Who's Looking Forward To Spring

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yeah, it depends on where you live. I would certainly have found July 2006 too hot if I'd been living in London, with the urban heat island and pollution and all that- but on the other hand, it was heaven up in Leeds where daytime maxima were mostly around 25-28C.

At Cleadon near the coast none of the summers since 1993 have reached 30C- the closest approach was 18 August 1996 (29.4C) while there were a couple of days in both August 1995 and July 2006 that hit 29C. I don't think wishing for the hottest possible is entirely unreasonable in view of how hard it is to get extreme heat there anyway! Even July 2006 with a mean max of 23C was only as hot by day as the average July in London.

Can't say I feel like looking forward to Spring at this specific moment in time- with a snow cover in place already and potentially more to come, the lack of a strong sun has its advantages.

[butler_son]

April 2007 = perfect. I can't actually remember a drop of rain falling in Dorset during that.

Spring 2007 was not a tale of constant warm settled weather, it is easy to forget that there was a northerly on 18th-21st March:

http://www.wetterzen...00120070319.gif

...and it was often unsettled during May 2007:

http://www.wetterzen...00120070519.gif

I remember a lot of N-W members complained during May in particular following the exceptional April, in some parts of the country the average maximum temperature for May 2007 was below that for April 2007!

Which is why April was specified in my post!

Either way, most of April - June (late June was a little soggy if memory serves) was pretty decent that year, I don't remember many cricket matches being cancelled at all, certainly not as many as the last 2 years have. Surely no-one can begrudge me my desire for a warm, dry summer in pursuit of the sport I love (though occasional showers, especially thundery ones, to keep the fields and pitches nice).

Of course, some rainfall would be nice for the cider apple crops, but preferably when I'm not in the country!

[paul tall]

Yeah, it depends on where you live. I would certainly have found July 2006 too hot if I'd been living in London, with the urban heat island and pollution and all that- but on the other hand, it was heaven up in Leeds where daytime maxima were mostly around 25-28C.

At Cleadon near the coast none of the summers since 1993 have reached 30C- the closest approach was 18 August 1996 (29.4C) while there were a couple of days in both August 1995 and July 2006 that hit 29C. I don't think wishing for the hottest possible is entirely unreasonable in view of how hard it is to get extreme heat there anyway! Even July 2006 with a mean max of 23C was only as hot by day as the average July in London.

Can't say I feel like looking forward to Spring at this specific moment in time- with a snow cover in place already and potentially more to come, the lack of a strong sun has its advantages.

Going back to July 2006, we scraped 30º three times and the average max was 24.8º, substantially hotter than Cleadon.

[cj114]

Ahh, 2006, I remember how humid it was here. Then we went to our House in Spain [barcelona way] and getting off the plane into just warmth without humidity was wonderful. We stayed out there for 3 weeks and it was bliss.

I am so sick of feeling cold now. Last year I was sick of feeling cold and got a last min Holiday to the Carribean in March. It was wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, Snow is pretty, but getting around in this country is a nightmare, we are just not set up for it and never have been.

The early 80's were freezing too. I've seen enough cold winters now.

My kids have enjoyed the past 2 winters not having seen Snow in such amounts before. They are also sick of it now.

My eldest being quite a bit older also remembers the 80's and rather hates Snow now.

Winge over.

I am looking forward to Spring and hope we have a decent Summer. Now THAT would be great if we have a decent one this year.

[Milhouse]

I generally despise long cold periods in winter so a March similar to 1996 would be just horrible, thinking that we should be recording double figures more often than not but stuck at 3s and 4s throughout the whole month. Spring 2007 as a whole wasnt that special but it was that glorious April that i would love to experience again. March wasnt that bad either.

I'm so looking forward to spring though and the first waft of warm air on a light SW breeze or the first brisk westerly bringing bright sunshine and beefy showers. I also look forward to the ground firming up during a long dry period as it means getting back to outdoor activities that have been out of bounds since late Autumn.

Winter lost its appeal for me after the first snowfall back in December and after then its been unrelenting cold. If it hasnt been cold its been still on the cool side so an early spell of spring warmth in March would be welcomed even more than in previous years.

[Mark Bayley]

Cold March, Warm sunny April and May. That will do nicely on the back of cold and very good winter

[Downpour]

Yeah, it depends on where you live. I would certainly have found July 2006 too hot if I'd been living in London, with the urban heat island and pollution and all that- but on the other hand, it was heaven up in Leeds where daytime maxima were mostly around 25-28C.

At Cleadon near the coast none of the summers since 1993 have reached 30C- the closest approach was 18 August 1996 (29.4C) while there were a couple of days in both August 1995 and July 2006 that hit 29C. I don't think wishing for the hottest possible is entirely unreasonable in view of how hard it is to get extreme heat there anyway! Even July 2006 with a mean max of 23C was only as hot by day as the average July in London.

Can't say I feel like looking forward to Spring at this specific moment in time- with a snow cover in place already and potentially more to come, the lack of a strong sun has its advantages.

