What would your ideal year look like?

[SunSean]

Since the weather is a bit boring at the minute, thought I would ask this-

Using the years 2011-2022, if you had to pick just one month from each year to create a year that would be perfect for your preference, what would you go for?

Only one month from each of those 12 years can be picked!

For me-

January 2017- Would have gone for 2022 but this still had a nice sunny period in the middle.

February 2019- Brilliant sunshine levels and Spring like warmth.

March 2012- Excellent 2nd half to the month with unbroken sunshine! 2014, 2020 and 2022 also up there.

April 2020- Constantly sunny! 2011, 2015 and 2021 all not far off being picked either.

May 2018- An amazing month only bettered by 2020 but I had already used 2020 for April.

June 2014- Decent overall with respectable warmth and sun. 2017, 2018 & 2022 could also have been picked.

July 2013- Was either this or 2018 but since June was pretty much the only great month of 2013, it had to be that one!

August 2022- Best August since 2003.

September 2016- Although there were better or sunnier ones like 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020, there wasn't much choice from 2016 and this September had lots of warmth!

October 2011- Crazy heat at the beginning and good overall. Other options were 2018 and 2022.

November 2021- Alpine like clear crisp skies.

December 2015- Didn't enjoy the dullness but with not much choice from 2015 other than April, June & September, I chose this due to the unique mildness!

 

[Sunny76]

If we are talking 2011(shame 2010 was ruled out, but fair dos) It would be as follows.

January 2013 - cold with some snow.

February  2018 - BFTE, cold and snowy.

March 2012/17 - this is my kind of spring. Lovely sunny warm periods, to following a cold January and February.

April 2020 - just heavenly

May 2018/2020 for the sunshine levels and storms in late May for 2018.

June 2018 - hot and sunny at times.

July 2013/18/22 - the best Julys from the 2011- present period, also July 2014 in with a shout.

August 2022 - for the long sunny hot periods that have been so absent from many recent Augusts. 

September 2016 warm and hot weather in the first half of the month. Lovely extension of summer, and some storms on a weekday after the very hot 34c day so late in the year.

October 2018 - lovely and sunny, and still some warm periods.

November 2016/17 dry and cold with lots of frosts.

December 2022- cold and frosty with lots of sunshine, very cold at times, only letdown by the mild breakdown around the festive period, but it wasn’t enough to spoil the earlier cold spell. However the cold spell itself was a bit too much at times. 

Oh sorry, I didn’t realise. Christ, there’s no way I’m selecting some of those years.

2015, and 16 were possibly the most boring for weather in my opinion.

[cheeky_monkey]

40 minutes ago, SunSean said:

Since the weather is a bit boring at the minute, thought I would ask this-

Using the years 2011-2022, if you had to pick just one month from each year to create a year that would be perfect for your preference, what would you go for?

 

 

I was only in the UK from May 2014 - Dec 2016

each year was garbage so i moved back to Canada 

[SunSean]

1 hour ago, Sunny76 said:

If we are talking 2011(shame 2010 was ruled out, but fair dos) It would be as follows.

January 2013 - cold with some snow.

February  2018 - BFTE, cold and snowy.

March 2012/17 - this is my kind of spring. Lovely sunny warm periods, to following a cold January and February.

April 2020 - just heavenly

May 2018/2020 for the sunshine levels and storms in late May for 2018.

June 2018 - hot and sunny at times.

July 2013/18/22 - the best Julys from the 2011- present period, also July 2014 in with a shout.

August 2022 - for the long sunny hot periods that have been so absent from many recent Augusts. 

September 2016 warm and hot weather in the first half of the month. Lovely extension of summer, and some storms on a weekday after the very hot 34c day so late in the year.

October 2018 - lovely and sunny, and still some warm periods.

November 2016/17 dry and cold with lots of frosts.

December 2022- cold and frosty with lots of sunshine, very cold at times, only letdown by the mild breakdown around the festive period, but it wasn’t enough to spoil the earlier cold spell. However the cold spell itself was a bit too much at times. 

