Winter 2021-22 Chat, Moans and ramps thread

[ANYWEATHER]

What’s happening??? The sky has turned blue and there’s a yellow orb in the sky…..scary stuff

[Catacol]

5 hours ago, SLEETY said:

So why do we get the perfect winter pressure maps outside of winter,shouldnt global warming effect all seasons regarding pressure patterns,,why did we get the Greenland Blocking High for most of last April and May dominated by HLB,yet once winter comes,back to mild westerly winds and the Azores high etc,

Gfs trying to get Winter started at the end,will it be another false dawn.

Unfortunately one short phrase answers your question - the winter polar vortex. You cannot compare the patterns of Nov-Feb with the rest of the year because of the existence of the vortex. When there is no vortex then the global “desire” to throw blocks to a higher latitude (because there is a constant bias towards high latitude blocking across the year as a whole) is able to act without interference. No such luck in winter and especially not for us on the edge of the Atlantic. Our location globally allowed us the industrial revolution of the 18/19 centuries but unfortunately does not allow weather fans the excitement of very many weather extremes….though the way CC is heading our summers could become regularly rather hot.

If U.K. folk want snow then either head to the Highlands or find a job in Norway.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Catacol

[topo]

1 hour ago, Catacol said:

 

If U.K. folk want snow then either head to the Highlands or find a job in Norway.

But not in Stavanger(or Bergen) 

[RJBingham]

Brace yourself, this could get ugly 

 

[hillbilly]

When some of the models were forcasting an Easterly freeze fest for Xmas,i was hoping it would but joked it will probably be the mildest ever.Even i never expected that to happen but looks like some of the daily maximums are going to be broken.The only consolation is some of the coldest weather can have very mild near by.Dont forget that mid January 1947 saw temperatures of 14 deg and look what happened just a week later!

[Summer8906]

If January 2022 is mild and wet, incidentally, it will complete a 10-year unbroken alternation between mild and wet Januaries, and more seasonable Januaries. Granted that January 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 were not dramatically cold - 2017 and 2019 were about average, and 2015 was slightly milder than average - but they did all produce, for a significant part of the month, something other than a near-continuous onslaught from the Atlantic and all had some kind of cold spell. January 2013 was of course, the only snowy January (besides 2010) since 1987 for much of the south.

2012 was also mild overall, but dry and anticyclonic most of the time, so isn't included in this sequence.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Summer8906

[Frigid]

The year is coming to a close, and to summarise the weather in 2021, it's been rather non-descript and dull especially the second half. January and April by far the best months this year; January was largely cold and snowy IMBY. April 2021 was by the the best April I've experienced with frosty nights, snow and endless sunny days. Other than that there's not much to say, though the warm spell in September was impressive. 

Hoping for better in 2022!

[Freeze]

Forgettable year for weather here, nothing remotely of interest. A couple of brief light snowfalls in February but didn't lay, still, nice to see. April while sunny was chilly so a bit of a waste really. Summer was fairly bland here this year, very cloudy and no temps above 26c.

I hope for a nice warm early spring in February and a nice hot summer with storms next year!

[Anthony Burden]

Evening all,UKMO the best of the bunch so far good 144 hrs and 168 hrs showing northerly blast with 

High pressure to the northwest.All eyes on weather any block can hold,and as Nick mentioned against 

a lively Atlantic.Still hope for a more sustained colder spell,let’s see what ECM comes up with remember

144 hrs is far enough for accuracy and even then some uncertainty.Mild to very Mild 5 day max.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

As the year draws to a close, here is my summary of the year 2021 in terms of weather:

 

January: Nothing particularly spectacular, but the best one out of the winter months for that winter.

February: Quite a teasing month, as there were some cold days and it did snow. But the snow didn't settle.

March: A fairly mixed month as March often is.

April: Not a great month for gardeners as it was very dry along with it being frosty at night. Only saving grace was that it was sunny.

May: In my opinion, it was the worst May since 2012.

June: First half was decent with some pleasantly warm sunny days without it feeling particularly humid. Second half was meh.

July: Temps around average for the most part, though there was a hot spell around the middle of the month which felt rather oppresive. No plumes though.

August: Nothing remotely interesting happened this month. Fairly dry with temps around or just below average and generally mostly cloudy.

September: A generally warm sunny month with the exception of a couple of short blips. Was hot around the 8th.

October: Wet at the beginning as well as the end. Other than that it was mild and dry. A cooler version of August.

November: A very mild month - as well as being cloudy most of the time and rainfall being well below average. This all changed late in the month however.

December: A few coldish days during the first half of the month. Other than that, not much to shout about.

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Weather Enthusiast91

[Hotspur62]

I appreciate we are only a third of the way through winter but can’t help but feel disappointed so far with quite a few factors in our favour coming into winter and yet December is going to go out like spring rather than winter.That cluster of colder than average winters 2009-13 is becoming an ever distant memory and you do wonder where the next colder than average winter in the U.K. Will come from .That said the Arctic sea ice is having one of its best years in the last 15 years or so and Scandinavia is having a winter more like what the used to have in the 1980s.Is this just the extremes of climatic change?possibly so and if so we in the U.K. Will have to get used to more snowless winters(more so in southern Britain I think).

Edited December 28, 2021 by Hotspur62

[cyclonic happiness]

Looking more promising this morning.

More cold in the runs from the GFS and ECM and meto, I've noticed in the past that protracted spells of gloomy nothingness are followed by good cold spells, the sun has not shone here for at least a week....good sign!

[snowblizzard]

Just for fun, not the best quality (recorded on VCR 34 years ago!) but brings back fantastic memories of that  January1987 weather event. 

