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It'll be the amount of rain in 24 hours that is the talking point in these parts. Up to 13.2mm and there's that huge band approaching from the south. Wouldn't be surprised to get not far off the entire average February amount in total.

I wonder what new flaws that brings?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hate these setups - and they literally dominate over proper spells these days. Overcast, dull and persistent rain (11mm so far) with a temp of 2C and strong easterly wind. Meanwhile inland get a winter wonderland. It's miserable weather.

MIKE LEVITT These setups have always been rubbish for us. Its the death of the proper northerly that has been the killer for our area. All too often they are north-westerlies these days that last barely 24-24 hours. A good NNE pushing the showers inland a bit is what we'd need. They're extinct though!

Just turned to sleet / wet snow here. Temp down to 1.9C so looks good for further inland.

This looks like a non-event to me. UKV has rain or sleet everywhere but those areas with good elevation. The band hits in the afternoon at the warmest time and has above freezing dewpoints everywhere but the Pennines. Just not cold enough really.

Atleastitwillbemild It hasnt really been abnormal though and certainly no records shattered. January had 110-150% of normal sunshine in Wiltshire depending on where you are for example: 2023 as a whole was average or just slightly below: I think the issue is the sunshine we have had has come in large blocks with weeks of rubbish in between. Mid-January was very sunny during that colder spell, but either side was pretty dire. All of 2023 has been like this. Rather than an even distribution of sunshine it was more segregated which makes it feel worse I think.

Its actually increased to 9.3C today after yesterday had a mean of 10.1C. "Only" 7.6C required to beat the record now.

WYorksWeather I meant more a month that comfortably clears the current record rather than 1.5C above per say. These days however, who knows!?

NewEra21 I think it's quite likely we challenge the mildest February on record at this rate. With the CET standing at 9.0C and it looking pretty mild for the foreseeable (apart from a small blip tomorrow), there's a chance a warm spell in the second half could clinch it. We require about 7.8C for the remaining days and the way things are at the moment we could push it surprisingly close.

SunSean When you look at years with a cold March in recent years in the CET zone I'm often surprised they are so unpopular with the warm summer fans: Sub-5.5C CET Marches since 1988: 1995, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2013 and 2018. Apart from 2001 being there and 2003 and 2022 not, it would be a clean sweep of decent summers.

This month could be the February equivalent of December 2015 at this rate. It doesn't look like cooling down much in the CET zone at all. We could well be well north of 8.0C at mid-month and it wouldnt take too much of a warm spell in the second half to see to it. GFS tonight keeps it above average right out until the last week.

raz.org.rain Clearly an error there on that chart. No way is the ice less than 10cm thick next to the pole at this time of the year.

January was the 7th consecutive wetter than average month here too, with 2023 the second wettest year. If there are water restrictions at any point this year then we may as well give up.

SunSean It wasn't a criticism. The issue is more with the MetOffice. I can understand them giving only the readings for the automatic recorders on a day to day basis, but it's a shame they don't show the corrected figures at month end. Unfortunately the only way to see them correctly as it stands is to wait for the actual and anomaly maps a few days later.

Metwatch Most of the figures in that list are wrong unfortunately. If its from an automatic sunshine recorder rather than a manual then it will record up to 10% too low. Leconfield near here is another example: 64 hrs on the list, 69 hours in reality.

Any chance the Spring discussion can move to the Spring thread and this one be left for winter?

Mild with close to average rainfall: 5.9C and 72mm

@TillyS I don't think those areas will be much above 12C today. The cold front is much further south than forecast. We were supposed to be under the milder air here, but instead the front is positioned right over us and its 7C.

@RJBingham Start of?

@baddie Sunny Januarys have been a thing in recent years. Here, the top two are 2022 and 2023 and the other three in the top 5 are 2015, 2012 and 2020. All within the last 10 years. Top 5 sunniest Januarys: 2022: 104hrs 2023: 103hrs 2015: 91hrs 2012: 89hrs 2020: 85hrs The 1991-2020 average here is 61 hours but the last decade has averaged 76 hours. February is similar, the last decade has averaged 100 hours compared to 86 hours for 1991-2020. Winters are definitely getting sunnier. We could end up in the bizarre situation soon where November is duller than both, as that has averaged 68 hours in the last decade.

Nearly a degree above the previous record (18.3C) and almost 4C above the date record. It shouldn't really be surprising these days but it is. It also means December, January and February have all broken their records since 2019.

@Metwatch Five of the last ten winters in the top 15 there. Shows how depressingly mild it has become.

@SunnyG Its the moaning thread and not everyone lives in London. Here it has been overcast and no higher than 7C.

I like unusual weather, so the answer is never, as anything below average is so rare these days. Plus you can get some pretty dramatic weather in a cold flow in Spring. The bog-standard 14C and overcast is also pretty grim at any point in the year. Most people with "cut-off" dates (something I don't really understand as snowfall would be as exciting to me in May as it is in January) tend to look for cold in Autumn and warmth in Spring far too early. March for example is really quite a cold month in the scheme of things. Warmth is possible then but its never going to be that common. A lot of people when they say "look forward to Spring" actually mean summer or just the higher light levels in general. Apart from occasionally at the very end, Spring is almost never "hot".