Favourite and least favourite springs

[Sun Chaser]

As we head well into March, it got me thinking about this time of year and how varied it can often be. It's rare to have a spring that's consistently great or poor all the way through, and so people's ideas of their favourite/most hated springs differ greatly. My mind changes a lot on this but my personal opinions right now (my weather memory goes back to about 2007)

 

Favourite:

1. 2020 - clear blue skies almost every day from 22 March onwards, lasting into early June. Never too hot but rarely too cold. The only year in my lifetime to ever reach 25C on my birthday. Also had the sunniest month on record (May 2020). Just absolute perfection, and the season as a whole got me a lot more interested in weather as it was very synoptically interesting imo. Some highlights were the 7-11 April heatwave, 17 April thunderstorms, a heatwave immediately followed by frost around 10 May, and another heatwave at the end of May with a long chain of 25C days and no cloud to be seen

2. 2011 - here mostly for that insanely summery April. What a month that was and one that's not talked about enough on here. March was quite nice as well, and May was unexceptional but at least it was dry and useable.

3. 2017 - consistently warm all the way through. We missed out on the rest of the country's warmth in March which was quite dull, but April and May, while never hot, were pleasantly warm all the way through. A nice warm sunny spell in early April and intense thunderstorms on 27 May were some of my favourite highlights. But loses out because mid May was very wet down here

 

Least favourite:

1. 2013 - I think this is obvious. Didn't even get any snow here to make up for the bitter cold and it was the dullest spring of the 2010s by a mile. In fact it had a negative temperature anomaly of over 3C and didn't hit 20C until 31st May! Absolute nightmare of a spring

2. 2016 - Cool, wet March. April was cold and dull and there was no interesting weather at all this season until the northerly on 29 April. May ended up being quite nice with a sunny final 10 days, but nothing particularly memorable came from it either. One for the bin.

3. 2008 - Poor March followed by a cold April which I understand delivered snow widely. But not here so from a personal perspective I really disliked April 2008. Early May actually gave us a significantly warm spell of weather which I believe came close to 30C around 11 May, no mean feat for the first half of May! But the month soon became very wet with a southerly tracking jetstream and for this reason spring 2008 was almost entirely awful save for 2 weeks.

Honourable mentions to 2012 and 2015. both had some great weather followed by over a month of dire, cloudy, wet gloom that really ruined the feel of the entire spring. April 2012 and May 2015 have to be some of the worst months ever. However both were preceded by sunny, warm months: so while the springs may have been okay overall, it was more of a feeling of receding back towards winter despite the lengthening days that really hit these springs hard

[sunny_vale]

Absolutely agree with your top 2! 2017 I wasn't in the country so couldn't say from experience but remember people talking about how nice the weather was, trying to make me jealous (I was in the rainforest so this didn't work haha). But if I had to have a 3rd from memory, then it would be 2018. The snow at the start of March was exciting and even though the rest of the month might not have seemed very inspiring, there was a feeling of spring as things slowly warmed up from then (bar the mid-month snow). April had a memorable heatwave that flung us into summer, then came May . . . and you know the rest 

As for the worst, Spring 2021 really was an endurance test IMO. As much as I enjoyed the dry and sunny April as much as I could (it felt like a properly 'spring' month in a way), the cold mornings and especially cold early month just seemed to be relentless and the May was diabolical. Probably didn't help I was doing my dissertation and many lockdown restrictions were still in place but absolutely the worst Spring I can remember - in stark contrast to 2020 the year before! Apart from that, I've found every other Spring I can remember has delivered overall. Specific months such as April 2012 haven't been enough to dampen my overall view of the season. 

[*Stormforce~beka*]

2020 was the best by far. Absolutely amazing! Want that again please!

[cheeky_monkey]

On 14/03/2023 at 18:27, plymsunshine said:

As we head well into March, it got me thinking about this time of year and how varied it can often be. It's rare to have a spring that's consistently great or poor all the way through, and so people's ideas of their favourite/most hated springs differ greatly. My mind changes a lot on this but my personal opinions right now (my weather memory goes back to about 2007)

 

Favourite:

1. 2020 - clear blue skies almost every day from 22 March onwards, lasting into early June. Never too hot but rarely too cold. The only year in my lifetime to ever reach 25C on my birthday. Also had the sunniest month on record (May 2020). Just absolute perfection, and the season as a whole got me a lot more interested in weather as it was very synoptically interesting imo. Some highlights were the 7-11 April heatwave, 17 April thunderstorms, a heatwave immediately followed by frost around 10 May, and another heatwave at the end of May with a long chain of 25C days and no cloud to be seen

2. 2011 - here mostly for that insanely summery April. What a month that was and one that's not talked about enough on here. March was quite nice as well, and May was unexceptional but at least it was dry and useable.

