Favourite calendar year for weather (within lifetime, and historic)

[Summer8906]

Can't remember if this has come up before, if so, apologies.

What's your favourite calendar year, all round, for weather? There are two categories:

1) A year you remember personally;

2) A historical year.

For me, I'll say 1996 and 1947, respectively.

While 1996 had only a somewhat-above-average summer, and the summer was less good than 1994 or 1995, it was notable for some decent winter months at both ends of the year and I personally experienced one bout of heavy snow in February. No other year that I can remember had a reasonably decent summer, and decent winter weather at both ends of the year. Plus, April and the first half of May were pleasant, September was dry and often sunny, and November while wet at times was often cold and frosty and it was notably sunny.

I don't think 1947 needs much justification. While December 1947 was a drabfest by all accounts, the start of the year was so very exceptional, and the summer was hot, sunny and prolonged - so it's got to be the clear winner.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Summer8906

[Earthshine]

2018 for me.  7 foot snow drifts in March, an absolutely fantastic May to early August period.  Exceptionally warm night of around 19°C in October as well as recording -5°C at the end of month.

2022 also just for the prolonged nature of the warm and useable weather.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Earthshine

[Coopsy]

1987 - for 3 exceptional weather events that stood out to me and the fact I was 10. It’s the year that started my obsession with weather. 

Jan 1987 - no explanation required. The holy grail of snow and cold. Never been matched since. I just remember waking up day after day with fresh snow on the ground. A week off school. Fantastic. 

Aug 1987 - (22nd?) massive storms as we drove from Kent to Devon for our annual holiday that seemed to go on all night - vividly remember Stonehenge being lit up by lightning.

Oct 1987 - the great storm - hearing the roaring and then walking round our village in the morning seeing all the trees down was just mind blowing.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Coopsy

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, Coopsy said:

1987 - for 3 exceptional weather events that stood out to me and the fact I was 10. It’s the year that started my obsession with weather. 

Jan 1987 - no explanation required. The holy grail of snow and cold. Never been matched since. I just remember waking up day after day with fresh snow on the ground. A week off school. Fantastic. 

Aug 1987 - (22nd?) massive storms as we drove from Kent to Devon for our annual holiday that seemed to go on all night - vividly remember Stonehenge being lit up by lightning.

Oct 1987 - the great storm - hearing the roaring and then walking round our village in the morning seeing all the trees down was just mind blowing.

I second this.

1987 was the year that started my interest in the weather, because of the January snow, warm sunny April, but the severe thunderstorms of Friday 21st into 22nd of August is the main event I remember very clearly. A hot and sunny week with mostly blue skies ends with a very hot and humid evening when the storms rolled in that Friday. We had more storms during the early morning around 4-5am, and another distant storm was rumbling during the afternoon. I was living in Chelsea at the time.

The October storm was terrifying to witness. Was woken up about 2am and didn’t get back to sleep until after 5. 
 

Also, the very sunny and mild Christmas Day that year was unreal. It felt warm and sunny, and not just mild. This was the turning point for our winters in the southern half of England.

[mushymanrob]

2022 .... nice dry warm spring, hot summer....

dislike autumns anyway so they dont count...

would have been perfect if the december cold delivered snow and lasted longer...

[Sunny76]

1 minute ago, mushymanrob said:

2022 .... nice dry warm spring, hot summer....

dislike autumns anyway so they dont count...

would have been perfect if the december cold delivered snow and lasted longer...

Yes 2022 was a good year especially the spring and summer period. Autumn is a non event part of the year for me, but the winter was a let down(January -February 22).

[Summer8906]

If split years are allowed, another contender for me could be March 1990-February 1991. Or March 1995-February 1996.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

4 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

Yes 2022 was a good year especially the spring and summer period. Autumn is a non event part of the year for me, but the winter was a let down(January -February 22).

