Spring 2015

[Costa Del Fal]

Gorgeous day again here in Falmouth. Clear blue skies, no wind and with that warm sun now it is very pleasant.

[Jax]

9.5oC according to the remote sensor in the shed, lovely day out, calm, clear and sunny.

[Summer Sun]

7.7c with wall to wall sunshine very pleasant indeed where your in the ever strengthening sunshine

 

Its not sunny everywhere though with parts of the west still plagued by cloud and fog at 1pm Carlisle and Manchester were still hovering around 0c

 

Edited February 8, 2015 by Summer Sun

[microclimate]

Well we've just had our first Sunday libation outside, a nice glass of Cava sat in the garden and only needed a woolie on.  As much as I love the snow I can't help but look forward to spring.  And whilst I have been very jealous of others snow this winter I'm definitely not jealous of the horrible winter fog which lasts all day that some have got today.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Most of us become "hellbent on the arrival of spring" at this time of year, but I think the problem relates to how we perceive "spring".  There's a common perception that it should always be cold and snowy from October to February, and always warm, dry and sunny from March to September.  The arrival of "Spring" thus marks the switch from "cold and snowy" to "warm, dry and sunny". 

 

Like most (but not all) others, I look forward to spring at this time of year, in the sense of increasing daylight hours and potential for progressively more potent spells of warm sunshine.  January tends on average to be the most depressing month of the year for me because the excitement of Christmas is over and we still have a month of darkness to go through.  But when I think of "spring", as well as memories of warm dry sunny spells, two "convective spells" stick out- those of 18-21 April 1995 in Tyneside and 6-15 April 2008 in Norwich.  Both of those were characterised by a high frequency of hail, which is hard to get at other times of the year away from west-facing coasts- the key being that the stronger solar heating of the surface results in stronger convection being generated inland, but it can still potentially be cold enough for snow and hail to occur widely.  

 

We are all capable of getting idealised perceptions.  Just as most springs don't turn out consistently warm, dry and sunny, most spring convective spells aren't quite like the above two, and expecting otherwise leads to disappointment for most of the time.  Similarly, I may be able to tell people about specific experiences of being in warm sunshine one day, and having snow a few days later, but if I expect every spring to be like that, I will usually be disappointed.  But the increase in daylight and solar heating are guaranteed to happen at this time of year, and keep going until mid-June, regardless of how the weather behaves.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Thundery wintry showers

[Jax]

Most of us become "hellbent on the arrival of spring" at this time of year, but I think the problem relates to how we perceive "spring".  There's a common perception that it should always be cold and snowy from October to February, and always warm, dry and sunny from March to September.  The arrival of "Spring" thus marks the switch from "cold and snowy" to "warm, dry and sunny". 

 

Like most (but not all) others, I look forward to spring at this time of year, in the sense of increasing daylight hours and potential for progressively more potent spells of warm sunshine.  January tends on average to be the most depressing month of the year for me because the excitement of Christmas is over and we still have a month of darkness to go through.  But when I think of "spring", as well as memories of warm dry sunny spells, two "convective spells" stick out- those of 18-21 April 1995 in Tyneside and 6-15 April 2008 in Norwich.  Both of those were characterised by a high frequency of hail, which is hard to get at other times of the year away from west-facing coasts- the key being that the stronger solar heating of the surface results in stronger convection being generated inland, but it can still potentially be cold enough for snow and hail to occur widely.  

 

We are all capable of getting idealised perceptions.  Just as most springs don't turn out consistently warm, dry and sunny, most spring convective spells aren't quite like the above two, and expecting otherwise leads to disappointment for most of the time.  Similarly, I may be able to tell people about specific experiences of being in warm sunshine one day, and having snow a few days later, but if I expect every spring to be like that, I will usually be disappointed.  But the increase in daylight and solar heating are guaranteed to happen at this time of year, and keep going until mid-June, regardless of how the weather behaves.

