Memories of 2013

[A Face like Thunder]

I was always struck by how closely the weather pattern followed the seasons in 2013 - cold winter to March, reasonable spring then to May, hot summer thereafter. I honestly can't remember the autumn months.

[S Bragg]

There's certainly some memorable weather for me in 2013.  The cold late winter and spring, the hot fortnight in July, and most memorable the severe gales we had in late December.

 

2013's one of the more memorable years weather-wise IMO.

Edited November 19, 2022 by S Bragg

[Summer8906]

On 18/11/2022 at 10:07, A Face like Thunder said:

I was always struck by how closely the weather pattern followed the seasons in 2013 - cold winter to March, reasonable spring then to May, hot summer thereafter. I honestly can't remember the autumn months.

There was certainly a "proper" winter and "proper" summer, though the winter was about a month later than it should have been. Also (as I said above) the spring, while very, very late indeed (proper spring here arrived around April 14th versus early March in a normal year) was spectacular while it lasted. The only year I have ever seen bluebells in bloom in June (in a woodland near Warminster, Wilts on June 2nd) and hawthorn lasted until around 10 June (normally gone by the end of May).

Autumn was fairly "typical" I guess, a mixture of stormy spells and more settled weather.

So in 2013, the seasons were (versus the norm for here in brackets, down here spring tends to end early and summer extends into early Sep)

Winter: Dec 1-April 14 (Dec 1 - Feb 28)

Spring: April 15-June 9 (Mar 1 - May 20)

Summer: June 10-Sep 5 (May 21-Sep 14)

Autumn: Sep 6-Nov 30 (Sep 15-Nov 30)

Edited November 20, 2022 by Summer8906

[Met.]

The first half of 2013 was the worst I've ever experienced in my life. Spring was absolutely dire. The below 0 March (in Buxton at the time) with its constant perishing NE wind was hideous and made me feel like I'd relocated to another climate altogether. April was miserable, and May also cold, with then a cold, miserably June. Thankfully we got the long awaited decent July after an appalling string of cold wet summers. But August was merely average. 2013 was a strange year.

[damianslaw]

On 18/11/2022 at 08:08, trickydicky said:

I don’t remember many specifics about 2013 beyond that where I lived at the time in central Lancashire it snowed every day for a long period, without ever necessarily amounting to anything or even settling at all. I went skiing in the February at Cairngorm and none of the higher lifts were open because they had been buried. 
 

The pictures below are from 26th January. I think it was quite a major snow storm in some parts of the North West, particularly around the Wigan area. But it didn’t really come off where I lived. It was quite an odd event in that it snowed and then turned to rain for a long time. The rain didn’t melt the snow though and it all ended up freezing again. It looks nice in the photos but was all very crispy. 

There was a heavy frontal snow event on the 26th I think, late Friday evening. Gave 8 inches here, but was followed by a rapid thaw as milder atlantic air encroached. Feb was apart from tye start consistently cold without ever being especially so, with light snowfalls at times. Remember visuting Liverpool late month and there was snow falling on the coast at Formby, quite unusual given it was an easterly wind I think, bitter, perhaps it was a northerly.

[damianslaw]

4 hours ago, ThunderHellCat said:

The first half of 2013 was the worst I've ever experienced in my life. Spring was absolutely dire. The below 0 March (in Buxton at the time) with its constant perishing NE wind was hideous and made me feel like I'd relocated to another climate altogether. April was miserable, and May also cold, with then a cold, miserably June. Thankfully we got the long awaited decent July after an appalling string of cold wet summers. But August was merely average. 2013 was a strange year.

First half of 2013 followed on from the cold of 2012 that set in during April by and large. Indeed we had 2 very lengthy colder than average periods in the space of 2 and half years, Mid Dec 09 to Jan 11, Apr 12 to June 13. Probably have to go back to 85-87 for last time we had such level and length of cold. Though Dec 95 to Jan 97 was another cold period.

Edited November 20, 2022 by damianslaw

[nobble]

It was a cold January with light snow early in new year 

the snow started with a vengeance the day my dad died 17th January , 

The next day very heavy snow , 

i seem to remember snow in patches at the funeral 2 weeks later ,

then the ridiculously cold late March spell , snow came late on Friday evening then snowed all Saturday and lightly on and off on the Sunday .

we had patches of snow in mid April in our front garden !!!!!

feb was cold too with occasional light snow 

[Sunny76]

7 hours ago, ThunderHellCat said:

The first half of 2013 was the worst I've ever experienced in my life. Spring was absolutely dire. The below 0 March (in Buxton at the time) with its constant perishing NE wind was hideous and made me feel like I'd relocated to another climate altogether. April was miserable, and May also cold, with then a cold, miserably June. Thankfully we got the long awaited decent July after an appalling string of cold wet summers. But August was merely average. 2013 was a strange year.

