March CET

[West is Best]

You make me chuckle Charlotte!!!

I think actually you're going to win this one!

[Snowly does it]

You make me chuckle Charlotte!!!

I think actually you're going to win this one!

I'm riding in for my steak on BoJos regal coat tails, all is right with the world - its fractionally colder than average.

I can safely say there are doings afoot

[West is Best]

Philip Eden's frontpage currently carries 6. C [sic]. I think he means 6.1 if you do the calculation from his data.

Hadley not yet in.

[Weather-history]

Marches colder than the previous January for the CET

2008, 1983, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1969, 1962, 1949, 1944, 1937, 1932, 1930, 1925, 1924, 1916, 1906, 1900, 1898, 1888, 1883, 1877, 1875, 1869, 1866, 1853, 1846, 1845, 1840, 1837, 1804, 1796, 1788, 1786, 1785, 1783, 1782, 1770, 1762, 1748, 1747, 1737, 1733, 1724, 1721, 1720, 1700, 1696, 1682, 1676, 1674

Looks like the coolest second half for a March since 2001

[West is Best]

Marches colder than the previous January for the CET

2008, 1983, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1969, 1962, 1949, 1944, 1937, 1932, 1930, 1925, 1924, 1916, 1906, 1900, 1898, 1888, 1883, 1877, 1875, 1869, 1866, 1853, 1846, 1845, 1840, 1837, 1804, 1796, 1788, 1786, 1785, 1783, 1782, 1770, 1762, 1748, 1747, 1737, 1733, 1724, 1721, 1720, 1700, 1696, 1682, 1676, 1674

Looks like the coolest second half for a March since 2001

Two sides to it though Kevin. It's also a function of the fact that it was the second warmest January in a quarter of a century (the other one being 2007!) and the 6th warmest for 100 years.

So annoying to have all the right synoptics at the wrong time of year, and all the wrong ones at the right time ...!

Edited April 1, 2008 by La Nina

[noggin]

So, we know that March 08 will have been colder than March 07. This means that each of the past 11 months have been colder than their counterparts from the previous year........

March 07.....7.2 March 08....6.1ish

Feb 07.....5.8 Feb 08.....5.14

Jan 07.....7.0 Jan 08......6.6

Dec 06.......6.5 Dec 07......4.9

Nov 06........8.1 Nov 07.........7.3

Oct 06........13.0 Oct 07......10.9

Sept 06........16.8 Sept 07......13.8

Aug 06........16.1 Aug 07......15.4

July 06.....19.7 July 07.......15.2

June 06.......15.9 June 07........15.1

May 06.......12.3 May 07.......11.9

Just a little bit of trivia, really! Or is it? B)

[kold weather]

Well if its 6.1C its a below average month but to be fair I'd probably classify it as near average given its only 0.2C below average.

[West is Best]

6.1C confirmed by Hadley http://hadobs.metoffice.com/hadcet/cetml1659on.dat

Argh. You win your steak Charlotte!!!!

[Scorcher]

Marches colder than the previous January for the CET

2008, 1983, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1969, 1962, 1949, 1944, 1937, 1932, 1930, 1925, 1924, 1916, 1906, 1900, 1898, 1888, 1883, 1877, 1875, 1869, 1866, 1853, 1846, 1845, 1840, 1837, 1804, 1796, 1788, 1786, 1785, 1783, 1782, 1770, 1762, 1748, 1747, 1737, 1733, 1724, 1721, 1720, 1700, 1696, 1682, 1676, 1674

Looks like the coolest second half for a March since 2001

Hmm, interesting to see 1983 and 1976 there, the summers in those two years were hot- let's hope that 2008 follows suit!

Edited April 1, 2008 by Scorcher

[Matty M]

Darn i was out by +0.1c

[J10]

March 2008 Results now in

Three people got it spot on Steve Murr, Soaring Hawk and James M, so well done to you.

In the Overall Compeition Potent Gust takes the lead, with Snooz in 2nd and chionomaniac in 3rd.

Overall Steve Murr moves up from 31st to 6th and James M from 105th to 27th.

[Snowly does it]

6.1C confirmed by Hadley http://hadobs.metoffice.com/hadcet/cetml1659on.dat

Argh. You win your steak Charlotte!!!!

I am going to put on Cotton Eye Joe and dance around the house now, do excuse me....

