Maz

Yep, Showery airstream with a due W, or WNW steering flow normally means a never ending stream of showers to SE Lancs/ N Mncr. And so it proved in Rammy today. As with the Disturbance from the NNE on Thursday, this is another synoptic that can give our best snowfalls here. Will always be very marginal, more often than not cold rain/ sleet/ graupel, but every so often (cold surface air in place and a light upper wind is normally best), it’s a snowmaker. The only synoptic where this area can be the “sweet spot”. 9 times out of 10 just a drenching like today though!

Disturbance coming down from NNE, loads of ppn. What a waste!!!

Not so bad in the east of the region. Sitting out for lunch in shelter and the sun. Feeling fine in shorts! Different story when clouds come over and wind gusts.

It’s been the sort of day I normally struggle with in autumn. However I was out first thing so got a sunrise and some sun, and have enjoyed what has seemed a sunny month, so not feeling the dullness of autumn yet. Also doing heavy work in the garden, so cool and cloudy, but dry, suited that fine!

Been travelling with work this week, Lancaster and Edinburgh. Warm afternoon’s, misty mornings and really great views driving through Cumbria and Southern Uplands. Mist and inversion coming down from Shap yesterday was truly stunning. Dawn walks along misty Tweed and then river Eden when stopping in Carlisle en route, gave great autumnal feel. But then later in the afternoon able to sit out and enjoy the sun in short sleeves. September not normally a favourite time for me (dreading onset of SAD), but this year it’s been great, and clearly “autumn” in feel, which has made it stand out.

Whilst it is hard for September to bring any real extremes, this September has seen an unusual degree of variation. Warm high pressure, warm cyclonic, cool northerly, current fairly typical benign mild high, then another unusually extended northerly. It’s interesting.

Interesting how far inland the lines of showers have been today. Presumably convergence zones brought about by the hills. As Ian says above NNW is normally dry around here, but every so often, as long as there is some westerly element, showers get going somewhat inland…frustrating when it’s forecast mostly dry like today, wonderful when the westerly drift meets surface cold in winter and we get surprise snowfalls.

We’ve had to strip the loft insulation due to rat infestation. Live in a dormer bungalow, hence a large roof area. Whilst it is sunny the rapid loss of heat at night is made up during the day. It is a really noticeable difference not have insulation though. Not sure the family will make the next two weeks without central heating. 15c inside the last two mornings was just about ok as the house warmed through the morning, a couple of cloudy days and the heating will be reluctantly on!

Ed - if you are still infiltrating the NW thread….COYS!! Great Sony day!!

I’m a Spurs fan myself. Grew up in North London and my dad and I had a season ticket for a time. Been to the new stadium once (CL quarter final luckily), things have certainly changed. COYS

I don’t play myself, but totally agree, without getting overly nostalgic, the sound of the ball on the bat, even the clapping and banter of the fielders, is wonderful to my ears. Will miss it over winter, their mad Boxing Day game excepted!!!

Village Cricket watching for me later, from our sheltered decking. Last weekend of the season. Despite cold start they will have a glorious final day. More often spring, but sometimes autumn, can bring large diurnal range like we are currently seeing.

My early morning walk couldn’t get as for as Rossendale to get a first frost, that bit less cold around Rammy and up on Holcombe Moor (the frigid wind was a shock to the system though)

The pace at which nights get longer is as fast in the weeks after equinox as weeks before. I would say another 6 weeks of rapid change until we shift into slower incremental change around the solstice. Cold, clear and fresh morning. Dew rather than frost, even in the more prone river valley areas here.

If all autumn days were like today it would be my favourite season. Moon shining through Field mist at dawn with seasonal coolness. Lovely warm sunshine through the day, but never too hot. Shame autumn is more often grey, drizzle and a bit grim!!

Continuing my "story song" theme, a very sad song from a brilliant new album released last week: Winter Town - YouTube Music MUSIC.YOUTUBE.COM Provided to YouTube by IIP-DDS Winter Town · Concrete Prairie Concrete Prairie ℗ Good Deeds Music Released on: 2022-09-02 Music Publisher: Beautiful Wo... Really hits me this song, some notable lyrics: Got the blues in September when the sunshine left his heart He is a summer guy in a washed out winter town I guess in late November the season seems too far out of reach ...SAD sufferers I'm sure can empathise.

First cooler feeling morning for a long time. Mist over the fields near the river at dawn. Cleared quickly to blue skies and very pleasant. Now clouding over, but very useable weather still.

After the August CET update the met office site says that if temperatures are 0.53c above average Sept - Dec, the annual CET will be the highest recorded. With warm start to September and the well above average Atlantic sea surface anomalies, that must be very probable now I would think.

Can’t work out how to put a link using my mobile. But two singer songwriter songs: End of Summer - Dar Williams, about going to University after summer holidays. Nice reference to the ice on the grass. Summer’s End - John Prine, a song about ageing etc, as ever from John Prine, sharply written with a wry view on life.

Does seem that way. With an easterly element to the wind the last few days have been great. I’m sure when the winds get a westerly element, with low pressure close by, we will see some rain over the next week. Doesn’t look a washout any more though (which maybe famous last words!).

True regarding May 2018 - that’s meteorologically spring though. I take your point though, in NW England May is often a lot more reliably summer like than August.

From memory 2018 was poor in N Manchester after the first week of the school summer holidays. Having two youngsters to entertain that skews my impression of that summer. In contrast, after an iffy first week, this school holiday was (still is til the weekend) perfect. Combined with the record breaking spell and it’s exciting build up, that brings 2022 higher than 2018 for me, despite some rather non-descript weeks with cloud and drizzle in early June and more particularly July.

Yes, for those that can remember their maths the change in day length exhibits a sine curve pattern. A steep gradient a month or so either side of the spring and autumn equinox and a shallow gradient either side of the longest/ shortest day. I.e day length doesn’t change much 21st May to 21st July, the rate of change then slowly increases until we get the massive 30min/wk changes 21st Aug to 21st Oct. Hence, for me, 21st Aug marks the start of the descent through autumn into winter.

Thanks Roger. Not quite a non-calendar 20c CET average, 19.5c. From your analysis a joint 4th highest 30day period in the historical record. Which puts the recent spell nicely in context temperature wise.

Two months either side of the solstice, I agree, there is just not enough light. Any change to one end of the day takes away from the other end. GMT works to give a bit of light for school kids going to school and coming home (except Scotland). However, IMHO, 21st Feb - end March, there would be a big benefit of returning to Summer time. At the moment many people don’t benefit from the lighter mornings in March as they are asleep still, but being light 6-7pm would benefit almost everyone. We use BST in the equivalent period in October, why not in March?