Fair enough. Yes, working week London is awful in a heatwave. Just way too hot and oppressive, everyone in a terrible temper, always reminds me of that Spike Lee film, Do The Right Thing. Big cities are just not designed for 95 degree heat.

Edited January 30, 2010 by Downpour

[dave79]

today was a great day in terms of weather, quite a bit of snow during the night, then during the day lovely clear sky's and quite pleasent in the winter sun, then back to cold once the sun went down. This is how I would like the run up to spring, with the occasional two or three day snowy spell, then as we head towards march a gradual warming up.

By the way if this easterly backs off which it looks like it is, then I wouldn't mind mild temperature's, bring the spring on A.S.A.P, then if we do see cold spell we'll all be surprised, instead of this so called beast from the east and waiting weeks and weeks for something to hit us that never really will.

[Derp Patrol]

Maybe it's just me.. but the sun did give that warming feeling today when I went outside at about 11am.. oh well.

Days are starting to noticeable increase in length now.. the sun is setting at around 4:50pm and rising at about 7:40am now, still a while before the sunset is at a reasonable time (around 7pm for me), but by the end of February, the sun will be setting at about 5:40pm and rising at 6:50am which will feel a lot better for me

Edited January 31, 2010 by robthefool

[SP1986]

Wirral is renowned for it's warm Springs, here in most cases in average years bar one or two the frost cease in mid-late March and you get alot of sunshine March-April here. This is the time when most foehn effects are ecountered here and in NE Wales where the temperature in March can sometimes get to 15-18C on some days. Generally because of this winters are quite a but shorter than further inland.

[cj114]

I guessed things would go badly for cold lovers when my Cat decided to sit in the Sun in Garden today!!

He really is a weather sage......................if cold is arriving he stays indoors, but if not he is out, blinking in the Sun taking no notice of the Birds on the feeders.

Oh, bring on Spring, this Winter has been dreadful so far, I know we have another two months to go but I am hopeful that Winter is behind us now.

Perhaps the odd cold spell but other than that, nothing I hope!

[PB22]

I guessed things would go badly for cold lovers when my Cat decided to sit in the Sun in Garden today!!

He really is a weather sage......................if cold is arriving he stays indoors, but if not he is out, blinking in the Sun taking no notice of the Birds on the feeders.

Oh, bring on Spring, this Winter has been dreadful so far, I know we have another two months to go but I am hopeful that Winter is behind us now.

Perhaps the odd cold spell but other than that, nothing I hope!

You know, the sun is already gaining some power...in the last couple of days when it has been out it has made a big difference to the indoor temperature of my south facing flat.

Definitely ready and looking forward to spring. The days are already lengthening and whilst there will probably still be some cold snaps, there is light at the end of the tunnel now.

[flysurfer]

even though i love the cold and snow, i love kitesurfing more, roll on april..... because the channel is a tad to cold for me at the moment......

[LomondSnowstorm]

Yeah, it depends on where you live. I would certainly have found July 2006 too hot if I'd been living in London, with the urban heat island and pollution and all that- but on the other hand, it was heaven up in Leeds where daytime maxima were mostly around 25-28C.

At Cleadon near the coast none of the summers since 1993 have reached 30C- the closest approach was 18 August 1996 (29.4C) while there were a couple of days in both August 1995 and July 2006 that hit 29C. I don't think wishing for the hottest possible is entirely unreasonable in view of how hard it is to get extreme heat there anyway! Even July 2006 with a mean max of 23C was only as hot by day as the average July in London.

Can't say I feel like looking forward to Spring at this specific moment in time- with a snow cover in place already and potentially more to come, the lack of a strong sun has its advantages.

Last summer was probably tied with 2003 for the warmest it got round here, with 30C recorded on the 2nd July at EDI. The Scottish record is 32C at Greyfriars in the Borders from 2003, about a day or two before Lundun (spelt thus on purpose) hit the record, though I remember last year better as it was a half day at school so we all went to St Andrews beach and the bus broke down so we ended up with terrible sunburn waiting an hour for the next bus! Good times!

Perhaps I'll be one of the few left on the forum when the heat kicks in,or more likely doesn't, this summer!

Joe B going for a hot summer in Europe, but obviously it's far too early to tell even what February is likely to end up with, never mind summer.

LS

[Derp Patrol]

Last summer was probably tied with 2003 for the warmest it got round here, with 30C recorded on the 2nd July at EDI. The Scottish record is 32C at Greyfriars in the Borders from 2003, about a day or two before Lundun (spelt thus on purpose) hit the record, though I remember last year better as it was a half day at school so we all went to St Andrews beach and the bus broke down so we ended up with terrible sunburn waiting an hour for the next bus! Good times!

Perhaps I'll be one of the few left on the forum when the heat kicks in,or more likely doesn't, this summer!

Joe B going for a hot summer in Europe, but obviously it's far too early to tell even what February is likely to end up with, never mind summer.

LS

I'll definately be here from April to mid September I love the Summer. It is amazing what a few hundred miles can do with weather.. Scotland rarely reaches 30C, and the the record as you said is about 32C, but in London our yearly high temperature is usually around 32C.

