Topsy turvy months.

[LetItSnow!]

A thread to discuss some of the weirder months in climatological history, for example:

Months that feature two very distinct second-halves, hot/mild, cool/cold - or featuring different extremes of temperatures or rainfall. 

Some months that come to mind... September 2022! Exceptionally warm first half then a cold second half. February 2021 is a good example too, and especially with extremes of temperature. The first half saw the coldest temperature since 1995 and cold easterlies, the second-half amongst/the warmest on record with maxima into the upper teens. Further back, examples of big constrasts are: October 1888, February 1912, March 1965, April 1999 etc. To a lesser extent, July 2017 I remember switching abruptly from quite warm/hot at times to very cool, wet and thundery. Local records are also welcome.

[cheeky_monkey]

February 2009 has to be a candidate..cold snowy first half ..mild/very mild 2nd half 

[hillbilly]

June 1975  started with snow in the first few days even in Southern England almost unprescidated at that time of year and just over a week later 30 degrees was recorded.

April 1981,the opposite to 1975 when the first half of the month was warm but the second half the coldest in over a Century with severe blizzards to match any winter month then followed by floods.

September 1919,the second week gave the hottest temperatures recorded in September at 32 deg,some areas that was the hottest day of the year but just a week later there was snow.

June 1989,a very cold start and cold end but hot midmonth.

[White Horse]

May 2012 must be a classic example of this, very cool first ~3 weeks followed by an exceptionally warm spell that was warmer than most of the summer that followed.

Maybe January 2013 as well? Bookended by mild spells but with a very noteworthy cold and snowy snap in the middle of the month.

You could probably describe a fair few Septembers here as well, which have warm spells and then switch into Autumnal and colder conditions - 2020 being one example.

Edited October 25, 2022 by White Horse

[damianslaw]

Quite a few such months, those that spring to mind:

Feb 12 - very cold first half very mild second

Nov 05 - mild first half, cold second

Dec 12 - cold first half, very mild second half

 

[Sunny76]

May 2010. Cold and cloudy for much of the first three weeks, then hot and sunny after the 20th.

June 1995 cold in the first half, hot and sunny in the second half.

June 94 was similar to 95.

[MP-R]

September 2008 had a very wet and unsettled first half, but a very dry and calm second half. The temperatures were rather monotonous though.

October 2008 was then quite up and down. Chilly start, the warm/very warm for a time, before the notably cold final week.

Earlier than that, May and June 2004 were like mirrors of each other. The first half of May very unsettled and sometimes stormy, then thundery, then the second half very anticyclonic and predominantly warm and sunny (more so further west). June then very warm / hot and sunny for the first half, but much cooler and quite unsettled, especially from the solstice onwards.

[Weather-history]

 A topsy-turvy month, temperature wise, for me is one that goes against the climatic grain.  So a month that climatically gets warmer as the month progresses but actually went colder such as March 2013, the CET was 4.9°C by the 9th is one.

The other side of the coin is a month that climatically gets colder but actually became warmer such as November 1917

[TheOgre]

September 2012 - a warm sunny first third and then cold throughout afterwards.

April 2018 - from winter like cold to summer like heat, constantly yo-yoing

October 2018 - warm first two thirds, then a cold final third.

February 2019 - cold and snowy at times in the first week, then the warmest winter period on record.

[sundog]

I suppose Jan 82 would be considered a month of 2 halves.  First half very cold ,second half much milder in comparison. 

[damianslaw]

5 hours ago, Weather-history said:

 A topsy-turvy month, temperature wise, for me is one that goes against the climatic grain.  So a month that climatically gets warmer as the month progresses but actually went colder such as March 2013, the CET was 4.9°C by the 9th is one.

