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Posted
  • Location: North of Chelmsford
  • Location: North of Chelmsford
Posted

 Would Topper Agree with you. So much stuff to get growing to look at, eat and enjoy. 

  • Like 2
Posted
  • Location: Coatbridge, Scotland 129 m
  • Weather Preferences: snow in winter,warm sun in summer!!!!
  • Location: Coatbridge, Scotland 129 m
Posted

 LetItSnow and with covid it was a godsend.  Hope we get a sunny one. Now long retired me and the missus just jump on the train and go either east or West depending on which is sunniest any day of the week. Though those still working relying on the weekend being good.

  • Like 2
Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
Posted

im pretty much resigned to a cold spring here..they are the norm in La Nina set ups ..dont expect to see anything but a continuation of winter well into April ..then hopefully a quick switch into almost summer like weather in early May 

Posted
  • Location: Cardiff in the winter, Plymouth in the summer
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny, dry and preferably hot. Snow is nice in the winter
  • Location: Cardiff in the winter, Plymouth in the summer
Posted

Praying this SSW doesn't come off I hate the thought of another bad March. Not even asking for a 2012/2022 as they can only come around once in a while, just something a bit more pleasant and less Atlantic that means I can step outside without being soaked every single day. A 2021 would be absolutely fine, hell even a 2020 which was pretty bad until the second half, just an improvement that actually feels like spring and not November!

  • Like 7
Posted
  • Location: Hampshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny thundery summers with temps in the 20s, short cold snowy winters.
  • Location: Hampshire
Posted

My guess is warm and dry, because that seems to be the "norm" since 2007. I'd count 2023 and 2024 as aberrations for the norm.

The ideal for me would be for Feb to remain cold until quite late, and then become warmer in March, but then April to drop to around average so spring doesn't end early.

Something like a 2009 Feb-May period would be ideal.

This January was vaguely like 2009, February isn't turning out as cold as 2009 but there are some similarities... so maybe?

Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Posted (edited)

I've always had a sense that the majority preference on here has long been for cold snowy weather in winter and then a flip to a warm sunny spring, with the people who are only really here for cold and snow tending to disappear as spring gets underway. It has historically been relatively unusual for the desire for warm sunny weather to generally kick in during early February, but we have always had some members who prefer milder weather and perhaps with the warming climate, the desire/expectation for warmth tends to start kicking in earlier.

It was starkest around 2005-2010 when I got a lot of flak for not having that binary a view on winter and spring weather. I do tend to shift in that direction myself to some extent as spring gets underway, but I wouldn't say no to a rare snowfall in May or even early June as in 1975 - especially if a summer like 1975 followed - for me it tends to manifest more as a gradual shift towards looking out more for summery rather than wintry weather.

I grew up in the 1990s and remember that as a child I loved the variable spring of 1995 as well as the famously hot dry sunny summer that followed. I had a garden swing at the time and it got a lot of use that year, and the spring, especially March and May and also 18-21 April, also had a high frequency of sunshine-and-showers days which got me into the habit of going on the swing in the sunshine and sitting in the porch reading books or drawing during the showers. I think it was also that year when I got into listening to the sound of rain or hail falling onto the roof above - 20 April 1995 sticks out as one day when I had one hailstorm after another and it sounded dramatic when sat in the porch.

Spring is a time of year when historically north and east winds have tended to be relatively frequent regardless of sudden stratospheric warmings, and there is a genuine tendency for easterlies in particular to shift from being snowy to being just cold and cloudy in eastern Britain, but these weather patterns also bring mainly dry sunny weather to north-western Britain.