It did reintroduce the milder winters from 2013/14 onwards unfortunately.

2 hours ago, damianslaw said:

First half of 2013 followed on from the cold of 2012 that set in during April by and large. Indeed we had 2 very lengthy colder than average periods in the space of 2 and half years, Mid Dec 09 to Jan 11, Apr 12 to June 13. Probably have to go back to 85-87 for last time we had such level and length of cold. Though Dec 95 to Jan 97 was another cold period.

Yeah 1995 to early 97 was cold at times.

[hillbilly]

9 hours ago, ThunderHellCat said:

The first half of 2013 was the worst I've ever experienced in my life. Spring was absolutely dire. The below 0 March (in Buxton at the time) with its constant perishing NE wind was hideous and made me feel like I'd relocated to another climate altogether. April was miserable, and May also cold, with then a cold, miserably June. Thankfully we got the long awaited decent July after an appalling string of cold wet summers. But August was merely average. 2013 was a strange year.

You wouldnt have liked it in some of the 80s springs then especially 1986 or that of 1996 when a coat and hat wes still required in June.

 

[hillbilly]

4 hours ago, nobble said:

It was a cold January with light snow early in new year 

the snow started with a vengeance the day my dad died 17th January , 

The next day very heavy snow , 

i seem to remember snow in patches at the funeral 2 weeks later ,

then the ridiculously cold late March spell , snow came late on Friday evening then snowed all Saturday and lightly on and off on the Sunday .

we had patches of snow in mid April in our front garden !!!!!

feb was cold too with occasional light snow 

March 2013 wasnt a 'rediculous late cold spell',that title can only be used for April 1981 when snow arrived on the 23rd of April enough to rival any huge winter snowfalls with enormous drifts which left snow in my garden into May!

[nobble]

1 hour ago, hillbilly said:

March 2013 wasnt a 'rediculous late cold spell',that title can only be used for April 1981 when snow arrived on the 23rd of April enough to rival any huge winter snowfalls with enormous drifts which left snow in my garden into May!

Ok I was only 3 so don’t remember that one !!

so I’ll say in my life experience

[MP-R]

1 hour ago, hillbilly said:

March 2013 wasnt a 'rediculous late cold spell',that title can only be used for April 1981 when snow arrived on the 23rd of April enough to rival any huge winter snowfalls with enormous drifts which left snow in my garden into May!

'Ridiculously cold late March spell' is quite different to 'ridiculously late cold spell'. Altogether different meaning. 

[cheese]

The winter of 2012/13 was the snowiest I’ve experienced. I was measuring snowfall that winter and I think we had 90cm in total. January and March were very snowy but February had a decent fall mid-month too. 

[damianslaw]

3 hours ago, cheese said:

The winter of 2012/13 was the snowiest I’ve experienced. I was measuring snowfall that winter and I think we had 90cm in total. January and March were very snowy but February had a decent fall mid-month too. 

Winter 09-10 was snowier here, but had we seen heavy snow in March it would have beaten it. Difference between 09-10 and 12-13 was the longevity of cold. From about 11 Dec we had 3 months solid of cold with hardly anything mild, the fells retained snow throughout, whereas 12-13 very episodic though lasted longer, started earlier late Nov and finished mid April, but there was a 4 week very mild spell mid Dec to 11 Jan, mild end Jan into Feb and at times early March. 

[Metwatch]

Haven't got many strong memories of 2013 however the snow in Jan 2013 and heat during July i remember fairly well.

Walking from school when it closed early due to snow during Jan 2013 is a very fond memory of mine, i remember it being so peaceful and quiet while the snow fell and sliding through it.

I think I might recall a day from March 2013 some snow around otherwise nothing that stands out to me.

Summer of 2013 I remember a few walks in the countryside and watching the sunset once, does make me feel nostalgic for it.

[WarwickshireLad]

I remember July very well that year as we moved house on 1st July, it was hot and sunny every day from that point onwards for weeks. The switch around that summer signalled the start to a return of a much warmer trend which had taken abit of a holiday mostly from mid-2007 onwards to that point.