[Summer8906]

10 hours ago, Hotspur62 said:

I appreciate we are only a third of the way through winter but can’t help but feel disappointed so far with quite a few factors in our favour coming into winter and yet December is going to go out like spring rather than winter.That cluster of colder than average winters 2009-13 is becoming an ever distant memory and you do wonder where the next colder than average winter in the U.K. Will come from .That said the Arctic sea ice is having one of its best years in the last 15 years or so and Scandinavia is having a winter more like what the used to have in the 1980s.Is this just the extremes of climatic change?possibly so and if so we in the U.K. Will have to get used to more snowless winters(more so in southern Britain I think).

I guess we have still some time to go to beat the 1996/7 - 2007/8 12-year run of near-snowless winters in the south, but it certainly seems the case that snow is much less common nowadays than up to and including 1987. While there was a run of mild winters in the early-mid 70s apparently (1971/2 to 1975/6), some of them extremely so, the periods both before and after that spell had frequent snow.

These days even a bog-standard 80s-style winter day of 7C max 0C min is a rarity. Never mind snow, frost is fast becoming a novelty. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think southern England has just had one day of widespread ground frost since the 11th. (By contrast, the period from Nov 22-Dec 10 was like a throwback to old-style traditional late autumn/early winter conditions, though that was very much an atypical interlude). To get so little of something as bog-standard as frost in mid and late December, during the longest nights of the year, is quite something.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Summer8906

[78/79]

Oh joy, yet another morning of slate grey skies and poxy rain. About as much use as a chocolate fireguard. 

[SLEETY]

19 hours ago, Catacol said:

Unfortunately one short phrase answers your question - the winter polar vortex. You cannot compare the patterns of Nov-Feb with the rest of the year because of the existence of the vortex. When there is no vortex then the global “desire” to throw blocks to a higher latitude (because there is a constant bias towards high latitude blocking across the year as a whole) is able to act without interference. No such luck in winter and especially not for us on the edge of the Atlantic. Our location globally allowed us the industrial revolution of the 18/19 centuries but unfortunately does not allow weather fans the excitement of very many weather extremes….though the way CC is heading our summers could become regularly rather hot.

If U.K. folk want snow then either head to the Highlands or find a job in Norway.

So people are wasting their time chasing cold in the winter then.

Way more westerly driven weather the last 3o years in the winter though,look at the CET of january last 3o years

[Froze were the Days]

Another diabolical day to add to the numerous ones since roughly just after mid-month...what a dreadful period of weather.

[Don]

4 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

To get so little of something as bog-standard as frost in mid and late December, during the longest nights of the year, is quite something.

Thinking about it, it has been years since I've seen a really thick frost with icy pavements etc!

[Sunny76]

On 26/12/2021 at 23:34, shunthebartlett92 said:

With you on this. My girlfriend loves 30+C days, whereas i just want to hide inside and draw the curtains, i feel rotten. 16-21c and sunshine, give me this every day and i'll be happy! Even in winter, i love the prospect of snow and seasonality, but 16C in january, as yuk as it may seem, means getting outside is also a damn sight more pleasant and bearable than an icy wind on your back!

Mild or very mild in winter doesn’t mean nice weather. It usually comes with damp and cloudy conditions, and sometimes can still feel chilly and unpleasant.

Cold crisp and dry like last winter was much better. 
 

Wish we were with the in-laws in Latvia. Definitely going there for my Christmas or New Years from here on in, but even there it can be a bust.

We experienced green spells in 2017 and 2019, as there was no snow during the festive period. Ironically the years we don’t visit seem to be hammered with snow.

Much the same as some of the summer visits, we get the nice weather some years. And it can be cool and damp during other ones, where we miss the hot sunny weather.

I will say this though, Latvia is almost guaranteed a hot spell in summer at some point, and a snowy spell, even during a very mild winter. 

[stainesbloke]

The sun came out later this afternoon here near Heathrow which looked and felt nice, but also a bit weird as it definitely feels too mild for the time of year. Am flying back to Prague this evening, where it’s also unseasonably mild. Oh well, less heating bills and joint pain, I guess  

[Eugene]

Good runs tonight, looks like January will be seasonal at least which is good enough for me.

[SLEETY]

Ridicoulus how mild it is again over the Xmas period , at least next week we have colder weather on the way and hopefully the end of the very mild weather which isn't pleasant as it has just been nearly constantly raining here. 

 

[RJBingham]

Amazing weather at the moment, lovely to step out the front door without having a ton of clothes on, roll on spring, although it probably won't be this mild  

[Bradley in Kent]

Yeah I'm looking forward to Spring. I'm done with Winter now...

Last night however, felt like Summer ignoring the darkness; temps around 14c all night with DPs between 11c and 13c. 

We had a fantastic dusk with altostratus being lit up, but the cleaner sky did allow temps to fall to 12c for a couple of hours before going back up to 14c. I don't know exactly what the high minimum record is. We'll see!

Edited December 30, 2021 by Bradley in Kent

[shunthebartlett92]

19 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

Mild or very mild in winter doesn’t mean nice weather. It usually comes with damp and cloudy conditions, and sometimes can still feel chilly and unpleasant.

Cold crisp and dry like last winter was much better. 
 

No I know that, tropical maritime means more cloud overall. Synoptically it’s tough to get both sunshine and ‘very mild’ weather in winter. But when you do get both it’s tolerable at least.

That said, I’ve had my snow fix for two days in Slovakia visiting my other half, with some sledging, it’s scratched that snow itch haha.

Edited December 30, 2021 by shunthebartlett92