Oh sorry, I didn’t realise. Christ, there’s no way I’m selecting some of those years.

2015, and 16 were possibly the most boring for weather in my opinion.

Yeah, that's part of the challenge, only being able to select one per year haha.

[B87]

January 2014: 10.0c/3.8c

February 2019: 12.4c/3.3c

March 2012: 14.1/4.4c

April 2011: 19.7c/8.6c

May 2020: 21.1c/9.1c

June 2017: 24.0c/13.9c

July 2013: 27.0c/15.2c

August 2022: 27.0c/15.9c

September 2016: 22.4c/13.7c

October 2021 : 16.9c/9.7c

November 2018: 12.2c/5.8c

December 2015: 13.7c/8.9c

Some months are only there because the year had already been used elsewhere, October for example. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by B87

[Methuselah]

Okay, I'll bite:

January 1985, lots of snow; February 1947, lots of snow; March 1965, lots of snow; April 1968, lots of snow; May 1982, thunderstorms; June 1975, July 1983, thunderstorms; August 1995; September 1968, thunderstorms; October 1976, it rained; November 1965, lots of snow; and December 2010, lots of snow. 

[B87]

A very warm and sunny year, with near normal precipitation.

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, SunSean said:

Yeah, that's part of the challenge, only being able to select one per year haha.

No, not playing mate. There’s a few years since 2011 that are absolute pants. 2015, 16 and 19 were borefest years for me. 

1 hour ago, Methuselah said:

Okay, I'll bite:

January 1985, lots of snow; February 1947, lots of snow; March 1965, lots of snow; April 1968, lots of snow; May 1982, thunderstorms; June 1975, July 1983, thunderstorms; August 1995; September 1968, thunderstorms; October 1976, it rained; November 1965, lots of snow; and December 2010, lots of snow. 

Hang on sunshine! It’s supposed to be post 2010 years only.

1 hour ago, B87 said:

A very warm and sunny year, with near normal precipitation.

Which website is that? 

[B87]

8 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Which website is that? 

It's a Wikipedia weather box. I created it manually using the data from my ideal months.

[summer blizzard]

Jan 10

Feb 18

March 12

April 11

May 18

June 18

July 11

August 14

Sep 15

Oct 12

Nov 10

Dec 10

 

Spring/Summer during March-June. Autumn July-October. Winter November-February.

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by summer blizzard

[Sunny76]

50 minutes ago, B87 said:

It's a Wikipedia weather box. I created it manually using the data from my ideal months.

I would like to see the daily temps for the 80s and 90s.

[SunSean]

35 minutes ago, summer blizzard said:

Jan 10

Feb 18

March 12

April 11

May 18

June 18

July 11

August 14

Sep 15

Oct 12

Nov 10

Dec 10

 

Spring/Summer during March-June. Autumn July-October. Winter November-February.

 

Meant to be just from the last 12 full years- 2011-2022 and one per year. Nonetheless, other than July, that would be a pretty good year for all sides with a Spring to rival 2020!

[BlueHedgehog074]

An ideal year:

January 2013 (Good snowy period in the middle. One of the snowiest I’ve witnessed. January 2010 comes very close)

February 2021 (had a fairly good Easterly spell near the beginning, albeit mostly bringing just a few snow showers. Think it became rather mild past mid-month. Fairly good mixture of weather).  

March 2013 (good snowy periods, although lacking a bit in sunny weather).

April 2020 (Generally quite sunny with some very mild/warm spells at times (from what I remember).

May 2022 (some quite decent sunny periods as well as the odd heavy downpour or two to spice things up a bit. May 2020 and/or 2018 would be other ones - latter I think good for thunder late into the month). 

June 2020 (rather thundery around mid-month - a particularly decent storm on June 16th between 7 - 8pm - but there seemed to be some fairly decent warm and sunnier periods here too). 

July 2018 (a lot of sunshine and very warm too. Perhaps a smidge hot at times but definitely one of my favourite in terms of sunny and settled weather. A slightly more thundery version of it would make it the absolutely definitive mid-Summer month). 

