Bottesford

Thermal lag is the basic answer as others have stated. I always like to explain it to people in terms of boiling a saucepan of water on a stove (electrical hot plate type). You put cold water in - the water is cold and is not getting warmer. This is winter. You now turn the power up one notch at a time - energy begins slowly flowing into the water but still the water is cold (early spring - a month like Feb) Turn up the stove higher and the water starts warming ever faster (April-May) Stove is now at full power and eventually the water boils (June-July). Now turn the stove down & down - the water stops boiling but is still hot (August into September) The water remains warm for a good while but slowly cools as you keep notching the power down and down to off. Eventually the water cools right down we're in winter.

As we go into the busier time in this thread it'd be great if each post made had something to say about the model output. If the thread fills up with many one line comments like "12z looks good" it makes it very hard for a reader to quickly get information on the current model output. Please a little more meat on the bone!

Just broke the 'no frosts' club here at last. A very slight one on some roofs and down to 3.2c - the lowest so far this autumn. First time out for the winter coat too - so damn bulky compared to my summer one!

Wonder if I'll actually put on my winter coat before winter starts. I'm still in the light fleece that I use on cooler summer nights or when autumn first starts/spring is getting going. Don't think I've ever made it to winter proper without getting the proper coat out before.

Warm air holding a lot of moisture cools at night then out pops the fog... Come morning the sun has insufficient power to evaporate it - with the fog itself reflecting sunlight meaning it can only burn away at it from the edges by being able to heat the ground around it thus warming the air above it. That's my take on it!

Going to lock this one as I think your question belongs in the general winter thread.

Don't feel mild here today under the fog and low cloud. A chilly feeling 7.8c so feeling more like November unlikes yesterdays lovely 10.7c and blue skies.

Very foggy night with visibility down to 100m at most. Still foggy this morning but prob 250m visibility. No sign of sun burning it off as yet though. Been ages since I've seen a good fog! 6.3c low overnight noe 6.8c.

Blue skies and sunshine here all day and feeling warm enough for walking around in a t-shirt. Lovely stuff! The less lovely stuff was the Shakin Stevens I was subjected to in Wilkos earlier.

Defrost stuff and rewarm last nights dinner in it for lunch - that's all I use 'em for. Microwaving plastic lunchboxes with your food in is apparently bad but its just easier so...

Mild day at 13.5c currently. Its bright but sun is struggling against the cloud today. Still not a bad day overall.

Oh no complaints from me John about the sun - I don't mind it at all so long as I keep it from blinding me for hours on end (not so easy when facing directly south with big windows in front of me). I just prefer it to be high in the sky but if it can't do that - it can still shine as much as possible!

The curse of October to February unfortunately... Luckily curtains were invented for just such issues! However in the office I use bits of paper stuck on the window at the right position for my desk in the path the sun takes... So I keep having to shift them every few days (or in the case of recently after weeks as there's been no sun). Shutting the main blind means sitting in darkness for 4 months- not an option!

Gorgeous day here with plenty of sunshine after a cloudy morning. Feeling very pleasant indeed and we've got the office windows wide open again with the sun flowing in. Feeling like I'm being charged up again! 12.2c the max. Happy to keep this weather!

It might not be 'cold' according to the averages but it ain't stopping people going on about how cold it is out! I've been mostly fine so far - still no winter coat nor the hat yet. Gloves were on for cycling today but only just as it meant hot hands by the end! Could do with it warming up or cooling off as 7-9c is an awkward temperature range for cycling. Feels chilly in the light jacket and you get cold ears but far too warm in the big coat and hat especially on longer rides.

Yeah that was a good little report that. Def good for anyone who wonders why they haven't needed that much heating yet!

But is no frost and no snow above average? Even in January our average minimum temperatures are above 0c (1.1c across England in fact). Yes snow can fall & lie at those temps - but only just. The average max is 6.6c too - far too warm for snow or frost. It generally needs to be below average to get frost and especially snow - even in the depths of winter. Of course when people say 'mild' they mean 10c or more which definitely is above average in the depths of winter. And here too - clear blue skies! wow what a treat!

Living on an island surrounded by warmish seas our norm is mild in the winter and cool in the summer... a mediated climate with few extremes. It's what makes this part of the world so habitable compared to the plains of Siberia for example (hot in summer, deathly cold in the winter). Personally I like a mixture in winter. If the norm was like today has turned out to be - sunny and fairly mild (12c) with the odd cold snap that would suit me. No way I want endless extreme cold as its expensive, dangerous and inconvenient. We do need rain of course and if I could pick my rainy months they would be Oct to March. The endless low cloud we've had is indeed awful though - but then mild doesn't always equal dull in the same way cold doesn't always equal sunny/clear. Besides I'm off to Poland for new years so I'm guaranteed snow and cold this year!

If only we could get this above averageness in summer! Not that I'm complaining temperature wise lately as it is saving a ton of gas. The cloud of course is the problem.

Done and done!

Now days like today is good mild weather. It's mild (13.7c) and the sun is shining under milky skies. Perfect autumn stuff!

Frost? Not seen one of those since last February I think!

Yes this weather is really grinding me down. I'd rather have 24 hour darkness than this constant half light rubbish! Still it says more sunshine over the weekend so hopefully can charge up a bit!

Best bit of this autumn was the late September heatwave!

Mild is fine but like many of you the constant low cloud is making this an incredibly depressing spell of weather. Low cloud with drizzle makes it feel like the weather has got a cold and is feeling bunged up and stuffy. This feeling gets passed on to you and coupled with the low light levels has made me feel tired and fed up pretty much all week. In its favour it is keeping the gas bill down and my journeys to/from work are much easier needing only a light jacket and no gloves. We can still open a window in the stuffy office keeping the afternoon headaches down I usually get around sunset this time of year. If it was sunny then I'd give this top marks weatherwise. I'd prefer it cold and sunny to constant low cloud but at least it isn't cold with low cloud/drizzle - the very worst conditions imaginable.