Spring 2023 - Moans, Ramps & Chat

[Sunsetglimmer]

Like others have said it’s been a crappy spring but tbh we have also been spoiled with previous springs, in our little island no weather is ever guaranteed! Remember the average for April is 13/14 in the south so it’s not a particularly warm month! I’m only running 1 degree below normal, in 2021 was running about 4 degrees below normal 

[TwisterGirl81]

Is anyone else slightly bemused by some posters saying it hasn't been a cool/cold spring?  You check their location and they are mostly notherners, i think they've faired better this spring ...but it figures!  Will be interesting to see the met office anomaly charts released next week for April.  Does anyone know when the spring met office anomaly maps are released on met office?

Edited April 22, 2023 by TwisterGirl81

[Derecho]

23 minutes ago, TwisterGirl81 said:

Is anyone else slightly bemused by some posters saying it hasn't been a cool/cold spring?  You check their location and they are mostly notherners, i think they've faired better this spring ...but it figures!  Will be interesting to see the met office anomaly charts released next week for April.  Does anyone know when the spring met office anomaly maps are released on met office?

You can view daily updates for some sites on weatherunderground:

Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground

WWW.WUNDERGROUND.COM

---

Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weather reports, maps & tropical weather conditions for locations worldwide.

 

The graph below for Exeter up to the 21st has a mean temp of 9.3C... which is exactly what the end of the month average is for 1991-2020 (and we are only on the 22nd).

So I'm surprised some are saying it has been several degrees colder then average this Spring when all the stats indicate it has been above average in the south.

If anything the further north you go, the closer to average this Spring has been because March was colder then average in Scotland.

[TwisterGirl81]

29 minutes ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

You can view daily updates for some sites on weatherunderground:

Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground

WWW.WUNDERGROUND.COM

---

Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weather reports, maps & tropical weather conditions for locations worldwide.

 

The graph below for Exeter up to the 21st has a mean temp of 9.3C... which is exactly what the end of the month average is for 1991-2020 (and we are only on the 22nd).

So I'm surprised some are saying it has been several degrees colder then average this Spring when all the stats indicate it has been above average in the south.

If anything the further north you go, the closer to average this Spring has been because March was colder then average in Scotland.

It certainly hasn't been but we shall see, It will be below average, will let you know next week  

[Derecho]

6 minutes ago, TwisterGirl81 said:

It certainly hasn't been but we shall see, It will be below average, will let you know next week  

Why would the Met Office figures differ from the CET and station data though?

[Andrew Hurcomb]

I think it all depends where you are in the UK this spring. Here we havent even reached 16C this April yet.  By weatherunderground nearest station to me is averaging 8.8C for April so far. Yes its felt very cool for April . Looking back through the history the last April it only made it to 16C was 2001. I know we have a few days left but generally it gets above 16C here in April. So to me I would class that as below average.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Andrew Hurcomb

[Derecho]

Just now, Andrew Hurcomb said:

I think it all depends where you are in the UK this spring. Here we havent even reached 16C this April yet.  By weatherunderground nearest station to me is averaging 8.8C for April so far. Yes its felt very cool for April so far.

Very cool generally perhaps... but not for April. The average for this point in April is pretty similar to early November. It's not too far from April last year CET wise up until this point but it will drop a bit over the coming days.

End of the month the CET will be around 8C which is close to the 1961-1990 average.

[chris888]

been a lack of high pressure so far this spring

[TwisterGirl81]

5 minutes ago, Andrew Hurcomb said:

I think it all depends where you are in the UK this spring. Here we havent even reached 16C this April yet.  By weatherunderground nearest station to me is averaging 8.8C for April so far. Yes its felt very cool for April .

Exactly, 16c is the highest we have got to so far which to me is very poor, it's average at best but I think will be below

2 minutes ago, chris888 said:

been a lack of high pressure so far this spring

In the south indeed, well below average sunshine I should imagine, northern areas will most likely be well above

[Dark Horse]

11 minutes ago, Andrew Hurcomb said:

I think it all depends where you are in the UK this spring. Here we havent even reached 16C this April yet.  By weatherunderground nearest station to me is averaging 8.8C for April so far. Yes its felt very cool for April .

Yes here's the Manchester one. Not been any higher than 15c so far and whilst it's not been the coolest spring ever some years have been a good bit warmer for sure. Still got May to go though yet.

 

[kold weather]

9 minutes ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

Very cool generally perhaps... but not for April. The average for this point in April is pretty similar to early November. It's not too far from April last year CET wise up until this point but it will drop a bit over the coming days.

