Simon M

It seems this will be a one week wonder, with the depressingly inevitable Atlantic dreck moving in by next weekend. My only question now is how much snow can we squeeze out of this.

It hasn't been a bad winter here for me personally, some decent falls of snow and some decent cold spells. Now the question is can we squeeze any more cold out of February before Spring sets in? As far as I see it we have around 4-6 weeks of usable winter left.

Nice fall of snow earlier, but it looks like it's back to mild wet rubbish off the Atlantic soon. Oh well, at least we had something resembling winter this year. It's a pity it had to end by mid-January.

I believe it's called the "Pest from the West".

Nice cold, sunny weather at the moment. If we can't have any more snow this is the next best thing.

Nice fall of snow earlier and now the sky is clear with the moon shining down on the snowfields. Couldn't look any more seasonal out there at the moment. Best thing is it's still the time of year with the longest nights and with more cold to come this could be the best winter here since 2012-13, even if it does turn mild for the 2nd half of January.

This is the best fall of snow for us since the BFTE back in 2018. I can't believe I've had to wait this long for a decent fall of snow (around 2 inches) but this winter continues to surprise.

MetO forecast winds here continue to be downgraded for my part of the West Midlands. Yesterday they were forecasting 28mph sustained with 54mph gusts around midnight tonight, now as of 11pm winds are forecast to top out around 24 sustained with 45mph gusts. Quite a drop and I can't say I'm sorry to see the reduction - I hate strong winds.

It's vile out there at the moment. Temps pushing 12C, strong wind, damp, humid with heavy rain and very, very dull. This is my worst kind of winter weather. But, as Darren Bett would (maybe) say: "at least it's moild!" Roll on the cool(ish) weather next week.

The netweather forecast headline at the bottom of the page sums it up sadly - there is no uncertainty abut the mild weather to come, but cold? That's just hints at the moment, hints that are probably not going to come off. I hope I'm wrong but my gut tells me it'll be unsettled, wet and probably very windy this Christmas, with whatever Atlantic ridging showing at the moment flattening out, and then back to default, putrid mild southwesterlies by New Year.

I've just noticed the Met Office's forecast temperatures have come down a couple of degrees since earlier in the net few days. This morning they were forecasting temps around 8-9C, now temps could be at 6C by the 23rd. Not a huge drop but it's definitely colder, and the trend is down.

More optimism again on the Model Chat thread, seems hype is growing for a potentially cold Christmas. There's even a chance of a cold N/NWrly wind bringing in some snow showers - chance of a few sneaking my way via the Cheshire Gap?

And summer is still summer, with the birds chirping outside my window at 4AM!

That's the BBC weather monthly outlook, not the MetO. No wonder I was confused!

Would you mind pointing me towards whatever it is the MetO says? I don't see anything on the MetO website.

January and February both mild, wet and stormy with the Atlantic fully in charge. March will see some drier and at times chillier weather. Perhaps even some snow in parts. April will be warm and sunny, much drier than average. May will be warm and humid, thundery at times much like in 2018. June will be dry and warm. July will be hot and dry, thundery at times. August will be warm and very wet, almost tropical at times with widespread thunder. September starts much like August, settles down later and a little cooler. October will be dry and foggy at first, unsettled and windy later. November dominated by the Atlantic. Stormy at times and often very mild. December a continuation of November, very mild and wet, potentially rivalling December 2015 in rainfall and warmth.

It's mid December...

To make things worse the sea surface temps are generally higher too, so those increasingly prevalent westerlies are going to be just that bit milder as well.

Another depressingly mild and soggy festive period lies ahead. Oh well, to be honest I'm so accustomed to mild weather in winter nowadays my main thoughts are as long as the weather doesn't cause any damage or disruption, say with flooding or wind damage, then so be it. I think we just have to get used to mild, mostly snow-less winters now.

I give up. No cold weather this winter then, just the same mild, Atlantic dross. The "ever-changing British weather" is an absolute joke when you can forecast the coming three-months' worth of mild, wet windy rubbish. See you around folks. I'll probably come back in Spring when the "winter" is out the way.

Thanks, really interesting post. For us who want a bit of cold weather, this is what stands out:

I fear you may be right. Things seem different climate-wise, and many of the things we could hope would give us an improved chance of cold in winter no longer seem to apply.