August 2022 (one of the best in terms of sunny and warm/hot weather since August 2003. Maybe a bit more in the way of thunder would again, like July 2018, truly make it the very ideal of a late-Summer month. In that case, August 2020 could have also qualified for this; it was very thundery around mid-month, even though it was a little bit too much on the unsettled side for my liking). 

September 2011 (a good deal of warm weather, still felt like Summer at times). 

October 2011/2012 blend (if it counts, October 2011 for the first part due to that incredibly warm spell at the beginning here - felt like Summer didn’t want to step down to Autumn. Then, October 2012 for the second part due to a pretty potent Northerly towards the end. Secretly, though, would have chosen October 2008 for the second half due to the heavy rain, sleet and snow on the 28th delivering a 1cm or 2 covering. London had also gotten in on the act). 

November 2011 (while it was pretty unsettled and wet at the beginning, the last part being impressive for the cold and snow it unleashed, even though, locally, the amount of snow wildly varied. Amazing spell of weather though for late-November). 

December 2022 (While the mild, unsettled, spell personally let it down a bit towards the end, that cold spell around early to mid-December was nice enough. The bit of snow that occurred lasted for a good while. Lots of sparkly frost and sunny periods, too, accompanying that spell. Quite the Winter wonderland!).

There probably would be further other months from the last 12 years that would have made it to the ideal year charts (some months struggle to remember what they were like), but the above is broadly what it would look like. 

[SunSean]

23 minutes ago, DiagonalRedLine said:

An ideal year:

January 2013 (Good snowy period in the middle. One of the snowiest I’ve witnessed. January 2010 comes very close)

February 2021 (had a fairly good Easterly spell near the beginning, albeit mostly bringing just a few snow showers. Think it became rather mild past mid-month. Fairly good mixture of weather).  

March 2013 (good snowy periods, although lacking a bit in sunny weather).

April 2020 (Generally quite sunny with some very mild/warm spells at times (from what I remember).

May 2022 (some quite decent sunny periods as well as the odd heavy downpour or two to spice things up a bit. May 2020 and/or 2018 would be other ones - latter I think good for thunder late into the month). 

June 2020 (rather thundery around mid-month - a particularly decent storm on June 16th between 7 - 8pm - but there seemed to be some fairly decent warm and sunnier periods here too). 

July 2018 (a lot of sunshine and very warm too. Perhaps a smidge hot at times but definitely one of my favourite in terms of sunny and settled weather. A slightly more thundery version of it would make it the absolutely definitive mid-Summer month). 

August 2022 (one of the best in terms of sunny and warm/hot weather since August 2003. Maybe a bit more in the way of thunder would again, like July 2018, truly make it the very ideal of a late-Summer month. In that case, August 2020 could have also qualified for this; it was very thundery around mid-month, even though it was a little bit too much on the unsettled side for my liking). 

September 2011 (a good deal of warm weather, still felt like Summer at times). 

October 2011/2012 blend (if it counts, October 2011 for the first part due to that incredibly warm spell at the beginning here - felt like Summer didn’t want to step down to Autumn. Then, October 2012 for the second part due to a pretty potent Northerly towards the end. Secretly, though, would have chosen October 2008 for the second half due to the heavy rain, sleet and snow on the 28th delivering a 1cm or 2 covering. London had also gotten in on the act). 

November 2011 (while it was pretty unsettled and wet at the beginning, the last part being impressive for the cold and snow it unleashed, even though, locally, the amount of snow wildly varied. Amazing spell of weather though for late-November). 

December 2022 (While the mild, unsettled, spell personally let it down a bit towards the end, that cold spell around early to mid-December was nice enough. The bit of snow that occurred lasted for a good while. Lots of sparkly frost and sunny periods, too, accompanying that spell. Quite the Winter wonderland!).

There probably would be further other months from the last 12 years that would have made it to the ideal year charts (some months struggle to remember what they were like), but the above is broadly what it would look like. 