Yes, the record breaking sunny spring of 2020 definitely made that first lockdown more tolerable for me. I was also pleased that our government let us go out once a day for outdoor exercise, it would have been awful for those of us stuck in flats with no gardens if we hadn't been allowed to go out at all, as was the case in other parts of the world. It's worth noting that May 2020 was pretty varied temperature wise, there were frosts in the second week and some snow in north-eastern Britain during quite a noteworthy May cold snap for recent years, in contrast to the rest of the month which was generally warm. I remember the last third of May 2020 being so relentlessly clear and sunny in Exeter (where I was at the time) that it felt like a novelty when it clouded over one day in early June.

Edited by Thundery wintry showers
  • Like 3
  • Insightful 1
Posted
  • Location: Coventry
  • Weather Preferences: Snow Nov - Feb. Thunderstorms, 20-30°C and sun any time!
  • Location: Coventry
Posted (edited)

I don't think many will admit it, but a lot of the springs and particularly regarding the Aprils before 2023/2024 definitely spoiled many people including myself for warm, dry and/or sunny conditions. The last 2 springs have sort of started to balance things out.

Note how many dry Aprils since the mid 2000s:

ukp_HadCEP_ts_April.thumb.png.af216df3b86d034f8a23b8658c32246e.png

Springs are normally meant to be variable rather than continously sunny and dry. Something i've got to accept rather than having automatically gotten used to the second half of the springs of 2019 - 2022 or many of the dry Aprils since 2007 and thinking they're the new norm which isn't the case...

Edited by Metwatch
  • Like 2
Posted
  • Location: Cheshire
  • Weather Preferences: BWh
  • Location: Cheshire
Posted (edited)

 Thundery wintry showers I was still a baby in 1995 so no memories of that. The first classic summer I have any memory of is 2003. Still a child at the time but remember it for its warmth. I'd honestly love a repeat of 2003 or 1995 but the summers of the 2020s have been largely garbage so far. This is, of course, assuming a correlation between spring and summer.

Edited by raz.org.rain
Posted
  • Location: West Yorkshire
  • Location: West Yorkshire
Posted

 raz.org.rain To be fair I think it's always been the case that true standout summers are fairly rare in terms of consistent warm/dry weather. Really the four classics of the 21st century so far are 2003, 2006, 2018 and 2022. There are a few more you can add in that are a bit more mixed. Over a similar period in the 20th century you'd really not do much better at least based on my knowledge - the period from around 1975 to 2000 would give you 1976, 1983, 1990 and 1995 I believe as true stand out summers.

I think what has really changed more is that even in sub-par summers there's usually at least a few hot days, simply because there's more very hot air available to the south of the UK. It's very rare for us not to tap into it at all even in mixed summers - last summer was just short of 35C, and we had two periods of 32C+ in 2023.

Posted
  • Location: Manchester
  • Location: Manchester
Posted

 WYorksWeather Locally, Summer 2024 was quite cool by recent standards. We didn't reach 30C once (max was 27C), the last time that happened was in 2014. First halves of June and July were notably cool, IIRC there was a day in June that failed to exceed 13C and dipped to 5C, exceptional. There were zero heatwaves. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed last summer. Not everyone's cup of tea but it was largely pleasant with minimal rainfall. Can't recall a single humid day. Quite reminiscent of the cluster of cool summers we had around 07-12. 

  • Like 1
Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds
Posted (edited)

 Metwatch I think you're right. Spring has probably been the best season of the year relative to average in recent years, so our expectations have increased. 

And, for me at least, there's also an element of just not particularly liking the British climate so even normal conditions are below par. Realistically I don't expect warm, sunny springs every year, but I will always hope for one, and will always be a little disappointed if we don't get one. Ditto summer - an average British summer is already inconsistent, so a worse-than-average summer is just a slap in the face. 

Edited by cheese
Posted
  • Location: West Yorkshire
  • Location: West Yorkshire
Posted

 cheese Just had a look at station records for 2022 locally - probably the last generally good spring. 