3. 2017 - consistently warm all the way through. We missed out on the rest of the country's warmth in March which was quite dull, but April and May, while never hot, were pleasantly warm all the way through. A nice warm sunny spell in early April and intense thunderstorms on 27 May were some of my favourite highlights. But loses out because mid May was very wet down here

 

Least favourite:

1. 2013 - I think this is obvious. Didn't even get any snow here to make up for the bitter cold and it was the dullest spring of the 2010s by a mile. In fact it had a negative temperature anomaly of over 3C and didn't hit 20C until 31st May! Absolute nightmare of a spring

2. 2016 - Cool, wet March. April was cold and dull and there was no interesting weather at all this season until the northerly on 29 April. May ended up being quite nice with a sunny final 10 days, but nothing particularly memorable came from it either. One for the bin.

3. 2008 - Poor March followed by a cold April which I understand delivered snow widely. But not here so from a personal perspective I really disliked April 2008. Early May actually gave us a significantly warm spell of weather which I believe came close to 30C around 11 May, no mean feat for the first half of May! But the month soon became very wet with a southerly tracking jetstream and for this reason spring 2008 was almost entirely awful save for 2 weeks.

Honourable mentions to 2012 and 2015. both had some great weather followed by over a month of dire, cloudy, wet gloom that really ruined the feel of the entire spring. April 2012 and May 2015 have to be some of the worst months ever. However both were preceded by sunny, warm months: so while the springs may have been okay overall, it was more of a feeling of receding back towards winter despite the lengthening days that really hit these springs hard

if you live in Plymouth every season sucks pretty much 

[Sunny76]

On 15/03/2023 at 00:27, plymsunshine said:

As we head well into March, it got me thinking about this time of year and how varied it can often be. It's rare to have a spring that's consistently great or poor all the way through, and so people's ideas of their favourite/most hated springs differ greatly. My mind changes a lot on this but my personal opinions right now (my weather memory goes back to about 2007)

 

Favourite:

1. 2020 - clear blue skies almost every day from 22 March onwards, lasting into early June. Never too hot but rarely too cold. The only year in my lifetime to ever reach 25C on my birthday. Also had the sunniest month on record (May 2020). Just absolute perfection, and the season as a whole got me a lot more interested in weather as it was very synoptically interesting imo. Some highlights were the 7-11 April heatwave, 17 April thunderstorms, a heatwave immediately followed by frost around 10 May, and another heatwave at the end of May with a long chain of 25C days and no cloud to be seen

2. 2011 - here mostly for that insanely summery April. What a month that was and one that's not talked about enough on here. March was quite nice as well, and May was unexceptional but at least it was dry and useable.

3. 2017 - consistently warm all the way through. We missed out on the rest of the country's warmth in March which was quite dull, but April and May, while never hot, were pleasantly warm all the way through. A nice warm sunny spell in early April and intense thunderstorms on 27 May were some of my favourite highlights. But loses out because mid May was very wet down here

 

Least favourite:

1. 2013 - I think this is obvious. Didn't even get any snow here to make up for the bitter cold and it was the dullest spring of the 2010s by a mile. In fact it had a negative temperature anomaly of over 3C and didn't hit 20C until 31st May! Absolute nightmare of a spring

2. 2016 - Cool, wet March. April was cold and dull and there was no interesting weather at all this season until the northerly on 29 April. May ended up being quite nice with a sunny final 10 days, but nothing particularly memorable came from it either. One for the bin.

3. 2008 - Poor March followed by a cold April which I understand delivered snow widely. But not here so from a personal perspective I really disliked April 2008. Early May actually gave us a significantly warm spell of weather which I believe came close to 30C around 11 May, no mean feat for the first half of May! But the month soon became very wet with a southerly tracking jetstream and for this reason spring 2008 was almost entirely awful save for 2 weeks.