I hope Joe is right though, because so far it's 3 summers and counting that have been poor. Oh well, in 3 months it will be May! it feels wierd that at the moment it's about -1C here, but in 3 months it could be 30C.. Here's to a mild, sunny start to Spring ending with a blowtorch continuing throughout the whole Summer

[Guest]

On the BST. Why is it we change on the last weekend in October, about 7 weeks give or take a day or two before 21st December and then don't change back 7 or 8 weeks later. I can't understand why we have to wait until the end of March. It wastes electricity in the evenings. The Americans now change early March isstead of late March. A chang to early March would also have the benefit of making it "feel" more spring like as the evenings would be longer. I live in Ireland so we have to do wht the UK does for business reasons I assume. Please petition your MP.

Why not stay on BST all the year round - I hate it when it gets dark in the middle of winter in the middle of the afternoon.

[Milhouse]

I'll definately be here from April to mid September I love the Summer. It is amazing what a few hundred miles can do with weather.. Scotland rarely reaches 30C, and the the record as you said is about 32C, but in London our yearly high temperature is usually around 32C.

I hope Joe is right though, because so far it's 3 summers and counting that have been poor. Oh well, in 3 months it will be May! it feels wierd that at the moment it's about -1C here, but in 3 months it could be 30C.. Here's to a mild, sunny start to Spring ending with a blowtorch continuing throughout the whole Summer

Sometimes in the midst of a cold period like this you forget how potentially close we are to temperatures approaching 20c. Even the mid teens with very little wind can feel like a pleasant summers day. A march of endless easterlies and North sea mist and murk would be an absolute nightmare and i just have a hunch that we may be kept waiting a little longer this spring for the warmth to return. Just because on the whole the past 2 decades have brought us some very good Springs indeed, notably 1995, 1997 and 2007 and last year i suppose, and so a cooler, wetter spring must be imminent. But i suppose you could say that we had ones back in 2006 and 2008, except May, which were on the cool side.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Milhouse

[Yellowbelly]

Much as I have always liked cold and snow, as a Taxi Driver I'm getting tired of driving children to school on the ice rinks they call roads in the Lincolnshire Fens. Yesterday was a welcome relief, this morning was plain lethal, as most mornings have been for the last two months.

So roll on Spring, and daffodils, and the hedegrows turning green and the trees coming into leaf and no-one on the model discusion calling for the beast.

[MP-R]

So roll on Spring, and daffodils, and the hedegrows turning green and the trees coming into leaf and no-one on the model discusion calling for the beast.

Come late April and early May we'll be looking for those beasterly plumes.

[Derp Patrol]

Sometimes in the midst of a cold period like this you forget how potentially close we are to temperatures approaching 20c. Even the mid teens with very little wind can feel like a pleasant summers day. A march of endless easterlies and North sea mist and murk would be an absolute nightmare and i just have a hunch that we may be kept waiting a little longer this spring for the warmth to return. Just because on the whole the past 2 decades have brought us some very good Springs indeed, notably 1995, 1997 and 2007 and last year i suppose, and so a cooler, wetter spring must be imminent. But i suppose you could say that we had ones back in 2006 and 2008, except May, which were on the cool side.

True, the end of last February and March was pleasant during the day from 12-17C on almost everyday in the strengthening sunshine.

I just can't wait for the first Spanish plume

[Spurry]

True, the end of last February and March was pleasant during the day from 12-17C on almost everyday in the strengthening sunshine.

I just can't wait for the first Spanish plume

I can't wait for my 3 weeks of Spanish plumes (or should that be plums) and wine in August..

[Bottesford]

The very thought of 'Spanish plumes' makes me feel warm inside! Sat in the pub tonight looking out at the dark, cold conditions wishing I could be sat outside in the warm tender air of summer... Don't like to wish my life away but there are times when I really would love to erase the struggle from Christmas to spring I really do!

[AderynCoch]

Winter and summer are my favourite seasons due to the extremes, but spring at least beats autumn because it can easily bring an early taste of summer or a late blast of winter: whilst autumn is essentially a gradual slide from summer to winter, spring more often goes up and down like a yo-yo.

For me, spring conjures up images of bright sunny skies interlaid with very heavy showers, often of hail; conspicuous rainbows inevitably follow. The odd frost can still crop up, and snow might even make a fleeting appearance. Nevertheless, things warm up and one can soon go outside wearing a T-shirt most days: it may even reach 20C before May.

My perfect spring would consist of a cold and wintry March, an April with a cold first half & warm second half and a warm and summery May. The better the winter, the more I can savour spring: this year, spring should feel like more of an interesting change than an interim period where I'm left waiting for summer to show itself.

[summer blizzard]

I am personally expecting a mixed spring with the last real cold push ending in early April and a warm spell in late April followed by a slightly warmer than average May.

[ScottSnow]

I like to ski and some of the best skiing is in spring, particularly April, when the weather is that bit more comfortable.

So my perfect spring weather would be cold, snowy snaps between dry settled spells with frosts at night until around late April. After that I like warm, sunny and dry weather so I can get the BBQ going and enjoy warm evenings in the garden.