Early Spring

[HighPressure]

I am not sure which exact year it was but about 4 or 5 yrs we hit @18oC around this time in Feb by end of March we had lying snow and within 4 weeks of that we had temps hit 70oC. Its such an unpredictable time of year its amazing to think that we could be in shirt sleeves or wearing bobble hats with snow shovels in hand. B)

[Nick L]

I am not sure which exact year it was but about 4 or 5 yrs we hit @18oC around this time in Feb by end of March we had lying snow and within 4 weeks of that we had temps hit 70oC. Its such an unpredictable time of year its amazing to think that we could be in shirt sleeves or wearing bobble hats with snow shovels in hand. B)

I hope you meant F! But yeah I remember that, one week it was crazily warm and the next we were covered in snow! Spring is a mad season.

[HighPressure]

I hope you meant F! But yeah I remember that, one week it was crazily warm and the next we were covered in snow! Spring is a mad season.

I did indeed mean 'F' and not 'C' I think we need a few more yrs of GW to achieve 70oC at least in spring B)

[damianslaw]

I'm expecting many more 'it feels like spring comments' over the next few days with the generally very quiet mild conditions persisting and I guess considering the relative coldness of recent weeks the swich that has occured this week has felt very marked even though temperatures are really not hugely above average and for many cloud rather than sunshine has been the main player. However, its been a long time since we haevn't had some cold spell between now and April delaying the onset of true spring and I think these comments are very premature, spring doesn't normally start in earnest until late March - look at last year it never really got going until April , March- mid April is notorious for switching from Spring to Winter. I certainly don't think it is spring yet far from it. Much like I wouldn't call autumn from the 20th August.

[Cookie]

it dose a little, especially with the longer daylight

[Gilly]

I love spring a beautiful time of the year full of promise.

Already some of my early daffs have buds on them and Crocus showing the first signs in the lawn!!

BUT it would applear there is another snowy few days at the end of this next week......probably a little early to be sure of it coming to fruition.

[SpringStorms]

So do you all dread Spring weather? Like we do here? Last year we had a very severe May and early June. I don't mind Severe weather when I can watch it on TV but having it overhead? Last Spring was a rare year for Nebraska however. We had very severe storms, tornado warnings that lasted over three hours, wind storms, etc. I've read that el nina will make this year even worse than last year. I am not looking forward to that. How is your weather looking for next year after record snow??

[Yeti]

So do you all dread Spring weather? Like we do here? Last year we had a very severe May and early June. I don't mind Severe weather when I can watch it on TV but having it overhead? Last Spring was a rare year for Nebraska however. We had very severe storms, tornado warnings that lasted over three hours, wind storms, etc. I've read that el nina will make this year even worse than last year. I am not looking forward to that. How is your weather looking for next year after record snow??

Can do anything in Spring here - snow in May/June, heatwaves and 30c, storms or pour with rain all day :lol:

[Bottesford]

Certainly a spring feel today - chilly morning then warmed up nicely by the strengthening sun. Certainly more wintryness to come since spring, being a transition season, is always a mixed bag. Always the season with the most contrasting and changeable conditions - more so than autumn. Which is no surprise given the sun strength to land/seas temperature contrast.

Still the first bit of warm sun after a long cold winter is always magical.

[Mark Bayley]

Feels like spring here to. After a chilly start feels very pleasant in the sun. Could walk round in a T Shirt. Also the first of the crocus are out today. Just a shame tomorrow is going to be cloudy again :lol:

[PB22]

Don't know about spring, it was nearly summer like this morning outside on the golf course. The sun rising over the dewy fairways was simply superb and after the cold few months we have had, it was like a new beginning this morning - the new season is here.

[Bottesford]

Don't know about spring, it was nearly summer like this morning outside on the golf course. The sun rising over the dewy fairways was simply superb and after the cold few months we have had, it was like a new beginning this morning - the new season is here.

.... for now! Spring is a good trickster and good at fooling you into thinking things have changed but then winter comes bounding back and you have to wait another month for it to finally lift again.

[PB22]

.... for now! Spring is a good trickster and good at fooling you into thinking things have changed but then winter comes bounding back and you have to wait another month for it to finally lift again.

Thats part of the whole season of spring. We are now into the new season, but that season can involve a jump back into winter or a jump forwards into summer. It can be wide ranging at times can spring.

[butler_son]

So do you all dread Spring weather? Like we do here? Last year we had a very severe May and early June. I don't mind Severe weather when I can watch it on TV but having it overhead? Last Spring was a rare year for Nebraska however. We had very severe storms, tornado warnings that lasted over three hours, wind storms, etc. I've read that el nina will make this year even worse than last year. I am not looking forward to that. How is your weather looking for next year after record snow??

Spring is the most gentle season in the UK. Though it can act a bit confused - you can have about 20 degrees in March (as we did a couple of years ago) or snow in April (as I did last year) and that's just the south! Thunderstorms are nice events here, as we don't get the intense hail storms/tornadic activity quite as often, it's quite a rare occurance for tornadoes to form in the UK. We get most Atlantic windstorms in autumn, they can be vicious when they want! But spring is pleasant, early sunshine, early warmth, April showers, then the heat starts building at the end of May towards 30...usually!

