ManiaMuse

For me we are definitely past the worst of it. We have a whole hour of extra light in the evenings for a start. Dusk starts to last longer as well as the sun starts setting from a higher position in the sky. Just shame we have to wait so long for the clocks to change. We are already at the point where if we changed the clocks now sunset would still be later than at the point when they went back in October.

It's trying to brighten up a bit today. Hopefully will get to see the sunset. Makes a huge difference to light levels in the evening when there is a bit of clear sky.

Yeah this time of year it makes a huge difference in how light it seems if we have clear skies in the evenings. Last week was lovely although today felt a lot darker because it was cloudy and it goes from being twilight to dark quicker as well. Sun is setting after 4.30pm here now. Next milestone for me is sunset after 5pm which we should get in about two weeks.

Lovely blue sky weather today. Slightly chilly but not overly so this morning, no wind so pleasant in the sun at lunchtime, beautiful sunset. Will take this any day over fleeting cold spells alternating with damp mild spells.

Fairly average I would say. Very wet start to the year, river reached its highest ever recorded level near me. However no real damaging wind storms. Early-mid Spring was extremely cold and grey and there were even some snow flurries at the beginning of May. No real heat or amazing sunshine during the summer but it wasn't a washout either. A few short spells of hot weather followed by thundery breakdowns. Saw a couple of good lightning storms. Fairly cloudy. Autumn alternated between very dry spells and very wet spells, nothing in between. Seemed drier than average on the whole. No real wind storms until late November/early December. December fairly middle of the road for UK winter. Some rain, short snowy/cold spell, bit more rain and wind, unseasonally mild to finish.

Morning darkness has finally turned the corner as well now. By the end of January you start to notice the change more. Just a shame we wait so long before putting the clocks forward again. We end up wasting so much morning light by the end of March.

Not much of a storm here really. Was far windier and for much longer I think it was Wednesday/Thursday night last week when we didn't even get a yellow wind warning.

Only another 4 minutes of evening light to lose here. Think the 11th is the point here where the sunset time starts to reverse direction. Still a long way before the change in daylight hours start to become noticeable and mornings keep getting darker until the end of December but I always tick it off as the first milestone towards summer.

Yay it's a bit silly really. Personally I don't mind this 'boring' weather. Every day is a day closer to Spring and I prefer this weather to constant wind and rain. We nearly always have a sustained period of stormy/wet weather at some point during Winter/Early Spring so make the most of the current weather I say.

And only about 39 days until evening light reverses direction.

Same. A bit of rain yesterday evening and overnight but nothing compared to the rains last week and otherwise dry with occasional light showers. Roads were bone dry this afternoon for a day forecast to be heavy rain all day with a yellow warning for rain. Windy though

Doing quite well today, looks soggy across the Midlands. Yellow warning for rain seems to have been a bit off for these parts.

Very, very nearly got struck by lightning. Probably shouldn't have been sitting on a bench underneath a tree next to a body of water near tall buildings whilst it was hailing and I had already seen 10+ lightning bolts in the sky...

Started off as small hailstones, turned to graupel and now it's snow.

Bloody windy today. Mostly dry though at least. Sun came out just as it was setting of course...

Daffodils are out at my parents' house in Nottingham. My daffodils in Manchester emerged quite a while ago but haven't flowered yet. Snowdrops are out though. Trees and things are showing signs of growth and budding if you look for them.

Next week I will be leaving work before the sun sets (just) A bit of dark blue in the sky when I am cycling home now as well. It gets better quite rapidly from here on.

Gained over an hour in the evenings here now

I know what you are saying and would agree. The clocks just really go forward the last weekend of February or first weekend of March. Would be much more balanced. I would be cycling to/from work in proper daylight both ways by then rather than having to wait until the end of March. Also wastes a lot of potential daylight hours during those weeks in March when it it is already dawn by 5am for the majority of the population who work during the daytime.

Felt noticeably lighter this evening, things do start to pick up quickly through the end of January and February. The frustrating thing though with the way the clocks go forward/backwards is that by the end of this week on the 30th/31st we will be at the equivalent sunset time (16:48/16:50) to the first evening after the clocks went back on 25 October (16:49) . Yet because we have to wait for the last weekend of March for the clocks to go back forward we don't get parity with the last evening before the clocks back (17:51) until 3/4 March (17:50/17:52). If they moved the clocks forward at the end of January then we would already have the same sunset times as the end of October before the clocks went back but instead we have to wait another 4-5 weeks to catch up in the evenings! I know mornings take longer to get lighter again but I really think that it should be more balanced around the Autumn/Spring equinoxes. By the time the clocks go forward sunset is already ridiculously early (5:54 here). Sorry didn't mean to start the annual clocks changing debate but I guess someone has to do it.

Gained nearly half an hour here since the darkest day, mostly in the evenings. Gaining nearly 2 1/2 minutes per day now which continues to accelerate through January and February. Does start to become more and more noticeable especially on clear days like today.

Sun finally sets the right side of 4pm here today. While it is only 11 minutes later than the darkest evening it is actually the equivalent of 23 November and the change does start to gradually accelerate now. Mornings have turned as well now. It is still a drag and it really makes a difference to how dark it feels if it is cloudy or not through January and February. But from next week we will be gaining 2+ minutes of light per day and the change does start to become more noticeable by the end of January. Still a few months before I can take the lights off my bike for cycling to/from work though

Sky was clear tonight for a change so went for a walk and managed to catch them after dusk. Separated by only a fingernail's width or so. Jupiter is easier to spot but Saturn is fairly easy to see with the naked eye just above Jupiter as long as you are away from bright lights. Could still see them clearly until 5:45 although they start to get quite low in the sky around then. Best viewing straight after sunset. Tomorrow looks like it will be rainy and cloudy so probably the closest I will get to see them in my lifetime. In a way though they were probably more impressive this summer when they were both really bright and stood out in the night sky even though they were much further apart.

Turning the corner in terms of sunset time here today Takes ages until it starts to become noticeable and the mornings continue to get darker until the end of December but it's a start.

Only 6 more minutes to lose in the evenings now and two more weeks until the darkest evening. It is still going to feel dark for ages but I have to give myself milestones to look forward to.