Yeah, pretty good year overall too but you used the same year twice for a few of the months haha. For the challenge, you can only pick one month from each of those 12 years, so you'd even have to use years that weren't so good weather wise.

[sunny_vale]

I was thinking about something kind of similar to this actually, watch this space . . .

January: 2013, was a great snow event and generally cold month. Perfect way to round off those glory day winters of my earlier years. 

February: 2019, started off with some snow and then progressed into spring with temperatures in the 20s. 

March: 2012, remember thinking how shocked I was that March could produce such consistently warm and sunny weather.

April: 2011, 2020 was great but I think as it's more recent and got many through the days of lockdown it stands out more. But April 2011 was truly a summer month I would happily swap with many Julys. 

May: 2020, that constant sun and warmth is something I can only dream of right now!

June: 2017, I would have probably picked 2018 but here the heatwave at the end of the month was more impressive temperature wise and 2018 takes the stand elsewhere.

July: 2018, 2022 would have done it for me for the record breaking temperature, but again 2022 takes the stand elsewhere. Also July 2018 was more consistent with it's warmth and sun I think rather than heat spikey?

August: 2022, absolutely glorious month from start to finish. 

September: 2016, this month helped to make up for the poor start to that summer. The true definition of a 'late summer' after a great August that year too. 

October: 2021, certainly not my favourite October but all the other years have been taken and 2021 was alright. 

November: 2014, at this point of the year I'm not looking for any particular type of weather - it'll all do. 2014 did provide a bit of everything and I don't have much choice from the remaining years 

December: 2015, the only year remaining and although I do prefer a cold, frosty and snowy Christmas period, it was a record breaker and didn't have to layer up going out too much which is always nice. I would have chosen 2022 . . . 

[SunSean]

2 minutes ago, sunny_vale said:

I was thinking about something kind of similar to this actually, watch this space . . .

January: 2013, was a great snow event and generally cold month. Perfect way to round off those glory day winters of my earlier years. 

February: 2019, started off with some snow and then progressed into spring with temperatures in the 20s. 

March: 2012, remember thinking how shocked I was that March could produce such consistently warm and sunny weather.

April: 2011, 2020 was great but I think as it's more recent and got many through the days of lockdown it stands out more. But April 2011 was truly a summer month I would happily swap with many Julys. 

May: 2020, that constant sun and warmth is something I can only dream of right now!

June: 2017, I would have probably picked 2018 but here the heatwave at the end of the month was more impressive temperature wise and 2018 takes the stand elsewhere.

July: 2018, 2022 would have done it for me for the record breaking temperature, but again 2022 takes the stand elsewhere. Also July 2018 was more consistent with it's warmth and sun I think rather than heat spikey?

August: 2022, absolutely glorious month from start to finish. 

September: 2016, this month helped to make up for the poor start to that summer. The true definition of a 'late summer' after a great August that year too. 

October: 2021, certainly not my favourite October but all the other years have been taken and 2021 was alright. 

November: 2014, at this point of the year I'm not looking for any particular type of weather - it'll all do. 2014 did provide a bit of everything and I don't have much choice from the remaining years 

December: 2015, the only year remaining and although I do prefer a cold, frosty and snowy Christmas period, it was a record breaker and didn't have to layer up going out too much which is always nice. I would have chosen 2022 . . . 

Yeah I was going to use 2011 for April but saved it for October. I'm gutted I missed out on experiencing April 2011 since I never cared about weather or sunshine back then and spent most of it indoors! If only I could turn back time lol.

[sunny_vale]

1 minute ago, SunSean said:

Yeah I was going to use 2011 for April but saved it for October. I'm gutted I missed out on experiencing April 2011 since I never cared about weather or sunshine back then and spent most of it indoors! If only I could turn back time lol.

It really was something else. Beating that feels impossible, but you never know in this climate . . .

[Summer8906]

6 hours ago, SunSean said:

Since the weather is a bit boring at the minute, thought I would ask this-

Using the years 2011-2022, if you had to pick just one month from each year to create a year that would be perfect for your preference, what would you go for?