End of the month the CET will be around 8C which is close to the 1961-1990 average.

I think its the lack of higher temperatures that is starting to make this spring feel poor down here, combined with a legitimately poor March. 

I agree that we've had worse Springs, April has indeed been meh rather than actively terrible.

The one thing that is now undeniable is it will be a wet spring. After today we will be above average for spring in the ewp before leaving April, so clearly going to be a wet spring, it's just how high up the ranking May takes us.

[cheese]

Most Aprils over the past decade have had warm or very warm spells with temperatures well into the 20s nationally - we’ve not had that this April, so understandably it feels like it’s been a poor April (even if it’s been consistently average). 
 

The highest temperature this April here was 15C last week - if that’s still the highest by the 31st, then it’ll be the lowest maximum April temperature here in the past 13 years. Even the cold, wet April of 2012 managed 18C, and March this year reached 16C - so again, it’s easy to see why this April feels lacklustre. 

Either way, I was definitely hoping we’d have some proper warm weather already. Hopefully the first 20C+ days aren’t too far away…

Edited April 22, 2023 by cheese

[richie3846]

2 hours ago, TwisterGirl81 said:

Is anyone else slightly bemused by some posters saying it hasn't been a cool/cold spring?  You check their location and they are mostly notherners, i think they've faired better this spring ...but it figures!  Will be interesting to see the met office anomaly charts released next week for April.  Does anyone know when the spring met office anomaly maps are released on met office?

Why wait?

The month so far - in the British Isles

WWW.MET.READING.AC.UK

This is a comparison against the most recent 30 year average, and is month so far, so comparison figures are for the whole month. Whilst the figures aren't complete, with some missing data, there is no evidence that I can see, that gives an anomalous month, with 9 days left to record. 

 

 

[NEVES SCREAMER]

I think it is how it feels. Whatever the stats say to me it has never really felt 'warm' on any given day. And we have never exceeded 16c. Warmest day here was back in mid February I believe. Which tells a story by itself. Weirdly today was meant to be mediocre but with lighter winds and sunny spells it actually felt ok compared to the few days back with the easterly winds. Some comparisons earlier re spring 1983. Which was a shocker. But the summer was brilliant! We can but hope.

[alexisj9]

2 hours ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

You can view daily updates for some sites on weatherunderground:

Personal Weather Station Dashboard | Weather Underground

WWW.WUNDERGROUND.COM

---

Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weather reports, maps & tropical weather conditions for locations worldwide.

 

The graph below for Exeter up to the 21st has a mean temp of 9.3C... which is exactly what the end of the month average is for 1991-2020 (and we are only on the 22nd).

So I'm surprised some are saying it has been several degrees colder then average this Spring when all the stats indicate it has been above average in the south.

If anything the further north you go, the closer to average this Spring has been because March was colder then average in Scotland.

 

1 hour ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

Why would the Met Office figures differ from the CET and station data though?

Well for a start the CET isn't the whole country, my area isn't in the CET, Exeter for that matter isn't ether. The anomaly charts when they come out will be showinging local stats.

[Sunny76]

8 minutes ago, NEVES SCREAMER said:

I think it is how it feels. Whatever the stats say to me it has never really felt 'warm' on any given day. And we have never exceeded 16c. Warmest day here was back in mid February I believe. Which tells a story by itself. Weirdly today was meant to be mediocre but with lighter winds and sunny spells it actually felt ok compared to the few days back with the easterly winds. Some comparisons earlier re spring 1983. Which was a shocker. But the summer was brilliant! We can but hope.

I don’t get 1983 vibes. I get more 1981 vibes for this summer. Changeable and cool, mixed with a few weeks of warm or hot weather but no heat spikes, instead more of a mid to high 20s buid up, with a 1-3 day 30-33c spell.

[Summer8906]

As I've said the problem with this spring has been:

a) the dire March with no compensating weather in April yet;

b) the constant changeable/unsettled weather with just one instance of three dry days in a row since March 6th (and we were lucky to get the third, as it started raining at about 12.30am on Easter Monday, so if it had been more than 30 mins earlier...);

c) no really warm weather, even if it isn't actually that cold. Even if the CET isn't low, the "max max" must surely be for many stations.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Summer8906

[NEVES SCREAMER]

2 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

I don’t get 1983 vibes. I get more 1981 vibes for this summer. Changeable and cool, mixed with a few weeks of warm or hot weather but no heat spikes, instead more of a mid to high 20s buid up, with a 1-3 day 30-33c spell.