Your a bag of fun!

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Gorgeous day again here in Falmouth. Clear blue skies, no wind and with that warm sun now it is very pleasant.

 

Feb can feel/be Spring, where as the other winter months cannot

[Snowy Easterlies]

felt spring like yesterday afternoon, then thankfully it quickly cooled down at about 4pm and it felt like winter again, i hate spring like weather in feb anyway as we have many many months of mild/warm weather in this country as it is albeit without the wall to wall sun like we had yesterday, its only been just over 3 months since we last had a pleasant mild/warm day here, but joe public make out as if winter goes on and on and on, its only about 10 months till the sun is very weak again

Edited February 9, 2015 by Snowy Easterlies

[Mother Goose]

I totally agree with Cheese, that wold be a perfect Spring!

[Summer Sun]

Out in the garden in the glorious sunshine and I didn't even need a jumper on this afternoon, very spring like again today

[Snowyowl9]

The exceptions to this month being very springlike are February 1998 and 2008 although 1998 was warmer here.

As for today its cooler today to yesterday by 2.2c made 5.2c in wall to wall sun,did have some fog earlier,so average for this month.

Expect another good air frost now tonight.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Snowyowl9

[March Blizzard]

The strength of the sun today is equivalent to...the 1st of November.

http://windowseat.ca/sun/

[Summer Sun]

North East England and North East Scotland look likely to see the highest temperatures tomorrow and Wednesday easily hitting double figures and possibly the low teens which will make it 5 sunny and pleasant days in a row for some

[Cheshire Freeze]

I'm hoping for a repeat of summer 2007, from a metrological point it was an amazing summer full of twists and turns.

Summer 2007 was amazing from my perspective. Convectively awesome and no stifling heat to contend with. Just brilliant.

Also had the heaviest home grown convective storm I can ever remember in the early August. Never seen rivers of hail flowing down the street before.

Edited February 10, 2015 by CreweCold

[Azazel]

Was pretty glorious here out of the wind on Sunday, today its back to Anticyclonic gloom and cold.

 

 

I'm hoping for a repeat of summer 2007, from a metrological  point it was an amazing summer full of twists and turns. 

 

I dont remember too much about 2007 as a whole (apart from the obvious) but I know we had a decent plume event with storms down here sometime in July and in June the weather was roasting at Download Festival.

[reef]

It would be nice if that's spring here to stay now. I don't want any unnecessary comebacks from winter, thank you very much...

Consistently warm springs are the exception to the rule, it is not unusual for 'spring' the season to have both cold and mild spells.

 

If by 'spring' you mean 'warmth' then no thank you, that would be extremely boring! It was bad enough in 2009, 2011 and 2014.

[March Blizzard]

Consistently warm springs are the exception to the rule, it is not unusual for 'spring' the season to have both cold and mild spells.

 

If by 'spring' you mean 'warmth' then no thank you, that would be extremely boring! It was bad enough in 2009, 2011 and 2014.

 

Yeah. It is the second coldest season after all. Yes, you can get 20C+ and wall to wall sunshine in April, but you're far more likely to see sunshine and showers and temperatures between around 10-15C. When I think of Spring I want variability, not just warmth, although I wouldn't really enjoy too many cool periods in May.

[Milhouse]

The GFS has the first indications of Spring around the corner in the high res section. Upper temps over most of Europe rising to above 0c under high pressure and some nice looking temps appearing in France. Up to 16c in the Bordeaux area.

[cheese]

The GFS has the first indications of Spring around the corner in the high res section. Upper temps over most of Europe rising to above 0c under high pressure and some nice looking temps appearing in France. Up to 16c in the Bordeaux area.

Which isn't really unusual - the reached 16C in mid-January this year.

 

 

Consistently warm springs are the exception to the rule, it is not unusual for 'spring' the season to have both cold and mild spells.