Honourable mentions to 2012 and 2015. both had some great weather followed by over a month of dire, cloudy, wet gloom that really ruined the feel of the entire spring. April 2012 and May 2015 have to be some of the worst months ever. However both were preceded by sunny, warm months: so while the springs may have been okay overall, it was more of a feeling of receding back towards winter despite the lengthening days that really hit these springs hard

Hmmm, I think you mixed the May 27th storms up with 2018 no?

We only got some rumbles of thunder in late May 2017, but the main widespread storms that hit us were in July 2017.

2018 produced a thundery spell in late May and early June.

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, sunny_vale said:

Absolutely agree with your top 2! 2017 I wasn't in the country so couldn't say from experience but remember people talking about how nice the weather was, trying to make me jealous (I was in the rainforest so this didn't work haha). But if I had to have a 3rd from memory, then it would be 2018. The snow at the start of March was exciting and even though the rest of the month might not have seemed very inspiring, there was a feeling of spring as things slowly warmed up from then (bar the mid-month snow). April had a memorable heatwave that flung us into summer, then came May . . . and you know the rest 

As for the worst, Spring 2021 really was an endurance test IMO. As much as I enjoyed the dry and sunny April as much as I could (it felt like a properly 'spring' month in a way), the cold mornings and especially cold early month just seemed to be relentless and the May was diabolical. Probably didn't help I was doing my dissertation and many lockdown restrictions were still in place but absolutely the worst Spring I can remember - in stark contrast to 2020 the year before! Apart from that, I've found every other Spring I can remember has delivered overall. Specific months such as April 2012 haven't been enough to dampen my overall view of the season. 

2017 was a let down, as the spring was nice but it lead to a relatively poor second half of summer. The spring and first half of summer was probably the best period of weather since 2014 at the time and it was definitely an improvement on 2015 and 2016.

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

2020 was the best by far. Absolutely amazing! Want that again please!

Yes I don’t think anything will beat that long dry sunny period with days on end of sunshine after a very dreary first quarter of 2020.

Some days felt chilly to begin with , even daytime highs were around 14-16 and the mornings and evenings still felt cool or cold, but by the second week of April the sunny cool days became sunny warm days, and it just kept going until the first week of June. 
 

Only May 2018 comes close to having the same amount of sunny clear sky days for weeks on end. 

[Sun Chaser]

1 hour ago, cheeky_monkey said:

if you live in Plymouth every season sucks pretty much 

Hahaha very true!! No snow and not great for summer heat. But at least we are quite sunny down here! 

41 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Hmmm, I think you mixed the May 27th storms up with 2018 no?

We only got some rumbles of thunder in late May 2017, but the main widespread storms that hit us were in July 2017.

2018 produced a thundery spell in late May and early June.

Now I think of it I think we had some thunder on 31st May 2018? But I'm definitely not mixing it up, perhaps 27th May 2017 storms were quite localised but god were they good. And it went on for hours!

[Summer of 95]

I rather enjoyed spring 2021; record warmth in March and then a remarkable April that was one of the sunniest and driest on record but still produced lying snow and more frosts than some entire winters (13/14 and 19/20). Then May- yes it was wet and until the last few days, cold; but there were those thunderstorms with big hail here on the 11th (4 overhead storms in one day). And the contrast in how late all the plants were in coming out with the previous year was striking. And it finished with a few warm days.

Spring 2018 really didn't appear to happen weatherwise- it just seemed to flip from deep winter to high summer around the third week of April and not change back. Memorable spring months but no actual spring!

It's hard to pick the worst; 2015 didnt top 20C until June but April was sunny and dry. 2006 had a poor April and May after an interesting March, 1992 had a brilliant May after a grim March and April, 2000 was pretty awful apart from a warm spell I recall in early May. 2009 was just very boring: nothing that I recall in March or May, and April had no maxima below 10C or above 18C.

[Met.]

Worst was 2013 by miles. March was just like a Scandinavian winter but most of all I remember the fact there were no leaves on the trees til late May where I lived, it was utterly depressing and just sad.

Spring 2020 was fantastic.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

Favourite:

2018 - March gave us the famous BTFE which was an exceptional event. April was fairly mixed with a good deal of April showers and some warm sunny days with the first 20°C+ day for my neck of the woods on the 18th. This was followed by a predominantly warm and sunny May with around half the month reaching 20°C or more. This was quite a mixed spring which is what I like.