If I remember 1983 it was like a lightbulb moment and literally switched from eternal doom and gloom to all of a sudden up in the high 20's c in early June. And then was brilliant thereafter!

[Summer8906]

14 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

I don’t get 1983 vibes. I get more 1981 vibes for this summer. Changeable and cool, mixed with a few weeks of warm or hot weather but no heat spikes, instead more of a mid to high 20s buid up, with a 1-3 day 30-33c spell.

A contrast to recent form in that case, i.e. with the best weather in August and the school holidays! (For those not around in 1981, 1998 was kind-of similar except that May 1998 was much better and June 1998 was much worse, but both years had a cool, dull but not wet July, fine August, and wet September and October).

I just hope May 2023 is not a repeat of May 1981. A shocker of a month, probably tying with 1983 as worst May of my remembered lifetime for weather (and yes, both were worse than 2021 as the latter at least had a fine sunny last week...)

Edited April 22, 2023 by Summer8906

[cheese]

I suppose the only silver lining is that we’ve not been alone - it’s been a pretty mediocre, or even cold, April for much of Europe. 

[Guest]

Absolutely garbage output this evening from the 12Z’s so far. GFS and GEM go straight from cold to unsettled. GFS gives an especially horrid bank holiday weekend with a dartboard on the Monday. gross  

Im already getting concerned about my trip to Spain on the 15th May, right at the end of the last few gfs runs there’s a big high to the west of Spain clearing the heat out around the 8th May. Will be just my luck after their hottest spring on record the weather finally breaks when I’m there. Can see it coming a mile off!! 

[Summer8906]

10 minutes ago, NEVES SCREAMER said:

If I remember 1983 it was like a lightbulb moment and literally switched from eternal doom and gloom to all of a sudden up in the high 20's c in early June. And then was brilliant thereafter!

I think there was an intermediate period in between the washout spring and the fine summer. May 31 was the changeover point when it was warm and sunny, possibly with 20C exceeded for the first time of the year. It then turned thundery for about a week but with reasonably fine weather too, before a lengthy period of cloudy but dry weather for the rest of June. The real hot summer weather arrived on Saturday July 2, a day which started with drizzly Tm before the clouds broke and it turned warm and sunny.

[NEVES SCREAMER]

3 minutes ago, Summer8906 said:

I think there was an intermediate period in between the washout spring and the fine summer. May 31 was the changeover point when it was warm and sunny, possibly with 20C exceeded for the first time of the year. It then turned thundery for about a week but with reasonably fine weather too, before a lengthy period of cloudy but dry weather for the rest of June. The real hot summer weather arrived on Saturday July 2, a day which started with drizzly Tm before the clouds broke and it turned warm and sunny.

I just remember finishing college around about June time and thought it wasn't too bad a time not to have a job and be dossing about in the interim !!

[TwisterGirl81]

2 hours ago, Quicksilver1989 said:

Very cool generally perhaps... but not for April. The average for this point in April is pretty similar to early November. It's not too far from April last year CET wise up until this point but it will drop a bit over the coming days.

End of the month the CET will be around 8C which is close to the 1961-1990 average.

Yes it’s below average then 

[Summer8906]

23 minutes ago, Alderc said:

Absolutely garbage output this evening from the 12Z’s so far. GFS and GEM go straight from cold to unsettled. GFS gives an especially horrid bank holiday weekend with a dartboard on the Monday. gross  

 

GFS 12z isn't good with early May producing what looks like an identical setup to March, and typical weather for October. GFS 06z is similar though does settle things down round the 4th. If I want autumn in May, I'll take a flight to Melbourne or New Zealand!

To be fair GEM is very much better overall with a continental low over the bank holiday weekend the main threat, so quite different to GFS.

23 minutes ago, Alderc said:

Im already getting concerned about my trip to Spain on the 15th May, right at the end of the last few gfs runs there’s a big high to the west of Spain clearing the heat out around the 8th May. Will be just my luck after their hottest spring on record the weather finally breaks when I’m there. Can see it coming a mile off!! 

I guess though that Spain is "almost always" good in May so whatever it's like, it's got to be very much better than here!

I'm just glad I am able to personally spend quite a bit of time out of the country this summer. The prospect of a repeat of 1981 (which I realise was only suggested by one poster) would be grim indeed, although at least there would be a good August. Even still, I'd actually like to enjoy, rather than endure, spring and early summer in the UK. There's enough dark and dismal in the autumn and winter, please let's have something brighter and more settled this time of year! Someone tell the weather gods that we are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Summer8906