February 2005

[damianslaw]

Thinking back to February 05 and the changes that took place mid-month...

The winter up until that point had been generally mild if not very mild and very wet especially in January, with the Atlantic ruling the roost. There were one or two weak northerly attacks early Feb with mid Atlantic heights before a major change to a cold easterly blocked pattern. This lasted until mid March. The synoptics on paper look very cold indeed with alternating easterly and northerly episodes but the weather itself never quite lived up to the potential. Yes snowy quite often but away from high ground nothing significant. Still I remember quite a few snowy episodes in the NE. 

What caused this about change? Don't believe it was SSW influence.. just shows how sudden synoptical shifts can occur out of the blue. It was probably the most easterly spell in winter since Feb 91 or even Jan 87 though not on the same scale. 

Edited January 16, 2022 by damianslaw

[LetItSnow!]

Mid-February to mid-March of 2005 often had blocked synoptics and averaged really quite cold, but a mild first half to February and a complete collapse of the blocking in the second half of March meant it wasn't really seen in the C.E.T. It was probably the most consistent spell of easterly winds since February 1986. I imagine if the same synoptics had occured many, many years ago it would have been quite severely cold. In the mild 2000s, alas no. Perhaps the teaser-teaser to what would come a few years later.

[damianslaw]

2 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

Mid-February to mid-March of 2005 often had blocked synoptics and averaged really quite cold, but a mild first half to February and a complete collapse of the blocking in the second half of March meant it wasn't really seen in the C.E.T. It was probably the most consistent spell of easterly winds since February 1986. I imagine if the same synoptics had occured many, many years ago it would have been quite severely cold. In the mild 2000s, alas no. Perhaps the teaser-teaser to what would come a few years later.

I remember it marked a shift in synoptics from a predominantly Atlantic driven pattern that had ruled the roost in the main since Feb 97 to a more amplified /cyclonic blocked pattern that held sway for lengthy periods with some bursts of Atlantic mobility until about September 13... the last 14 months I would argue has seen a shift back to something more blocked and amplified...