[Koyli19]

there has been the odd patch of rain here over recent days, but on the whole it has been dry, albeit rather cloudy.

today is definately spring-like in feel, and a big contrast in those cold, freezing, snow laden easterlies of the not too distant past.

however long or short this pleasant spell may last, it sure is a most welcome visitor to our shores.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Spring in the UK tends not to be very windy, as the Atlantic is usually at its weakest between April and June. There are huge differences between one spring and the next though. Here is an outline of the setups we can get in spring:

Westerly/south-westerly- tends to be a mixed bag, dull and dry in the wake of warm fronts, dull and wet around fronts, sunshine and showers in the wake of cold fronts

Northerly/north-westerly- tends to bring sunshine and showers, and the showers can be wintry well into April and, on rare occasions, even into May

Easterly/north-easterly- generally dull and drizzly and cold in the east but often sunny with cool nights in the north-west. On occasion, though, a sufficiently cold airmass can still bring the equivalent of the wintertime "sunshine and snow showers" easterly setups.

Southerly/south-easterly- tends to be warm and sunny, thunderstorms can occur from this setup in May and occasionally April, but it can often be dull and drizzly near North Sea coasts of the northeast

Anticyclonic- tends to be dry, and more often than not it tends to be sunny, with warm days and cool nights, but sometimes a high can just bring anticyclonic gloom.

Many members of Net-Weather would like there to be a big step-change from cold snowy weather in winter to constant warm dry sunny weather come the 1st March, and no more snow. But in fact, it's often overlooked that most of the warmest, driest and sunniest springs in the UK- take 1948, 1982 and 1990 for example- had occasional wintry spells. In May 1995, it was 25C in the Tyneside area on the 4th, then on the 11th and 12th parts of the region saw hail and sleet showers and maxima of just 7 or 8C despite some sunshine in between the showers.

In recent years, though, many springs have tended to have quite "homogeneous" temperatures, with the dramatic switches of the springs of the 1990s more of a rarity in the 2000s. This is likely to be down to synoptics rather than anything else, though, and more variable springs are likely to become the norm again at some point in the future.

[conor123]

Lovely and sunny here today so far and currently just reaching 9c.

Great stuff.

[Nick L]

The sun shining through my window is making it uncomfortably warm. I hate this weather, especially in winter.

[TonyH]

Plenty of spring bird song this past week:

Blackbird, Song Thrush- early as usually don't start until March, although I have noted them singing from late February increasingly over the past 10 years or so.

Mistle Thrush, Great Tit -these are often the earliest to break into song even in February.

Robin: Sings through Autumn, Winter and Spring!

Crocus and Snowdrops in flower all this month which is typical. First Daffodils now in flower which is not so unusual (especially post 1990's).

All in all, nature seems to be responding to the very abrupt change in temperatures from early to mid February. Here the maxima have been a springlike 10-12c over the past 7 days, quite a contrast to the sub 5c maxima of the first 10 days, frost and snow cover.

Unlike other areas we have seen a fair deal of sunshine in the past week also. This, along with the very dry conditions (only 30mm February so far), and natural indicators have indeed it made it seem like an early Spring in west Wales

Edited February 21, 2009 by Tonyh

[Cheese Rice]

Thats part of the whole season of spring. We are now into the new season, but that season can involve a jump back into winter or a jump forwards into summer. It can be wide ranging at times can spring.

If past winters are concerned it tends to be winter then spring, i would say it would be very unususal to see summer weather (temps as well) in march, April perhaps, anyway its still february how can it feel warm, trick on the mind

[Grimsby Snow Lover]

Ive just got two loads of washing dried outside for the first time since October. Got the grass cut and openned every window in the house my 'weather girl' says its 12oC outside not bad considering the time of year but that was achieved during every mild spell in the middle of winter in previous years so nothing too remarkable. Having said that though the sun does feel quite warm now.

[Anti-Mild]

It's a cracking day here, with the sun shining since first thing this morning, temp up to 11.1c (mildest of the whole winter!) and it just feels springlike.

Much as I love winter, it's been winter since late October and I feel like a change, although I expect that winter will show it's frosty head another couple of times before April. But for now the snowdrops are out, the daffs are poking through, my blueberry bush is just starting to bud, and the black-headed gulls are getting black heads again!

[Bottesford]

The sun shining through my window is making it uncomfortably warm. I hate this weather, especially in winter.

Crikey if you're too hot already it's going to be a long 8 months until it turns 'orrid and dark again! Each to their own I guess....

Just been to Sainsburys and back - it's just gorgeous out there! No need for coat when moving around in the sun - makes you feel so free & happy! A lot of birds around and can see some small flowers too. Can smell undergrowth & flowers again as well - welcome back light, life & warmth you have been missed!

[Geordiesnow]

Sunny spells here and it did felt really like spring like however its clouded over now and its pretty windy out there at the moment which is taking the edge off the temperture so not exactly feeling like spring like here again. BBC predicted temps of 11C around here yesterday but according to local weather stations its only 8C so quite a fair way out.

[Nick L]

Crikey if you're too hot already it's going to be a long 8 months until it turns 'orrid and dark again! Each to their own I guess....

Just been to Sainsburys and back - it's just gorgeous out there! No need for coat when moving around in the sun - makes you feel so free & happy! A lot of birds around and can see some small flowers too. Can smell undergrowth & flowers again as well - welcome back light, life & warmth you have been missed!

I have a south facing window, and the sun shines in all day. And for some reason my room never cools down, even with windows open it just keeps heating up. 25c at the moment in the shade in my room and I am sitting in the sun! It's effectively a greenhouse. That's why I dislike summer!