Please feel free to avail yourself of a copy of my latest literary masterpiece 'Besting Richard' which you can get at good bookshops, or your local Library :lol: :lol:

OK, I'll be serious for a moment.....

It's in ropey bookshops too.

Always a pleasure young paduan

And I was only about a degree and a half out with my guess too!!!!!

[damianslaw]

Ooh not far off again just 0.2 degrees out, since September barring January, i have been preety near and in the case of Sept and I think december spot on the mark.

[James M]

Only just noticed this, what a good guess that was :lol:

[North-Easterly Blast]

ANOTHER NORTHERLY MONTH THAT FAILED - SIGN AGAIN THAT GW IS WELL AND TRULY WITH US.

March 2008 synoptics according to Philip Eden state that it was the most northerly March over the UK since 1970, and yet is was another north - north-westerly month that failed, as it still produced a CET that was 0.4*C above the 1961-90 average and only fractionally below the 71-00 mean. March 2008 is another month that should have been far colder than it actually was - with the most northerly March since 1970 I would have expected a CET below 5*C - at least as cold as March 2006 - but the synoptics failed.

In recent years there are signs that it is very difficult to record colder than average months even when the synoptics are favourable - months like February 2005, April 2006, August 2006, August 2007, September 2007 and now March 2008 are all months that should have produced lower CETs than they actually did. August 2007 was only slightly below average despite being one of the most northerly Augusts on record.

[Northernlights]

A quick question does the CET refer to the whole of the UK as up here it seems to have been a more normal March of old temperaturewise with the daffodils only just coming into full bloom and only yesterday a slight greening of the grass with turnout for the livestock probably nearly into May as we next to no grass growth.

[James M]

A quick question does the CET refer to the whole of the UK as up here it seems to have been a more normal March of old temperaturewise with the daffodils only just coming into full bloom and only yesterday a slight greening of the grass with turnout for the livestock probably nearly into May as we next to no grass growth.

Here's a link

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/hadle...bsdata/cet.html

[LadyPakal]

Scotland, especially in the north had a March with mostly below average temps. NE Scotland for example was -0.6. Northern Scotland was around -1 to -1.5 according to the Eden site. http://www.climate-uk.com/monthly/0803.htm

The CET zone is central England only - and only a few stations within that area - Manley & Hadley use different stations for their calculations.

[richarddx7]

ANOTHER NORTHERLY MONTH THAT FAILED - SIGN AGAIN THAT GW IS WELL AND TRULY WITH US.

March 2008 synoptics according to Philip Eden state that it was the most northerly March over the UK since 1970, and yet is was another north - north-westerly month that failed, as it still produced a CET that was 0.4*C above the 1961-90 average and only fractionally below the 71-00 mean. March 2008 is another month that should have been far colder than it actually was - with the most northerly March since 1970 I would have expected a CET below 5*C - at least as cold as March 2006 - but the synoptics failed.

In recent years there are signs that it is very difficult to record colder than average months even when the synoptics are favourable - months like February 2005, April 2006, August 2006, August 2007, September 2007 and now March 2008 are all months that should have produced lower CETs than they actually did. August 2007 was only slightly below average despite being one of the most northerly Augusts on record.

Nonsense. Why was March 2006 so cold then That was only two years ago. People have stupidly short memories. Another properly cold northerly month will happen again soon it is just a matter of time. For all we know this month could be it.

[Snowly does it]

ANOTHER NORTHERLY MONTH THAT FAILED - SIGN AGAIN THAT GW IS WELL AND TRULY WITH US.

Not really, more a sign that the Northerlies were generally cloudy affairs keeping minima above what might be expected under clear conditions, and the CET being propped up by higher temps in the cold snap from the Lancashire station.

I am afriad the established rise in temperatures that has occured simply would not, if unwound, have made March 2008 substantially below average - it might possibly have come in around the 61-90 average I suppose if things are, as they seem to be, about half a degree warmer globally but thats by the by - there was very little time in the month we were tapping arctic air, hence it was not a very cold month - and the mild spell of course was well above average.

[Optimus Prime]

From Philip Edens site;

"23rd-26th "One of coldest Easter holidays on record; widespread snow although quantities generally small;

notable low mins include -11.4°C at Braemar (Aberdeenshire) and -11.1°C at Altnaharra (Sutherland)

both on 26th; notable low maxes include 0.7°C at Lerwick on the 23rd, -0.9°C at Braemar on the

24th, and 0.7°C at Loch Glascarnoch on the 25th."

