Should ''March'' become a winter month?

[Thundery wintry showers]

I don't agree with the view that the seasons have shifted back a few weeks. We have certainly had three notable late Feb/early Mar cold spells in a row, but you get statistical quirks like that in the weather. While March snow has certainly become more frequent since the lean period of 1989-1994, most especially since the turn of the century, I don't think it's reached the levels of earlier decades, and the average CET for 2000-06 is just short of 7C, as compared with 5.3-5.9C in most earlier decades.

The image of spring as a variable season with fluctuation between warm and cold, some tasters of summer and some chill reminders of winter, was certainly appropriate through to the 1980s. However, in recent years, there has been a trend towards homogeneously warm spring months, and although chill reminders of winter still happen, they happen much less frequently. May is perhaps the most notable month for this; there were quite a few Mays produced widespread snow in the 1990s, but none have since 1997.

People's perceptions of what spring is like have undoubtedly been affected by this. Back in 1990, Spring 1990 was regarded as an exceptionally warm sunny spring. These days, April 1990 would probably get a lot of stick for having a CET of just 8.0 and some wintry spells mixed with the warm sunny ones- many people expect springs to be warm these days.

I have to admit that I haven't changed my perception of spring- I seem to have stuck with my perception of the seasons as they were in the mid 1990s, when snow in April and even May was not unusual. A wintry March is still a spring month to me, just a wintry one.

[Stargazer]

I think it's time to scotch this. This thread only exists because we've had a couple of cold snaps late in the season. But at the end of the day you cannot alter the change in daylight, and as the sun 'rises' in the sky and stays there longer so the earth warms more. It's kicking against the goads to pretend that March is winter. It isn't, and never will be for as long as the earth follows it's current orbit around the sun with it's present tilt. Period. When you consider that the majority of days in March have date records of 20C+ it puts this in perspective.

Agreed. Unless, of course, a global decision is made to shift our calendar to put the vernal equinox into April

[SteveB]

I think we should do away with winter and spring all together and just have 2 seasons, Summer and Autumn

Summer runs from March through to October

Autumn runs from November through to February.

Edited January 12, 2007 by SteveB

[Summer of 95]

I don't agree with the view that the seasons have shifted back a few weeks. We have certainly had three notable late Feb/early Mar cold spells in a row, but you get statistical quirks like that in the weather. While March snow has certainly become more frequent since the lean period of 1989-1994, most especially since the turn of the century, I don't think it's reached the levels of earlier decades, and the average CET for 2000-06 is just short of 7C, as compared with 5.3-5.9C in most earlier decades.

The image of spring as a variable season with fluctuation between warm and cold, some tasters of summer and some chill reminders of winter, was certainly appropriate through to the 1980s. However, in recent years, there has been a trend towards homogeneously warm spring months, and although chill reminders of winter still happen, they happen much less frequently. May is perhaps the most notable month for this; there were quite a few Mays produced widespread snow in the 1990s, but none have since 1997.

People's perceptions of what spring is like have undoubtedly been affected by this. Back in 1990, Spring 1990 was regarded as an exceptionally warm sunny spring. These days, April 1990 would probably get a lot of stick for having a CET of just 8.0 and some wintry spells mixed with the warm sunny ones- many people expect springs to be warm these days.

I have to admit that I haven't changed my perception of spring- I seem to have stuck with my perception of the seasons as they were in the mid 1990s, when snow in April and even May was not unusual. A wintry March is still a spring month to me, just a wintry one.

I still struggle to shift off the notion that April is a warm-season month, but prone to the odd outbreak of cold (if that makes sense)- it's a memory I think of the 1980s when lots of Aprils seemed to be warm and sunny, but there was cold and frosty weather as well (eg in 1989). Even the cold April 1989 I seem to recall warming up towards the end, as well as coming after a very warm end of March.

April 1987 is the one I judge all Aprils by, it's a month I remember well for days outside in the sun, with daffodils wilting in the warmth and day after day hitting 20C- 1988 I seem to recall was pretty good as well.