Interesting about the autumn: even though autumn isn't for me the most exciting time of year weather wise, I do find that a sunny and dry autumn can work wonders in seeming to shorten the darker half of the year. Hence autumn 2022 really dragged the year down for me (as well as Feb, and perhaps May and the first 10 days of June) but by contrast I enjoyed October-November 2011.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Feb '94, at least 3 snow events,

 

[Sunny76]

94 was another decent year for weather. Snow in February, a decent covering even in London and a very cold windchill. Sort of like a discount Feb 91, or poor man’s 91.

June to August was decent on the storm front. The most notable one happened on Friday 24th June. 
 

June and July were overall warm or hot for long periods that year. 
 

A nice sunny warm week in October.

The year was letdown somewhat by the very mild December, but there were some colder days in the mix.

[Relativistic]

I started taking note of the weather in 2010. Of every year since then, it has to be 2018 -- not only because of the weather but also because of how life events tied in with it.

I have next to zero memory of January and February (bar the final few days of that period). Early March was stonkingly cold and snowy back in my then Birmingham. Think we topped out at around -4°C on the 1st, which is almost unthinkable in March. Later that month we had another excellent snow event which coincided with a drunken ball night. I won't ever forget stumbling home with a mate in full black tie at God knows what time. It was pristinely quiet and beautiful, or it would've been had it not been for the two of us laughing our arses off every time we ended up face first in the snow.

April featured that phenomenal early heat which I also have fond memories of. It was made all the more strange by the fact that the trees were completely bare after the bone-chilling weather in March.

May was another month that goes down in my memory because it was the only time in my life that I witnessed flash flooding. Two hours of non-stop heavy rainfall meant that roads were underwater and the Bourne brook near my house had turned from a calm trickle to a raging, roaring torrent. My eyes and ears simply weren't prepared for that. The sheer noise and ferocity of the thing was completely unforgettable. Otherwise, May on the whole was extremely sunny -- perfectly timed for my Master's-year exam period, which I spent almost all of inside.

My exams were over by early June and I had a glorious month of partying, barbequing, and summery weather to enjoy. The remainder of the summer was bone dry and searingly hot in Essex, where I spent most of my time. The grass in the local park was brown and dessicated for weeks and weeks. It's not uncommon for browning in the summer down in Essex, but that was on an incomparable level of severity and protraction to anything I've ever witnessed before.

My memory becomes hazy thereafter. I moved to Edinburgh in September to begin my PhD and the remainder of the year is a blur because I spent half of it drunk 

[Weather-history]

Historic wise:  1947

           

 

Personally: 1995

[johnholmes]

It has to be 1947, deep snow, not much sun as far as I recall, often frosty and then the summer was long, mostly dry and also often hot.

62-63 was a more longer lasting and severe cold winter, not much deep snow though

[Summer8906]

2 hours ago, johnholmes said:

It has to be 1947, deep snow, not much sun as far as I recall, often frosty and then the summer was long, mostly dry and also often hot.

62-63 was a more longer lasting and severe cold winter, not much deep snow though

Also I think summer 1963 was a bit rubbish. So of the two, 1947 has to be the clear winnter.

[damianslaw]

1996 edges 1995, on account of the much colder start to the year, despite the summer being no where near as warm and dry as 1995. Mind the cold spring wasn't great by the time May arrived I was impatient for something warmer. Summer 96 was quite good, yes wet at times and no major long heatawaves, but there was a lot usuable dry warm or very warm sunny weather at times. Autumn 96 was very traditional, November brought early cold and snow, and this continued through December.

2010 deserves a mention, had the summer been warmer and drier, the period Jan - May 2010 was excellent, as well as Sept - Dec.

2018 also up until August was excellent but went downhill fast thereafter.

 

Incidentally 1996 and 2010 coldest years of the last 35 or so, and also I think the driest. Most continental years. 1995 would have been driest if not for the first 2 months which were very wet.