Mean minima 2.7c (-0.8c)

Mean Maxima 9.5c (+0.2c)

It was a cold winter month for Scotland. Mean temperature 1c or more below normal.

August 07 would have been colder if it wasn't for the very warm start (the only real warm spell of thbe summer) but at 15.3c it was still 0.9c below normal.

[North-Easterly Blast]

Nonsense. Why was March 2006 so cold then That was only two years ago. People have stupidly short memories. Another properly cold northerly month will happen again soon it is just a matter of time. For all we know this month could be it.

March 2006 did give us some hope, up to the 23rd the CET was running at 3.2*C, due to northerlies in the first week and prolonged easterlies in the middle before turning northerly again, it almost was a well below average month but very mild weather in the final week made the month less outstandingly cold, and in the end it still could not finish 1*C below the 1961-90 average, something only achieved twice in any month since 1997.

Certainly given March 2008 was the most northerly since 1997 (although only from way up into the Arctic around the 21st-24th), I would still have expected a CET in the low 5s given the month's overall synoptics, but it didn't.

[damianslaw]

March 2006 did give us some hope, up to the 23rd the CET was running at 3.2*C, due to northerlies in the first week and prolonged easterlies in the middle before turning northerly again, it almost was a well below average month but very mild weather in the final week made the month less outstandingly cold, and in the end it still could not finish 1*C below the 1961-90 average, something only achieved twice in any month since 1997.

Certainly given March 2008 was the most northerly since 1997 (although only from way up into the Arctic around the 21st-24th), I would still have expected a CET in the low 5s given the month's overall synoptics, but it didn't.

Overall the month felt very 'average' to me, never warm but never particularly cold. I think had we had a few days with moderate or severe frost under high pressure then we could have had a chance of recording a preety decent below average CET. Granted it may have been a 'northerly' month, but apart from the opening days and also the easter break, winds were never true arctic more polar maritime/returning polar maritime, with the absence of high pressure influencing things, we never had a sustained spell of clear nights under the polar air so a spell of cold minimas which was want was needed to substantially lower the CET never took hold.

What was pleasing in my own perspective was the absence of any real 'mild' weather, reassuring me that we can still get months that are marked by the absence of tumbling record maximas that we have become accustomed to in recent years.

[Polar Continental]

ANOTHER NORTHERLY MONTH THAT FAILED - SIGN AGAIN THAT GW IS WELL AND TRULY WITH US.

March 2008 synoptics according to Philip Eden state that it was the most northerly March over the UK since 1970, and yet is was another north - north-westerly month that failed, as it still produced a CET that was 0.4*C above the 1961-90 average and only fractionally below the 71-00 mean. March 2008 is another month that should have been far colder than it actually was - with the most northerly March since 1970 I would have expected a CET below 5*C - at least as cold as March 2006 - but the synoptics failed.

In recent years there are signs that it is very difficult to record colder than average months even when the synoptics are favourable - months like February 2005, April 2006, August 2006, August 2007, September 2007 and now March 2008 are all months that should have produced lower CETs than they actually did. August 2007 was only slightly below average despite being one of the most northerly Augusts on record.

I am not here to argue with Philip Eden’s stats, but here in Burton, within the CET zone, March was not a northerly-dominated month at all.

There were just 6 days here out of the month with winds from a northerly quadrant, and only 2 of those were from a colder origin. The 22nd and 23rd over the Easter weekend and on those 2 days the maximum temperatures here were well below the average, by between 2c and 4c, the maximums for the two day’s were 7.7c and 6.3c The average for March 22nd and 23rd is 9.9c and 10.3c respectively. The minimums were between 3c and 4c below average.

Below are my recorded wind directions for March.

WSW

SW

SW

WNW

SSE

SW

SW

S

S

S

SW

SW

SSW

SW

E

N

N

NNW

WSW

WSW

W

NW

NW

W

SW

NE

SSW

ESE

S

SW

E

Paul

[Eugene]

It wasn't a northerly dominated month here either it was a cyclonic westerly dominated month if you ask me and the wind kept mins up most of the time so the CET came in just as i would expect it would slightly below average.