March Weather 1988-1994

[Summer of 95]

I've often said how I like March because it can bring almost anything and is rarely drab and boring, however looking back that's not how I recall it being between 1988 and 1994 inclusive. Between March 1987 (which I can remember having some snow midmonth) and 1995 (plenty of snow at the start then a warm end) I recall very little in the way of memorable March weather.

1988: Can hardly remember a thing about this month, think April was quite pleasant but my main memories of this year are the awful July and snow in November.

1989: One of my few good memories of March weather between 88-94 is the warmth towards the end of March 1989, as I recall there was lots of warm sun and temps into at least the high teens- then it suddenly turned cold at the start of April.

1990: Again very little memory of this one, remember February being very mild and April rather mixed.

1991: A complete blank, February I remember well and then the summer seem to take ages to arrive with a cold April, May and June- March?????

1992: A poor month, I remember it because it was dull, mild, damp and horrible- the only March I remember being like that. April was the same but May was fantastic.

1993: Mostly another blank; there was a cold snap towards the end of Feb with snow in some places (very little here though) which might have spilt over into early March? But nothing more.

1994: Like 1991, a complete blank after a memorable February.

Note that I don't recall any lying snow in any of these Marches, nor do I recall any exceptionally wet ones- they were just totally unmemorable for the most part. Anyone have any memories of these Marches?

[Thundery wintry showers]

I have weather records for Marches 1993 and 1994 for Cleadon, Tyne & Wear.

1993: An east-north-east flow brought sunshine and snow showers on the 1st, following a bright snowy end to February, although warmer air was moving in and the snow soon turned to slush. The next few days were dry and cloudy with east-south-east winds and the snow had all gone by the 2nd.

Most of the rest of the month was dry with sunny intervals according to my records, with the temperature reaching 16C on the 13th due to a very warm southerly airflow. There was a brief cold snap around the 23rd when I reported a snow shower late in the day, though it didn't settle.

1994: According to my weather records the first half of this month was mostly mild, unsettled and windy, though with rainfall amounting to little; overall nothing particularly outstanding.

The second half was consistently bright and showery here; a particularly showery spell occurred from the 14th to 18th with persistent north-westerly winds, and hail was reported on each of the five days. On the 18th it briefly became cold enough for snow, during the afternoon, though none of it settled. After a few dry sunny days, showery weather returned from the 22nd to 25th, with a brief northerly surge bringing frequent hail showers; a dramatic hailstorm occurred just before sunset (and I remember it quite well). The last few days were mild and unsettled with variable cloud cover.

Overall it was bright and showery on about 10 days out of 31, and hail occurred on six days; it was also about 30% sunnier than average with slightly below average rainfall. Due to the second half I actually remember March 1994 as quite an interesting month despite the homogeneous warmth; however it was subsequently exceeded by March 1995 in all of these areas (e.g. showery on roughly 15 days, hail on 8 days, 50% above average sun, and variable temperatures to go with it)

Edited March 9, 2007 by Thundery wintry showers

[reef]

Going by my own brief records and Trevor Harley's site, the Marches 1988-1994 were anything but uneventful.

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~taharley...er_in_march.htm

1988: A very wet month, record breakingly wet in Northern Ireland. The first days saw two potent northerlies which would have undoubtably caused lying snow in many areas. The remainder of the month was not dissimilar to the current pattern, being very Atlantic driven but there were a couple of brief flirts with cold mid-month.

1989: Mostly zonal, weak northerly mid-month. Very warm at the end with 20.7°C at Elmstone on the 28th and 19.9°C in London on the 31st in a southerly airflow. Also a warm and sunny easter.

1990: High pressure always close-by to southern areas, meaning it was the driest in south since 1961, but very wet in the North. The month again started on a northerly note. A strong Bartlett high mid-month brought exceptional warmth for so early in the season. Temperatures widely reached above 20°C in the south on the 17th and 18th, including 22.3°C in Cambridge.

1991: Dull and foggy. It was rather unsettled in the first half of the month, but high pressure sat over or slightly to the North of the UK during the latter part of the month dragging in cloudy easterlies. Most likely snowless (it certainly was here).

1992:Very dull, in fact the dullest of the century in some southern areas. A very potent north-westerly affected the far North mid-month, with a maximum of -3.3°C in Lerwick on the 14th - a new record. It was dry in the south, but saw flooding in the North.

1993: After a cold easterly start it was a warm and sunny month in southerly winds. The 15th saw 19.7°C in Northolt. Cooler during the last week as the Atlantic returned. Again, very wet in the north but drier in the south.

1994: Wet and dull in the west, dry and sunny in the east. Sunniest March in Aberdeen since 1929. Cold spell mid-month which would likely have seen snow in some areas. Azores high always close by to the south-west.

Interestingly all of these marches bar 1988 were at least 1°C above average and on the whole rather snowless apart from the first few days in some years.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I have no records from the North East for 1988-1992, but judging by nearby stations' records, I can pick out the following:

1988: Cold start with some snow showers at times, late February/early March producing a sting in the tail of a generally mild winter. Then unsettled and fairly mild with near average sunshine.

1989: Unsettled but quite sunny. Warm sunny end.

1990: The month began cold with sunshine, snow showers, and local thunder. Then it became relentlessly dry and mild, and generally sunny; the 18th was almost summerlike with southerlies and highs of 18C around the region.

1991: Dull and damp.

1992: Dull and damp again, but less so than March 1991.