Average maxes and mins, and absolute maxes and mins, were as follows:

March: 13 / 3, 20 / -3

April: 15 / 4, 21 / -2

May: 18 / 9, 24 / 3

I think what is really quite notable is just how much standards have increased in March for it to be considered 'warm'. We now really expect double figures pretty reliably in March, even spells of mid teens and higher not that unusual, even a fairly long way north.

I feel like a rough cut-off in terms of temperature is that when the mean max is above 20C it is summer, between 10 and 20C is spring and autumn, and below 10C is winter.

For the 1991-2020 average, by that set of parameters, at my local station it is 'winter' from November 16th - March 17th, 'spring' from March 18th - June 28th, 'summer' from June 29th - August 25th, and 'autumn' from August 26th - November 15th. I'm not sure how good a reflection that is though, because the 1991-2020 average already feels quite dated.

By comparison, at Heathrow the equivalent would be 'winter' from November 30th - February 28th/29th, 'spring' from March 1st - May 29th, 'summer' from May 30th - September 16th, and 'autumn' from September 17th - November 30th.

Would be interested to see what others think of this definition in terms of feel - I think it works quite well, in the sense that further north the first half of March can feel like an extension to winter in many years, early June can often have more of a spring-like feel, and September usually feels autumnal rather than the usual extension of summer by another couple of weeks further south. Similarly cold and snow more likely in the second half of November whereas events at that time further south are usually more marginal.

Of course, it will be interesting to see what the 2001-2030 average ends up being in a few years time - I imagine we will chop another couple of weeks off winter by these definitions.

  • Like 1
Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds
Posted (edited)

 WYorksWeather a good example of increasing warmth in March is the frequency of reaching/exceeding 20C. Before 2012 you had to go all the way back to 1990 to find a March that exceeded 20C here, but since 2012 we've exceeded 20C in March 3 times (2012 itself, 2021 and 2022). And other recent March's like 2019 and 2020 still exceeded 19C. 

Edited by cheese
  • Like 1
Posted
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm, sunny summers
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posted (edited)

 Thundery wintry showers Indeed. I feel I'm the only one on the island who realises just how exceptional March 2022 was over here. My local station... Dublin Apt had 203 hrs of sun for it and was the sunniest place in the UK & Ireland that month which almost never happens. 203 hrs was 31 hrs sunnier than my previous record sunny March back in 2003.

The lowest available sun total in Ireland for March 2022 was 172 hrs. We've had a fair number of summer months where that is the highest total anywhere in the country.

I've had only two summer months since 2018 sunnier than that - June 2023 and August 2022 (additionally May 2021, April 2021 and May 2020).

Screenshot2025-02-04at11_27_35.thumb.png.687ceab094887e89cbbd9a93ae17ad54.png

I will never see a March like it again probably. Paying the price for it since, 2023 and 2024 both stinkers.

Edited by BruenSryan
  • Like 4
  • Insightful 1
Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
Posted

 Thundery wintry showers if you grew up in the 70s and 80s springs were generally garbage..i dont recall many if any sunny warm springs during these times ..then came May 1989 which was a belter followed by May 1990 which arguably even better followed by May 1992 ..we had the glorious April of 1997 ..which was repeated in April 2007..i understand May 2008 was good (i was out of the country ) March/April 2011 were fantastic so i understand (i did visit the UK that Easter and it was fabulous)..this just my memories and i cant comment on recent springs but see that there were some good ones here to..so probably peoples expectations for spring have changed over the last 20-30 years to what they were

  • Like 2
Posted
  • Location: Shropshire
  • Location: Shropshire
Posted

 BruenSryan I don't think someone living in Ross-on-Wye would consider March 2022 a particularly good one...

Also I remember March 2012 being extremely sunny, would it not have had more sunshine than 2022?

Posted
  • Location: Islington, C. London
  • Weather Preferences: Cold and snow, cool and wet.
  • Location: Islington, C. London
Posted

The topic of whether it’ll be a warm spring or cold spring has brought up the question of the impact it has on the following summer. I thought I’d take a very basic look to see if people’s perceptions match reality.