Least favourite:

2021 - I don't remember March very well but I do remember that it took a while for the weather to warm up that spring. April was a frustrating month for gardeners as not only was it very dry, there were many frosty nights which lasted well into the month; for my location the last one being on the 23rd. Daytime temps were also mediocre at best throughout. I personally found the following May to have been the worst one since 2012, as it was predominantly cool and unsettled.

 

[sunny_vale]

19 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

2017 was a let down, as the spring was nice but it lead to a relatively poor second half of summer. The spring and first half of summer was probably the best period of weather since 2014 at the time and it was definitely an improvement on 2015 and 2016.

Actually, I got back the day before the heatwave started that June, so I was expecting a continuation of what I had become accustomed to. The second half of that summer was definitely disappointing compared to the first, but I don't remember it being as bad as people say. Maybe because the good weather in August coincided with both of the festivals I went to hahaha. Rose tinted glasses and all that . . .

[Sunny76]

15 minutes ago, sunny_vale said:

Actually, I got back the day before the heatwave started that June, so I was expecting a continuation of what I had become accustomed to. The second half of that summer was definitely disappointing compared to the first, but I don't remember it being as bad as people say. Maybe because the good weather in August coincided with both of the festivals I went to hahaha. Rose tinted glasses and all that . . .

The marker for the change that summer were those overnight storms in mid July 2017. I think it was a Tuesday or Wednesday evening and into the night. 
 

It was a classic late evening, overnight thunderstorm set up. 
 

The summer seemed to end after those storms, and we went from 27-30c days, back to to 21c or even high teens at times. Weeks of cloudy and sometimes cool weather well into august before the heat came back for the late Bank holiday.

18 minutes ago, sunny_vale said:

Actually, I got back the day before the heatwave started that June, so I was expecting a continuation of what I had become accustomed to. The second half of that summer was definitely disappointing compared to the first, but I don't remember it being as bad as people say. Maybe because the good weather in August coincided with both of the festivals I went to hahaha. Rose tinted glasses and all that . . .

2017 wasn’t as bad, it was just relatively poor compared to a classic hot sunny July and august summer.

Had July remained hot and sunny until the end, I think 2017 would have been classed as a good summer. 
 

I place it just behind 2018 and prefer it to summer 2020 by miles.

[sunny_vale]

2 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

The marker for the change that summer were those overnight storms in mid July 2017. I think it was a Tuesday or Wednesday evening and into the night. 
 

It was a classic late evening, overnight thunderstorm set up. 
 

The summer seemed to end after those storms, and we went from 27-30c days, back to to 21c or even high teens at times. Weeks of cloudy and sometimes cool weather well into august before the heat came back for the late Bank holiday.

2017 wasn’t as bad, it was just relatively poor compared to a classic hot sunny July and august summer.

Had July remained hot and sunny until the end, I think 2017 would have been classed as a good summer. 
 

I place it just behind 2018 and prefer it to summer 2020 by miles.

Yeah that makes total sense. 2018 really raised the bar!

[Metwatch]

Most favorite 2020 and 2018 for some pretty extreme contrasts. 

Least favorite 2021 and 2013.

For 2021 I was not used to the cold April and wet May after such a warm and sunny spring in 2020. 

[A Face like Thunder]

Favourite - 2020 despite the lockdown. Sun all the way and a good opportunity to reassess life and values.

Least favourite - 2008, with its b****y awful Easter!

 

[MP-R]

22 hours ago, plymsunshine said:

Hahaha very true!! No snow and not great for summer heat. But at least we are quite sunny down here! 

Now I think of it I think we had some thunder on 31st May 2018? But I'm definitely not mixing it up, perhaps 27th May 2017 storms were quite localised but god were they good. And it went on for hours!

These storms are some of the best I’ve seen in this country. Proper tropical style. They covered quite a wide area but didn’t affect east of about Swindon. Another case of date repetition - had storms on that date in 2016 and 1999. 

The mid July ones were equally good from a lightning point of view but less wet.

[Weather-history]

I prefer springs with great variety such as 1995.

Homogeneous springs I find the worst. 2014 was a borefest, 1996 was rank, too many chilly cloudy days.

May 1997 was one of the best spring months for such variety:- early summer warmth, late winter cold, thunderstorms, good convective weather,  long sunny periods at times.