Only one month from each of those 12 years can be picked!

I presume the cut-off point after 2010 is deliberate, because 2010 had several obvious ones!

Anyway:

(EDIT: Sorry, I just re-read, each year has to be picked. This makes it more difficult and means that compromise is sometimes necessary to avoid being forced into picking a real stinker!)

OK:

January 2013 (rare southern snow)

February 2019 (actually preferred the colder months such as 2013/2018 but if I don't put 2019 here, it has to go in December... no thanks!)

March 2012 (obvious)

April 2015 (originally picked 2017 due to more variety but I want 2017 for November)

May 2020 (I want to forget this horrendous lockdown year but I guess I'll have to put one month in from that year, so may as well pick the obvious one)

June 2018 (was 2014, but I have to use 2014 for December to avoid having to put a horrendous December in)

July 2022, even though I wasn't here. But the other candidates of 2013 and 2018 are already taken so can't use those.

August 2016 (the only option, and one of just four passable Augusts since 2011)

September 2021 (even though I wasn't here for three weeks of it, and it was I believe somewhat on the cloudy side despite being warm. But we've been quite lacking really sunny Septembers of late anyway)

October 2011 (mostly sunny and warm)

November 2017 (unusually sunny for November; an incredible four consecutive sunny Sundays)

December 2014 (mildish but dry and sunny, some frosts and colder spells)

More of a bias towards warm winter months than I would like, but in the case of Feb 2019 it was a sunny warm winter month, but to keep the year free of stinkers I had to make such compromises! (Also, Feb 2019 had that brief southern snow at the start of the month, so Jan and Feb would feature two separate snowy spells and 21C - now that is interesting).

Edited April 26, 2023 by Summer8906

[Weather Enthusiast91]

January - 2021 - had something for everyone, including cold snowy periods.

February - 2019 - not a fan of springlike Februaries, but it was cold during the first half which seems to be rare for Februaries nowadays.

March - 2014 - don't remember much about it to be honest.

April - 2011 - a great month with plenty of sunshine and warm days.

May - 2020 - for the same reason as April 2011.

June - 2018 - a mixed first half and a warm and sunny second half. 

July 2013 - a great summer month, particularly as it came on the back of a 6 year run of poor summers.

August 2022 - summerlike Augusts aren't very common nowadays, much like wintry Februaries. A great month for a change.

September - 2015 - a seasonal and mixed September that actually felt like late summer/early autumn.

October - 2011 - not a fan of summers dragging on into autumn, but the autumn 2011 heatwave was an exceptional event and was a great experience from a weather enthusiast's perspective.

November - 2016 - don't remember much about it apart from the cold and sunny frosty period at the end which I very much enjoyed.

December - 2017 - a decent winter month with snow.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Weather Enthusiast91

[damianslaw]

This is a tricky task, as there are some years such as 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019 with few reedeeming months of note.

Alas: 

January - 2021, a seasonal month, never exceptionally cold, but consistently so with a few light snowfalls.

February - 2017, nothing special but struggling where to put 2017. This im not happy about really but had to be one month struggling with. 

March - 2013 exceptional cold and snowy, a one-off

April - 2011 hands down, exceptionally sunny and warm

May - 2018 superb month

June - 2020, warm and sunny weather held until later on

July - 2014, would have said 2013 but had to give it to March. A sunny warm month.

August - 2022 a rare decent August

September - 2015 this was quite cold but very seasonal

October - 2019, quite seasonal, frosty cold end

November - 2016, cold frosty early snow

December - 2012 decent cold early on, second half poor, but I only have 2012 left.

Edited April 26, 2023 by damianslaw

[B87]

Surprised that nobody else has gone for June 2017 to free up the 2018 slot. It was the warmest June since 1976 here, and sunnier than average.

[SunSean]

24 minutes ago, B87 said:

Surprised that nobody else has gone for June 2017 to free up the 2018 slot. It was the warmest June since 1976 here, and sunnier than average.

Yeah it was a good one for sure, your list is probably better than mine TBF lol.