What has happened to April IMO is that it has for want of a better term become less interesting since about 1991; a lot of them seem to be rather dull, with outbreaks of rain from time to time (not to mention the odd very wet one), few frosts, and fewer warm sunny days- in the last 10 years we had only that week in 2003 plus the weekend of 24-25th 2004 when April 1987-like weather occurred.

March seemed initially to participate in the post-1988 winter shift, becoming a mild, often boring virtually snowless month in the late 80s and early 90s; however it changed its mind in 1995 and has been in the last few years the best month for snow. Yet it hasn't been lacking in warm sunny days as well.

[Bottesford]

I think we should do away with winter and spring all together and just have 2 seasons, Summer and Autumn

Summer runs from March through to October

Autumn runs from November through to February.

March summer?? Not a chance! Remember last March when it was freezing? If that's what summers were like I'd have to move south!

October summer?? Getting dark at 5-6pm is def not summer!

[SteveB]

Fair dues, March can be Auntumn, and October as well.

That splits it nicely as well, 6 months of Summer and six months of Auntumn.

[Bottesford]

Fair dues, March can be Auntumn, and October as well.

That splits it nicely as well, 6 months of Summer and six months of Auntumn.

Spring? Autumn I know as weak Sun but warmer temps. Spring is stronger Sun but colder temps. March is spring!

[Thundery wintry showers]

I still struggle to shift off the notion that April is a warm-season month, but prone to the odd outbreak of cold (if that makes sense

Tnat reminds me a bit of tbe pattern of Aprils 1995 and 1999, both of which were generally warm, but both of which featured a potent northerly incursion (18th-21st in 1995, 13th-18th in 1999). I have to agree that there's been less of that kind of April in recent years than the 1980s, though. I find April 1981 particularly notable with a warm settled first half and an exceptionally cold snowy final third.

I've never caught onto this two-season year myself- though I'm more used to it being expressed in "six months of winter, six months of summer" terms, leading to false expectations of a rapid switch from winter straight to summer in March/April. It does sometimes seem like we get six months of autumn these days, but in terms of the erratically rising temperatures and lengthening daylight of the March-May period, I still think of it as spring.

[Lettucing Gutted]

I think we should do away with winter and spring all together and just have 2 seasons, Summer and Autumn

Summer runs from March through to October

Autumn runs from November through to February.

In my honest opinion that makes sense because Global Warming is:-

1. Reducing the temperature contrast from November to February in addition to making winter shorter and milder.

2. Increasing the temperature contrast from March to October in addition to making summer longer and hotter. :lol:

[SteveB]

In my honest opinion that makes sense because Global Warming is:-

1. Reducing the temperature contrast from November to February in addition to making winter shorter and milder.

2. Increasing the temperature contrast from March to October in addition to making summer longer and hotter.

Yep, and reading on the January cet thread, I think it was Steve P said that if Jan returned a cet of 10c, then it would equal the 61-90 cet average for October.

[Lettucing Gutted]

Yep, and reading on the January cet thread, I think it was Steve P said that if Jan returned a cet of 10c, then it would equal the 61-90 cet average for October.

If January 2007 gets any warmer and doesn't get cold - it could be the first January ever to achieve Steve P's 10c C.E.T for January. As for the lack of cold weather January 2007 is almost as much of a stinker as February 1997 was.

Edited January 15, 2007 by Craig Evans

[Supacell]

In reply to this topic i'd definitely say yes. Since 2003 i have been snow watching in winter and in both 2005 and 2006 the best footage was taken in March. Last winter especially, other than at the end of Dec 05 there was little real snow until March 06 when there were several snow days on offer. In mid March i was walking in snow up to 6 feet deep on top of the Peak District.

[JJB McCabe-deluxe edition]

Can we have an extra option on the poll for. "What difference does it make? I can't believe there has been four pages of pointless discussion on this."

[Stratos Ferric]

Can we have an extra option on the poll for. "What difference does it make? I can't believe there has been four pages of pointless discussion on this."

Classic...