(Also, before anyone comments - the weather of the spring does not impact the weather of the summer. This is just for fun and basically shows the likelihood, I suppose, of what comes after XX. Kept to CC years only for the obvious reason)

First I looked at the summers that follow the really good springs. The overall picture is this:

image.thumb.png.371c577a226c0531234ab9256b0ed08a.png

Likewise, I looked at the summers following “poor” springs. 

image.thumb.png.63651312867c28c71f3d45e074ae370c.png

So there is a little bit of truth to the belief that a good spring can be a negative omen for a settled summer, but outliers do exist within there such as 1990, 2003 and 2022. 

Posted
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm, sunny summers
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posted

 Cloud2 March 2022 was way sunnier than March 2012 in Ireland. It was only really that final week that was spectacularly sunny in 2012 here. The second week of the month had anticyclonic gloom.

The UK as a whole had a higher average in 2022 (165.5 hrs) than 2012 (149.5 hrs). You can see why in the maps below. Both were very sunny but March 2022 was more widespread. Western Scotland and Northern Ireland were a good deal less in 2012. 

The difference in England between the two is barely negligible. 2022 (168.9 hrs) slightly bet 2012 (167.0 hrs). 

image.thumb.png.8bfce69edf22fdd7b610ddad4e184807.pngimage.thumb.png.0ffdcc647c0ae8b90937e8bb61fd79cb.png

Regional values via here: 

WWW.METOFFICE.GOV.UK

Download time-series of monthly, seasonal and annual values. Files can be downloaded in rank or year order.

 

  • Like 2
Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
Posted

 BruenSryan It probably relates more to the weather type. March 12 basically had SE winds which were wonderful in Yorkshire after the cloud burnt back but no doubt stuck around elsewhere. We then got the southerners late in the month. 

Posted
  • Location: Hampshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny thundery summers with temps in the 20s, short cold snowy winters.
  • Location: Hampshire
Posted (edited)

 BruenSryan Strange, as March 2022 "seemed" much duller than 2012 here. Probably because the first half of March was dull and unsettled here, the sun only came out around mid-month (the archives suggest settled weather developed around the 17th) while in 2012 the sun seemed to shine more or less from start to finish.

At Heathrow, March 2022 appears to have been duller than not only 2012 but also 2014, which isn't surprising.

March 2019, 2020 and 2022 were all fairly similar in that the first half was dull and unsettled, and the second half sunny. It's now been a good while since we've had a March which has been sunny through much of the month, as frequently occurred between 1990 and 2014, rather than just the second half.

Edited by Summer8906
Posted
  • Location: Hampshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny thundery summers with temps in the 20s, short cold snowy winters.
  • Location: Hampshire
Posted (edited)
On 03/02/2025 at 21:45, WYorksWeather said:

I feel like a rough cut-off in terms of temperature is that when the mean max is above 20C it is summer, between 10 and 20C is spring and autumn, and below 10C is winter.

I think that is a pretty good definition.  The 10C threshold in particular accords pretty well with the meteorological winter down here I believe: we drop below 10C in late Nov and then attain 10C again in early March.

Likewise 20C approximates very well to meteorological summer though the first half of September is also usually close to or above 20C before it drops rather rapidly post-mid-month, with about 17C the norm by the end of the month, I think.

Edited by Summer8906
Posted
  • Location: West Yorkshire
  • Location: West Yorkshire
Posted

 Summer8906 Yeah I think I mean in terms of feel, which makes sense to be honest. A lot of people further south than me do tend to talk about the first half of September still having a summer feel for temperatures, though of course the sun strength is much lower.

  • Like 1
Posted

I think March will be from the school of 2013, a real shock to the system and lying snow for a good number of days CET 3.5.C. April will be fairly muddle of the road at 7.7.C while May will be baking woth an alarmingly early heatwave across Europe CET 15.5 C

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