 

If by 'spring' you mean 'warmth' then no thank you, that would be extremely boring! It was bad enough in 2009, 2011 and 2014.

I don't see why it would be any more boring than 2013 in your area, considering how terrible it is for snow anyway. Surely March 2013 was just cold, cloudy and wet in your locale.

Edited February 10, 2015 by cheese

[Evening thunder]

Compared to some earlier posts I'd suggest it is still winter (ignoring the date), as despite some slightly above average max's and sunny days, we are still in the longest spell this winter without double figure-maxima on my weather station back home, and last night reached -4.1c.

 

Been sort of spring like the last couple of days here at uni, but not spring. The sunshine was a pleasant surprise though unfortunately it's just cloudy/dull today. Sunny/frosty highs are quite nice (though there's been limited frost here in Egham compared to back home recently but that's not unusual), though cloudy ones are a completely different ball game.

 

When spring arrives I wouldn't like a March 2013 either as that was just often cloudy,breezy and cold down here with little snow. I'd happily take an April 2011 style month with very warm weather and some thunder.

 

Ideally I'd prefer some colder interludes though, more early on like perhaps a cold northerly in March with snow showers, and a less homogeneous spring than last year, though if a spring is like that I'd prefer it to be homogeneously warm rather than homogeneously cold.

[Daniel*]

I like cool springs nothing in the 20s please just seems wrong - being in London it's pretty warm/hot for a good time it can be 32c here - while Lerwick is at 14c staggering, after a while your body acclimatises to it you still sweat though, but once September pulls in the urge for something more fresher is greatly increased. I would like to experience some proper heat just for the experience say 40C? accompanied with severe storms.

[Thundery wintry showers]

March 2013 in Sandhutton, North Yorkshire, had a spell around the 10th-13th with sunshine and snow showers and sharp temperature fluctuations, and some impressive snow squalls on the 11th (although accumulations on the ground were slight).   I also remember an unexpected "rain to snow" frontal event about a week after that.  Admittedly, the last third of the month was mostly cold and grey with occasional flurries, but areas just 5-10 miles to the west and south had a fair dumping of snow.  I don't recall any particularly noteworthy weather from April or May 2013 though.

 

But there is one cold, grey, boring spring month that really sticks out in my memory- March 1996.  There was a modest snowfall on the 11th/12th in Tyneside and some sunshine mixed with wintry showers from the 26th onwards, but otherwise I remember it for persistent grey drizzly weather and temperatures around 5C.  Some stations failed to exceed 30 hours of bright sunshine (compared with totals of 150+ hours in the Marches of 1994, 1995 and 1997, which made it stand out all the more!)

[I remember Atlantic 252]

blizzardy short snow showers here as well on mar 11th '13, coldest wind felt in years, toppler but was a true beast, snow bettered of course on 22nd to 24th

[Summer of 95]

March 1996 had a snowy spell around 11-13th here, and some nice sunny, frosty weather right at the end. But I will admit it had at least 20 days of the most awful rubbish- constantly grey with temperatures just above freezing, but rarely frosty at night. It ended up colder than average without being exceptional. Until that spell right at the end it was on course to be the dullest ever. But because of those two spells above it wasn't the worst spring month ever.

A really tedious spring month was April 2001. It was constantly cold, quite dull and unsettled but never cold enough for snow, or stormy or thundery. For about 3 weeks it had temperatures of about 7-8C with a really pesky northerly wind, but it didn't have much frost. That year we didn't reach 15C until May.

[Thundery wintry showers]

In Tyneside, too, April 2001 was pretty homogeneous, with slightly below average temperatures overall, and dull and wet but not exceptionally so.  We did get some sleety showers on the 18th-20th in the North East but that cold snap paled by comparison with the ones in the preceding three Aprils, with no reports of a snow cover at 0900 at any of the sites in Weather Log.  However, in my memory banks that month was rather drowned out by a snowy March and a warm and exceptionally sunny May.