the sunniest Septembers ever, like top 5 for the UK I think. The synoptics for February 1914 not that far off of February 2024. Fitting that the latter was about a degree warmer highlighting the change in the world.

Summer8906 Summer8906 Here’s some more clues. This year was unusually deadly for weather in the UK. That aside, it was not a great time to be alive.

Summer8906 Sorry if that’s confusing. There was unsettled weather during the last week but high pressure built in by about the 27th and became strong by months end and into September. However, 1906 is incorrect. Here’s my first vague clue. It’s pre-1950.

Summer8906 There was a vague rule put in place to go within 100 years which would basically limit anything below 1923, but I think I will break that rule with some of my future ones and start from 1900 onward. I feel like even the most vague descriptions of recent years are very easy because as weather enthusiasts we remember things. If I asked the average person what the weather was like in say, December 2018, they'd probably say "well, probably cold because it's December" when we know that it wasn't. Anyway, here's my next one. Pressed the random number generator. All free to play as usual. The winter was dry and mild despite a wetter February. January was dull and dry with frequent anti-cyclonic conditions but it wasn't especially cold. February was very zonal and exceptionally mild. The spring was mild overall but mixed. The mild and wet theme continued into March which was frequently dominated by low pressure and very wet. April was warm but turned very dry - it was also very sunny. May was a letdown and was much cooler comparitively and also wet and dull, but mixed so not without some fine spells. There was a cold end. The summer was mixed, overall very volatile but not especially hot. June was overall very sunny and rather warm but with some deadly thunderstorms mid-month. It began cool but ended very hot - it was rather dry, particularly in the south but wet in the north-east. July was mostly warm to hot with some more deadly thunderstorms until a cool, wet and windy final week dragged the month's temperarure average down - it was quite wet and dull. August had unsettled weather in the first and last week but otherwise there was a lot of high pressure and it was quite dry, notably dry in the south-east - it was also on the warmer side and sunny. The autumn was mixed with average temperatures and quite dry. September was dry and very sunny with the high pressure sticking around from late August. It became unsettled for a short time then mostly rainless. Warm early and late but a cool spell mid-month made it not a particualrly warm month. October was very anticyclonic but dull with average temperatures. November began and ended very zonal but there was a short anticyclonic spell just after mid-month. Generally on the mild side of average and wet. December was unfathomably wet with only brief colder ridges but deadly gales. There was some cold zonality so not an especially mild month. The year was warm and quite wet overall. Not going to give clues straight away but will if needed.

Summer8906 Correct! What was your original guess?

quite a bit dryer than anticipated. it was forecast the rain belt would move in which i did start to question as it moved so slowly. instead just gave very patchy bits of light rain so i don't think it ended up a wet day at all. fairly muggy due to the light rain and cloud but nothing too unpleasant.

Onto my next one. The winter was long and cold though not unbroken. The first half of January was particularly cold and snowy. There was a relaxation in the second-half and into early February but the cold returned with a similar intensity. The spring continued the cold for a while with a mixed but quite cold March. April was very unsettled for a time and quite mild but turned colder and drier later - it was dull overall. May was dull, cool and rather wet, more so in the east. There were some big thunderstorms. The summer started poor with a fairly cold and very wet June though not extremely dull. July was mixed with the first half being very warm to hot but with some big thunderstorms. It deteriorated in the second-half, less so in the south and there were still some big storms around - so overall the month was near-normal for temperatures and rain but quite dull. August was thoroughly wet, cool, dull and windy. The autumn was generally warm and dry for the most part. September was warm to hot at times and very dry, though it was a very different story in the north-west where it was much wetter. October was very dry and quite sunny with some very warm weather. November saw a considerable drop in temperature and saw some heavy snow and cold temperatures. December was very balmy, wet and stormy for the most part.

B87 EWP of 93.8mm and UK sunshine of 89%. The south east did fare better but the UK overall and especially so in the north June 2017 was wet and it was dull. I am not using just statistics from Heathrow lol

Roger J Smith Perhaps like the quite strong signal that a very warm June can sometimes have poor outcomes for the rest of the summer which came true only last year

Summer8906 I was stumped for a minute due to the obscure references, indeed locally. So I crossed off years I knew wouldn’t fit until I reached the year that I’m sure this is, I’m voting 1993

Summer8906 Indeed 2017. I have fond memories of the latter half of that year, mainly for the storms, colder synoptics in the warm parts of the year (my thing!) and the snow. Indeed, on a very local level at least, 2017 was one of the snowier years of my life. Not saying much AT ALL in the climate I was born into (b. 2001).

Summer8906 Oddly the one that stumped me was May. For some reason I thought May 1981 was dry, but it seems to be wet averaging 90mm in the EWP. Some of the May 1981 charts look uncannily similar to right now actually. I've basically read up on so many different archives and Trevor Harley over the past 10 years than going back to about the 1890s I can remember a lot about each month off the top of my head, but I refresh like you do. May 1981 was one of those ones I'd just completely misremembered. Onto my next one now. Going to try and downplay any severe parts as to make it harder to guess. *I don't think I've succeeded January was dry and sunny for most with high pressure dominating. There was a northerly spell early on and again mid-month that brought snow to parts of the SE. It was quite a cold month in the south-east but milder in Scotland. February was generally mild but did have a spell of easterly winds thanks to a Scandi high. It all collapsed though and the second-half was very mild at times. March was very mild and quite wet. April was sunny and dry with near-normal temperatures. There was some summer warmth and winter chill. May had some rather chilly weather but then turned warm and quite thundery later on. June was warm but wet and dull with quite a notable heatwave. July started fair with some hot weather but then deteriorated to cooler but oddly thunderier weather. The second half was very wet and very thundery. August was cool and dull but not remarkably wet and there were some nicer spells. September was cool but varied with some windy weather but some pleasant anticyclonic weather too. There was a spell of very chilly weather. October in contrast was warm but dry but wasn't without it's stormier moments. November was a proper mixed bag with some mild spells but also cold and snow with snowfall in the south later on. December was quite cold at times with some heavy snow but did turn mild.

Summer8906 Took a minute to think but I'm going to vote for 1981!