[Billy Hicks]

An absolutely unforgettable year, probably the best in terms of variety of that whole decade - almost every possible extreme was seen in my NW London home at the time, from intense cold to scorching heat to mega wind and rainfalls.

The first half of the year was horrendously cold as mentioned and it felt like the winter that wouldn’t end, a big snowfall in January that wouldn’t be seen again for about five years and that infamously cold March with snow seen well into April. I was 24 at the time having recently graduated from uni, and so many songs from around this time remind me of the cold weather - Pink’s Just Give Me A Reason, Disclosure’s White Noise and most other tracks on Now That’s What I Call Music 84. As late as June I remember people joking about what they’re doing for Christmas as the cold spell dragged on that long…

…and then came that astonishing July and early August. First genuinely strong summer spell since 2006 which felt like a lifetime ago by then. So many days of sitting in the park with an iPod Nano, the summer of Get Lucky, Blurred Lines, Wake Me Up etc. Shame it didn’t last through August but it stands out so much in a long run of average to poor summers and wouldn’t be seen again until 2018.

I’m surprised people have commented the second half wasn’t as memorable because the St Jude storm in October was very heavily reported at the time to the point where it was hailed as a “new 1987”, but it didn’t cause as much damage compared to then and isn’t remembered much at all now. I do have plenty of photos from the following morning of fallen trees around my neighbourhood so it did have a visual aftermath.

While no snow to end the year it still brought a significant amount of wind and rain and just before Christmas I remember barely being able to walk home from the windstorm taking place. Christmas Eve was complete chaos with tons of cancelled and delayed trains and my journey from London to Devon took most of the day, eventually finally getting an Exeter train from Reading in one of the most uncomfortable and squashed environments I’ve ever been in. To end the year was a very wet New Years Eve, the BBC broadcast of the fireworks surreally being the highest rated programme of the whole year as so few went out that night!

Fantastic year with lots to recall.

[Sunny76]

On 16/12/2022 at 13:19, Billy Hicks said:

An absolutely unforgettable year, probably the best in terms of variety of that whole decade - almost every possible extreme was seen in my NW London home at the time, from intense cold to scorching heat to mega wind and rainfalls.

The first half of the year was horrendously cold as mentioned and it felt like the winter that wouldn’t end, a big snowfall in January that wouldn’t be seen again for about five years and that infamously cold March with snow seen well into April. I was 24 at the time having recently graduated from uni, and so many songs from around this time remind me of the cold weather - Pink’s Just Give Me A Reason, Disclosure’s White Noise and most other tracks on Now That’s What I Call Music 84. As late as June I remember people joking about what they’re doing for Christmas as the cold spell dragged on that long…

…and then came that astonishing July and early August. First genuinely strong summer spell since 2006 which felt like a lifetime ago by then. So many days of sitting in the park with an iPod Nano, the summer of Get Lucky, Blurred Lines, Wake Me Up etc. Shame it didn’t last through August but it stands out so much in a long run of average to poor summers and wouldn’t be seen again until 2018.

I’m surprised people have commented the second half wasn’t as memorable because the St Jude storm in October was very heavily reported at the time to the point where it was hailed as a “new 1987”, but it didn’t cause as much damage compared to then and isn’t remembered much at all now. I do have plenty of photos from the following morning of fallen trees around my neighbourhood so it did have a visual aftermath.

While no snow to end the year it still brought a significant amount of wind and rain and just before Christmas I remember barely being able to walk home from the windstorm taking place. Christmas Eve was complete chaos with tons of cancelled and delayed trains and my journey from London to Devon took most of the day, eventually finally getting an Exeter train from Reading in one of the most uncomfortable and squashed environments I’ve ever been in. To end the year was a very wet New Years Eve, the BBC broadcast of the fireworks surreally being the highest rated programme of the whole year as so few went out that night!

Fantastic year with lots to recall.

I think 2013 is the new 1987, in a sense that the milder winters returned again from this point on. 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Andy Murray winning Winbledon! during hot spell too

[SummerShower]

If you love the polar vortex then December 2013 was the month for you.

Many awe inspiring gales and heavy rain especially from 18th to NYE.  Not seen anything consistent like that since then.

 

If you love the polar vortex then December 2013 was the month for you.

Many awe inspiring gales and heavy rain especially from 18th to NYE.  Not seen anything consistent like that since then.