The other side of the coin is a month that climatically gets colder but actually became warmer such as November 1917

Yes such months are a bit of an oddity, and a rarity lately it seems. March 2013 a good example though. November usually sees a transition to colder as the month wears on and is perhaps the hardest month to achieve a cold start that then becomes warmer. Cold starts are unlikely, atlantic still very mild, southwesterlies and westerlies usually dominate, and high pressure doesn't tend to bring particularly cold conditions. March perhaps less so, as high pressure can bring very cold nights still by month's end, and northerlies and easterlies are very common second half of March. 

April 1981 perhpas classic example of a very cold latter part against the climatic grain.

May must be the month when least likely to see a trend to colder as the month wears on. Its the equivalent of November in this respect, months that usually stick to the script. The winter and summer months don't fit the mould as cooling and warming is less evident as the months wear on. 

[LetItSnow!]

On 26/10/2022 at 21:12, damianslaw said:

Yes such months are a bit of an oddity, and a rarity lately it seems. March 2013 a good example though. November usually sees a transition to colder as the month wears on and is perhaps the hardest month to achieve a cold start that then becomes warmer. Cold starts are unlikely, atlantic still very mild, southwesterlies and westerlies usually dominate, and high pressure doesn't tend to bring particularly cold conditions. March perhaps less so, as high pressure can bring very cold nights still by month's end, and northerlies and easterlies are very common second half of March. 

April 1981 perhpas classic example of a very cold latter part against the climatic grain.

May must be the month when least likely to see a trend to colder as the month wears on. Its the equivalent of November in this respect, months that usually stick to the script. The winter and summer months don't fit the mould as cooling and warming is less evident as the months wear on. 

Speaking of May, May 2000 may be a good contender for that kind of month. Warm and thundery first-half deteriorating into an unsettled and cooler second-half. 

[SummerShower]

December 2022!

[Weather-history]

August 1984, that had a drier warmer second half than its first half

February 2004 had a colder second half compared to its first half

June 2004 had a warm drier first half then it went down hill mid month. 

 

 

[AderynCoch]

On 01/11/2022 at 17:38, LetItSnow! said:

Speaking of May, May 2000 may be a good contender for that kind of month. Warm and thundery first-half deteriorating into an unsettled and cooler second-half. 

May 2008 for me.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

August 2018 - First third was very warm or hot whilst the last two thirds were a lot cooler.

September 2003 - Very warm and dry up until the equinox when there was a drastic change to much cooler temps and much needed rainfall.

May 2021 - Cool and wet first two thirds followed by a much warmer and more settled last third.

December 2022 - Cold and frosty up until around the 18th when it turned a lot milder and at times unsettled.

February 2019 - Cold and frosty first half followed by a a much milder and at times spring-like second half.

April 2018 - Cool and unsettled first half followed by a much warmer and settled second half.

 

 

Edited February 25 by Weather Enthusiast91

[North-Easterly Blast]

7 hours ago, Weather-history said:

August 1984, that had a drier warmer second half than its first half

February 2004 had a colder second half compared to its first half

June 2004 had a warm drier first half then it went down hill mid month. 

 

 

Months of two halves that I can think of: 

February 2005 had a colder second half compared to its first half.  

August 2020, a hot first half followed by a very wet second half and cooler compared to its first half.

Februarys 2009, 2012, and 2021 all had cold first halves then went downhill into very mild second halves.

June 2005 was a bit of a reverse of 2004; that had a relatively cool first half then a warm second half.

February 2019 wasn't particularly cold in the first half, it was only cold for the first three days, then it turned milder with some unsettled weather before becoming exceptionally mild and settled in the second half, although I should say warm, as the second half of that month was more typical of an April spell of weather than February.

November 2005 - a mild first half then a cold second half.

In some ways November 2010 was of extremes - that started very mild then became average, and exceptionally cold in the last week.

 

 

 

Edited February 26 by North-Easterly Blast

[Weather-history]

6 hours ago, North-Easterly Blast said:

Months of two halves that I can think of: 

February 2005 had a colder second half compared to its first half.  

August 2020, a hot first half followed by a very wet second half and cooler compared to its first half.

Februarys 2009, 2012, and 2021 all had cold first halves then went downhill into very mild second halves.