[Azazel]

Spring 2020 was ace

 

Spring 2021 was awful. Freezing in April and dank and cold and May - first time in my life I ever recall seeing the leaves turning and fungus growth before we’d even had summer, let alone autumn!

[SummerShower]

17 minutes ago, Azazel said:

Spring 2020 was ace

 

Spring 2021 was awful. Freezing in April and dank and cold and May - first time in my life I ever recall seeing the leaves turning and fungus growth before we’d even had summer, let alone autumn!

Agreed.. 2020 was the best spring.  Would happily take this spring again, minus what else was going on at the time.  Businesses focused on outdoor activities would have had a bumper season had it not been for covid.

Spring 2021 had a forgettable march (cannot remember it at all apart from the 30th).  April, it was sunny but not as much as 2012 was, and of course cold, and the May was abysmal, save the last 2 days

The perfect spring would be something like March 2003, April2011 or 2020 and May 1992, 18 or 20 together 

[Sun Chaser]

3 hours ago, Azazel said:

Spring 2020 was ace

 

Spring 2021 was awful. Freezing in April and dank and cold and May - first time in my life I ever recall seeing the leaves turning and fungus growth before we’d even had summer, let alone autumn!

I think I enjoyed spring 21 more than most... I appreciated the dryness of March and April even if the first half of April was cold, as we had decent temps and lots of sunshine by late April. The unseasonably warm 30-31 March spell was amazing as well. I do agree May was absolutely dismal but we were rewarded with a lovely spell of weather starting on the afternoon of 26 May.

So overall 4 weeks I enjoyed, 4 weeks I didn't enjoy, and about 5 weeks in between. Not my favourite spring but there have been worse and at least it had some good variety.

[Snowyowl9]

Spring 1987 you d have best of both worlds very cold march and very warm april..

Late march gave a nasty storm which I maybe confusing with the late march storm of 1986..

[Dreckly]

Not sure I can remember mine but a song popped into my head. Please excuse my self indulgence.

Verse 1
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on springs
Bright copper kettles and warm woolly things
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favourite springs 

Chorus 
Springs of my childhood that I still recall
Springs of my life that fill me with awe
These are the springs I treasure most of all
Favourite springs, favourite springs 

Verse 2
Crisp apples and honey and a bowl of stew
Sparkling fireplaces and kites that flew
Apple tarts and stripes of red, white, and blue
These are a few of my favourite springs 

Chorus 
Springs of my childhood that I still recall
Springs of my life that fill me with awe
These are the springs I treasure most of all
Favourite springs, favourite springs 

Bridge 
When the skies turn grey and the days aren't bright 
I simply remember my favourite springs and all their delight 

Chorus 
Springs of my childhood that I still recall
Springs of my life that fill me with awe
These are the springs I treasure most of all
Favourite springs, favourite springs

[damianslaw]

On 16/03/2023 at 12:57, *Stormforce~beka* said:

2020 was the best by far. Absolutely amazing! Want that again please!

The weather was great, but no I wouldn't want a repeat of 2020 at all for the reasons associated with the virus.

I struggle with Spring, it is a very transitional season, and can flip from one extreme to another and rarely settles into a groove. 2018 probably the most contrasting Spring experienced in a long while, the bitter cold early and mid March - a slow transition to warmth before a marked turn around from the 18/19 April - with a glorious May.

2013 probably worse spring in a long time, consistently cold/cool, not warmth at all, often unsettled - miserable.

For warmth - 2003 was notable.

 

7 hours ago, Snowyowl9 said:

Spring 1987 you d have best of both worlds very cold march and very warm april..

Late march gave a nasty storm which I maybe confusing with the late march storm of 1986..

A switcharound pair of months, 2012 did the same but the other way round, March warmth and dry, April cold and wet. 

[damianslaw]

On 18/03/2023 at 08:13, Weather-history said:

I prefer springs with great variety such as 1995.

Homogeneous springs I find the worst. 2014 was a borefest, 1996 was rank, too many chilly cloudy days.

May 1997 was one of the best spring months for such variety:- early summer warmth, late winter cold, thunderstorms, good convective weather,  long sunny periods at times.

Yes 1995 was highly variable and interesting, cold and snowy at times, proper heat and sunshine at other times - it marked the start of a 2 year period when the atlantic bowed down to continental and arctic forces.

Edited March 19, 2023 by damianslaw