May 2021 - horrendous

[Harry233]

Who remembers the awful May of 2021? For me it was by far the worst May I have ever experienced. A constant month of cold, wet, windy and dull weather with only very brief spells of settled weather. For me it was coldest, wettest and dullest May on record. My main memories of the month was on the 1st May, the pubs had just reopened in Scotland after Covid but we could only drink outside, it was absolutely lashing it down with rain, was only 7.C and had near enough gale force winds. Looking back think we were insane to go to those measures just to have a pint. I also remember it snowing on the May Day bank holiday and maxima of just 5.C. The rest of the month followed a repeat of mainly wet and unseasonably cold conditions with maxima barely reaching 10.C on a few days. A side from a brief spell midmonth and the saving grace was the end of the month just in time for the bank holiday where it was absolutely glorious with temperatures in the low 20’s and set us up nicely for the summer. A month I hope we don’t repeat any time soon felt like a winter month.

[Summerlover2006]

For some reason I have absolutely no memory of this month apart from my birthday on 27th may and I remember it being warm and sunny which lines up with the fact that the last few days of the month were a lot warmer. June was thankfully a lot better from memory I remember the opening days of the euros being just glorious with blue skies and it  feeling pretty hot 

Edited March 31 by Summerlover2006

[B87]

May 2021 at Heathrow, the majority of days were cold, wet and dull.

Edited March 31 by B87

[WYorksWeather]

Again don't have many memories, but here are the stats relative to 1991-2020.

A cooler (colder?) than average, wetter (locally much wetter) than average, and generally slightly duller than average month.

Terrible from a rain days perspective as well, and somewhat frostier than average.

And here is Trevor Harley's weather diary:

Quote

May began very cold, and was generally cold, windy, wet, dull, and unsettled, except for the final few days, Nationally it was the coldest May since 1996. The maxima were particularly low. Many places saw double the average rainfall, with an average of 171%, making this May the fourth wettest since 1862; Wales had its wettest May on record (with 245 mm), as did Devon. Sunshine was in short supply (apart from Northern Ireland), with 86% of the long-term average. The only warmth came right at the end of the month, when 25.1C was recorded at Kinlochewe (Ross & Cromarty) on the 31st. The lowest minimum of the month was -61C at St. Harmon (Powys) on the 2nd. The highest 9-9 raifall total was 103 mm at Mickleden (Cumbria) on the 20th-21st. Snow lay to 1 cm at Achiltibuie (Ross & Cromarty) on the 5th. All in all a May to forget.

 

[Rufus Butterfield]

It was a poor month from a nice weather standpoint but it was quite convective which gave it some merit in my opinion. I remember quite a few instances of thunder and hailstorms, especially on the 11th when that storm moved through Yorkshire in the evening. Weirdly that storm came after a relatively cool day, just shows it doesn’t need to be warm to have big thunderstorms.

[Metwatch]

Certainly changed my expectations of May following May 2020, but it was sort of overdue given several Mays in the latter part of the 2010s were decent. However a fairly convective month too as it was very cyclonic with the sun being quite strong by this month. Here I only remember a day or 2 with thunder, but a lot of convective cloudscapes in the mix. 10th, 17th and 18th stand out looking back on my gallery and lightning strike archive on Meteociel. Things did settle down in the final few days though.

 

The Lake District, parts of Scotland even fairly low down, and some higher parts in Wales got some settling snow early in the month.

How unusual is snow in May?

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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What's behind the recent wintry spell of weather - and how often do we see snow in May?

Ffair-Rhos, Ceredigion, Wales, UK. 05th May 2021 UK Weather: Residents awake to snow in the rural village of Ffair-Rhos in Ceredigion after overnight and continuing snowfall this morning. © Ian Jones/Alamy Live News Stock Photo - Alamy

WWW.ALAMY.COM

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Download this stock image: Ffair-Rhos, Ceredigion, Wales, UK. 05th May 2021 UK Weather: Residents awake to snow in the rural village of Ffair-Rhos in Ceredigion after overnight and continuing snowfall this...

Dalwhinnie, Scotland, UK. 6 May 2021. Aerial view of snow covered landscape in the high altitude Drumochter Pass at Dalwhinnie in the Scottish highlands. Pic; The A9 highway winds its way north through a snow covered Drumochter Pass. Iain Masterton/Alamy Live News Stock Photo - Alamy

WWW.ALAMY.COM

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Download this stock image: Dalwhinnie, Scotland, UK. 6 May 2021. Aerial view of snow covered landscape in the high altitude Drumochter Pass at Dalwhinnie in the Scottish highlands. Pic; The A9 highway...

 

 

Edited March 31 by Metwatch

[LetItSnow!]

I do remember the month was running pretty exceptionally cold in the first half. Loved it from a meteorological perspective. There was one day pretty late in the month that was very wet and very windy and it felt pike November. Shame that it was scuppered from from a sub 10 finish. That spring is why I don’t listen to anyone who says that below normal months can’t happen anymore. Sure does feel a lifetime ago now though.

[Frigid]

I enjoyed this month, but I know the vast majority didn't. Felt a bit strange with single digit maxima and the sun up at 9pm, the first half wouldn't be out of place in the middle of winter. After coming from a cold April it was definitely strange to see two cold months back to back, the likes we hadn't seen since 2013. It was so close to being a sub 10C May, but of course the warmth at the end pushed it just above. I recall the CET mid month being in the low 7s, which is mad considering that this February was a lot milder up to that point. 

Here's a look at the temperatures for Manchester, very chilly in the first half.

 

[damianslaw]

A very chilly and wet month from memory until the very end. Early on was notably cold with snow on the fells, there were very heavy thundery outbreaks at times. Coming on the back of the cold frosty April, spring certainly felt stunted that year. Coldest since 1996. 

[Squally77]

I quite enjoyed this month apart from having to sit outside until the middle of the month when the pubs reopened on April 12th. Some spectacular cloudscapes and convection kicking off. It seems that even since 3 short years ago warming has accelerated at an alarming rate. No below averages months since December 2022 now, and counting. 

[Summer8906]

It was poor - very poor even - but it's comforting in a way that such a genuinely cold month can still happen.

At least, I hope.

It seems to have been since Sep 2021 that some kind of switch has been flipped and we've been stuck in anomalous southwesterlies ever since (albeit with high pressure for the first 8 months of 2022). Just hoping this is temporary.

The last week was fine and by sheer luck the Sunday of the May Day weekend was also relatively decent, IIRC. The Monday was horrific though - much like the Coronation Monday last year.

Other memories include a particularly cold cyclonic NE-ly around 10 days in - though at least the air was drier compared to the Atlantic-dominated days either side.

We also got lucky with a couple of Saturdays if I remember right which turned sunny-ish after around 3pm.

Edited April 1 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

15 hours ago, Squally77 said:

. It seems that even since 3 short years ago warming has accelerated at an alarming rate. No below averages months since December 2022 now, and counting. 

Indeed, and in fact isn't it the case that Dec 2022 is the only below average month from Sep 2021 to the present?

As I said just hoping that the climate of the mid 2013-mid 2021 period  (which, while having generally poor summers, at least offered something other than constant SWlies) is more typical of the contemporary climate than the last 9 months.

Edited April 1 by Summer8906

[Squally77]

 Summer8906 In fact, compared to the 1961-90 CET averages it's the only month since May 2021 that's below average. Which is shocking, and I'm pretty sure unprecedented.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

I normally like May as it's usually one of the nicest months of the year, but 2021 was dreadful.