Edited December 30, 2022 by damianslaw

[Summer8906]

7 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

1996 edges 1995, on account of the much colder start to the year, despite the summer being no where near as warm and dry as 1995. Mind the cold spring wasn't great by the time May arrived I was impatient for something warmer. Summer 96 was quite good, yes wet at times and no major long heatawaves, but there was a lot usuable dry warm or very warm sunny weather at times. Autumn 96 was very traditional, November brought early cold and snow, and this continued through December.

2010 deserves a mention, had the summer been warmer and drier, the period Jan - May 2010 was excellent, as well as Sept - Dec.

I know what you mean about 2010. The rubbish August, and the cloudiness of July (despite being drier than average), is what demotes it significantly.

If we'd have had even August 2009 conditions in 2010 it would be a very strong contender for best weather year of my lifetime. January, April, June, October and December were all amongst the best examples of such months.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Summer8906

[RebsAbbo]

Well I’m not sure about whole years but for a winter my best memory is of 1979. I’m basing my dating on my Mum’s anecdotal evidence only. I just remember lots of thick snow to play in. Maybe not the most extreme winter but when you only have to stay off school & play in it, it was all good. I’m not so keen on subsequent winters (e.g. 2010) which had heavy snow, as an adult, when I had to get to work….not so fun. The snow of 1979 led to us building an igloo in the garden - I was very proud of it!

Me & my sis Feb/March 1979 (I could stand corrected if need be…)

        

For a summer it has to be this year, 2022.  Absolutely loved the dry heat & high temperatures

[Methuselah]

I think I'll plump for 1975. Okay January & February were mild, but, back then, watching leaves unfurl so early in the year was something of a novelty. And then, along came just about the snowiest spring I ever witnessed. And the summer was a beaut. Thunder combined with falling snow was probably the only thing that didn't happen!

[swfc]

Il go 1976.i was at our caravan for 6 weeks or more incredible summer. I was 14 and also discovered girls

[Sunny76]

10 hours ago, damianslaw said:

1996 edges 1995, on account of the much colder start to the year, despite the summer being no where near as warm and dry as 1995. Mind the cold spring wasn't great by the time May arrived I was impatient for something warmer. Summer 96 was quite good, yes wet at times and no major long heatawaves, but there was a lot usuable dry warm or very warm sunny weather at times. Autumn 96 was very traditional, November brought early cold and snow, and this continued through December.

2010 deserves a mention, had the summer been warmer and drier, the period Jan - May 2010 was excellent, as well as Sept - Dec.

2018 also up until August was excellent but went downhill fast thereafter.

 

Incidentally 1996 and 2010 coldest years of the last 35 or so, and also I think the driest. Most continental years. 1995 would have been driest if not for the first 2 months which were very wet.

May 2010 was pretty awful until the 20th. It was cold and cloudy, before it turned hot and sunny towards the end.

[Summer8906]

22 hours ago, Ed Stone said:

I think I'll plump for 1975. Okay January & February were mild, but, back then, watching leaves unfurl so early in the year was something of a novelty. And then, along came just about the snowiest spring I ever witnessed. And the summer was a beaut. Thunder combined with falling snow was probably the only thing that didn't happen!

1975 must have been a very prolonged spring for flowering if it panned out like that. The mild temps early in the year would have encouraged early flowering, but then the cool spring would have prevented the flowering ending too early.

2016 was much like that: the flowering started ridiculously early (daffodils before the end of January in one or two places) but then much colder weather in March and April prevented an early end to spring, so it was a long spring flowering season.

12 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

May 2010 was pretty awful until the 20th. It was cold and cloudy, before it turned hot and sunny towards the end.

I seem to remember May 2010 was persistently dry, at least - a lot of northerly winds early and mid-month if I remember right. The only spell of really dull Atlantic weather was, I think, at the end of the month, after that warmer and sunnier spell.

[cheeky_monkey]

On 29/12/2022 at 22:41, Weather-history said:

 

 

Personally: 1995

yep i agree with 1995..wet mild winter followed by a cold March then a pretty dry rest of spring..then a spectacular summer with a roller coaster autumn finishing with a cold December and snowy Christmas..1995 had it all really