June 2005 was a bit of a reverse of 2004; that had a relatively cool first half then a warm second half.

February 2019 wasn't particularly cold in the first half, it was only cold for the first three days, then it turned milder with some unsettled weather before becoming exceptionally mild and settled in the second half, although I should say warm, as the second half of that month was more typical of an April spell of weather than February.

November 2005 - a mild first half then a cold second half.

In some ways November 2010 was of extremes - that started very mild then became average, and exceptionally cold in the last week.

 

 

 

Only February 2005 in your list I would consider topsy-turvy temeprature wise as it went against the climatic grain.

Edited February 26 by Weather-history

[North-Easterly Blast]

On 26/10/2022 at 15:26, TheOgre said:

February 2019 - cold and snowy at times in the first week, then the warmest winter period on record.

 

17 hours ago, North-Easterly Blast said:

February 2019 wasn't particularly cold in the first half or even the first week, it was only cold for the first three days, then it turned milder with some unsettled weather before becoming exceptionally mild and settled in the second half, although I should say warm, as the second half of that month felt more like an April spell of weather than February.

10 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Only February 2005 in your list I would consider topsy-turvy temeprature wise as it went against the climatic grain.

I think that I was referring more to topsy turvy months that had spells of both above average and below average temperatures, or spells of two or more different weather types in them.  

You are correct that it is less common to get the coldest February weather later in the month compared to earlier on, but another of those examples for February that I can think of is 1994; now that was a fairly cold month but with the cold spell centered on the middle to latter half.  Another February as well that I can think of that was cold in the second half compared to the first half was 1981.

 

 

 

Edited February 26 by North-Easterly Blast

[damianslaw]

Depends on what is defined as topsy turvy, a month with alternating cold and warm periods cancelling each other out, or as it seems by the posts in this thread a month of two contrasting halves. We've had plenty of the latter, Dec 2022 most recently. Its been a long time since we've had a month with lots of ups and downs in it - don't seem to have such months anymore - generally seem to have 2 weeks plus of the same weather nowadays, sometimes 3-4 weeks or more, take this month, gosh what an uninteresting February.

[LetItSnow!]

Topsy turvy did initially mean months that had two very contrasting halves and not just rather warm/cold then rather cool/cold - but of course months that go against the climatic grain are also great examples. March 1965 would be a perfect example of what I mean, starting extremely cold and ending extremely warm. September 1919 and April 1981, months that have been mentioned, also.

Edited February 27 by LetItSnow!

[Summer of 95]

September 2011. Totally against the grain, the summer's cool dull rubbish continued for most of the first 20 days, then we had the best hot spell since 2006 that lasted into October.

May 2008. Great first half, atrocious second half that actually made it end up wetter and duller than average. 

July 2005, very topsy turvy. Pretty unsettled but not awful first week, then it was hot and sunny for 10 days or so, until the latter part had some of the coolest, cloudiest weather I can remember in high summer, up there with anything in 2007-12 although it was only 10-12 days or so and wasnt especially wet.

[Weather-history]

7 minutes ago, Summer of 95 said:

 

May 2008. Great first half, atrocious second half that actually made it end up wetter and duller than average. 

 

Interesting you mention May 2008 because that month varied widely across the country. That was a dry month up here, there were heath fires on the Pennines at the end of the month. 

In Scotland, it was the 3rd driest May on record.

[Summer of 95]

8 minutes ago, Weather-history said:

Interesting you mention May 2008 because that month varied widely across the country. That was a dry month up here, there were heath fires on the Pennines at the end of the month. 

In Scotland, it was the 3rd driest May on record.

I always remember it as the month when Fair Isle had 300 hours of sunshine, Shawbury and Birmingham about 140. 

[Weather-history]

Topsy-turvy could also be one part of the country its one of the wettest, whilst another part, its one of the driest especially if it goes against the grain 

Summer 2021 was topsy turvy, it was a better summer up here than towards the SE.