[BlueHedgehog074]

3 hours ago, SunSean said:

Yeah, pretty good year overall too but you used the same year twice for a few of the months haha. For the challenge, you can only pick one month from each of those 12 years, so you'd even have to use years that weren't so good weather wise.

Ar fair enough. Did the same as Summer 8906 and misread part of your original post

Edited version:

January 2013 (Good snowy period in the middle. One of the snowiest I’ve witnessed. January 2010 comes very close)

February 2021 (had a fairly good Easterly spell near the beginning, albeit mostly bringing just a few snow showers. Think it became rather mild past mid-month. Fairly good mixture of weather).  

Edit: March 2014 (can’t remember much about it, but I think was one of the drier March’s and less cloudier than the likes of 2013, 2018 and 2020 - much as I loved the snowy period in 2013 and partly, 2018. 2014 still being the only other one would go with in relation to other months from others years I’ve chosen for its possible earlier start to Spring-like conditions). 

Edit: April 2019 (Some good variation - a bit like 2017 - and there might have been a storm or 2 later into the month, like in 2017, but can’t fully remember. Didn’t seem too bad overall for some bright, warm, Spring, days. Might have got very warm near the end).

Edit: May 2016 (A fairly reasonable alternative to the likes of 2020 and 2022. Some sunshine at times but a month with some storms and heavy showers). 

June 2020 (rather thundery around mid-month - a particularly decent storm on June 16th between 7 - 8pm - but there seemed to be some fairly decent warm and sunnier periods here too). 

July 2018 (a lot of sunshine and very warm too. Perhaps a smidge hot at times but definitely one of my favourite in terms of sunny and settled weather. A slightly more thundery version of it would make it the absolutely definitive mid-Summer month). 

August 2022 (one of the best in terms of sunny and warm/hot weather since August 2003. Maybe a bit more in the way of thunder would again, like July 2018, truly make it the very ideal of a late-Summer month).

Edit: September 2012 (while there would be others that would have taken its place, I guess it was alright in terms of the fact the weather was varied (some alright levels of sunshine in this part, plus there was a really strong storm which shook up things. It will just about do). 

Edit: October 2015 (it felt very mild and dry. Liked the idea it helped to kinda keep Summer going in some way, even though perhaps not particularly seasonable. While it wouldn’t count, secretly, would have chosen October 2008 for an additional option due to the heavy rain, sleet and snow on the 28th delivering a light covering here. London had also gotten in on the act). 

November 2011 (while it was pretty unsettled and wet at the beginning, the last part being impressive for the cold and snow it unleashed, even though, locally, the amount of snow wildly varied. Amazing spell of weather though for late-November, (edit: although I could be thinking of November 2010, but it’ll do anyway lol). 

Edit: December 2017 (December 2022, while it had a potent cold spell, 2017 brought a pretty big dumping of snow on the 11th and one or 2 other wintry/sleety outbreaks. It passes as a suitable choice because of that). 

Apologies for posting some of these again. Ones with the Edit at the front reflect changes made to those entries so that each month represents a different year chosen. The above for me still making a pretty ideal year. Sure was hard trying to select alternatives but is part of the fun of it I guess.

Edited April 26, 2023 by DiagonalRedLine
Changing April 2017 to 2019

[Sunny76]

3 hours ago, sunny_vale said:

It really was something else. Beating that feels impossible, but you never know in this climate . . .

I miss 2011, despite it being a poor summer. The Spring was lovely, mainly because of the very warm and sunny April and parts of May were fairly warm and sunny in between the cooler wet days.

[SunSean]

1 minute ago, Sunny76 said:

I miss 2011, despite it being a poor summer. The Spring was lovely, mainly because of the very warm and sunny April and parts of May were fairly warm and sunny in between the cooler wet days.

Pretty decent Autumn looking at the stats too, September & October both decent for sunshine and there was that hot period end of Sep into Oct! Looks on paper, similar to 1997- A disappointing or below average summer sandwiched between a great Spring & Autumn.