Best to Worst years in the 1990's

[SqueakheartLW]

As I have spotted a "Best to Worst years in the 1980's" thread here recently and have no real memories of the decade since I was born in the mid part of this decade I thought I would feature the main decade of my childhood, the 1990's

Mildness was unfortunately a common theme of the winters in this decade and as a snow loving child it wasn't the best decade to grow up in. The summers were generally a mix and provided at least more variety than the winters did.

Overall ranking for me would put 1995 at the top due to the decent summer and the cold December and I'd probably put 1993 at the bottom with 1998 2nd to bottom due to poor summers in both years and little if any wintry weather in 1998 or early 1993.

Ranking the years by winters and summers

Winters

If I take the same years and rank them by the winters, meaning 1989/90 through to 1998/99 so encompassing the bigger part of both winters 1989/90 and 1998/99 in the correct decade for simplification sees the order chance somewhat compared with the overall rating.

1st     1995/96     1995 and 1996 still rank highly here and this is thanks to the best winter of the 1990's for cold and snow with winter 1995/96. The only let down was January 1996 with that 3 weeks of mild dull dross, otherwise the best winter of the decade.

2nd    1996/97     A close call between 1996/97 and 1990/91 but as I have better memories of the cold and snowy period at the end of December 1996 into January 1997 it squeezed into 2nd position.

3rd     1990/91    Similar level to 1996/97 really but as the cold was mostly focused on a few days in February 1991 then 1996/97 just edged it for me over this year that I have less memories of anyway.

4th     1993/94     Probably after the 3 winters above 1993/94 was probably the most snowy of the remaining winters and just edges it over 1998/99 due to less mild winter overall compared with 1998/99

5th     1998/99     Unusual for me to rank one of the mildest winters of the 1990's so high up the list but this is due to the fact that it had several colder snaps that pretty much delivered snow for me on every single one of them. The longer mild dross periods between the cold snaps were what dragged this winter down to 5th position however.

6th     1994/95     Another mild dross winter that ranks a bit higher than expected for a cold snow lover and this is due to the frosty weather in December 1994 as well as the 25th January 1995 snow event.

7th     1991/92     Just a total bore fest of a winter really but still ranked higher than 1992/93, 1989/90 and 1997/98 due to less mild weather overall compared with the other 3.

8th     1992/93     The least bad of the remaining winters was 1992/93 and this is because it was the least mild of these 3 poor mild wet winters.

9th     1989/90     Didn't know whether to put 1989/90 here or 1997/98 but as my memories of 1997/98 winter were so bad it meant 1989/90 ranked above it even though this was equally as horrific for cold lovers.

10th   1997/98     That super Nino and the dreaded mild winter to me was the worst winter I can remember of the 1990's. Even the brief cold snap in December and the even more brief one in January couldn't save this one from bottom spot.

Although I didn't include winter 1999/00 as the bulk of it was in the 2000's so therefore a 2000's winter for me it would have ranked low down the list too as the only "good" bit of that winter to me was between 13th and 21st December 1999, the rest of it was poor with mild dross the main theme.

Summers

Much easier to rank the summers by specific years as they don't span 2 years.

1st       1995     Hands down the best summer of the decade for that warm/hot and dry weather that dominated. The lack of thunderstorms was the main let down but wasn't enough to drag this summer down from top spot.

2nd      1994     A classic heat, thunderstorms and reload summer this one was. Remember several episodes like this with a plume, followed by storms then a cooldown before it began again. Miss summers like this now.

3rd       1996     I remember this summer being half decent too with a few thundery episodes but a little less good than 1994 was so ranked below it as a result.

4th       1997     This summer would have ranked higher than 4th if it were not for that shocking wet June. July's dry weather and  August 1997's humid thundery weather helped to pull this summer back up to 4th.

5th       1990     The decent August heat as well as generally good weather saw this summer come 5th overall but ranked below the others due to less memory of this summer as well as less thundery activity than 3 of the above.

6th       1999     Overall a mixed summer with cool wet weather, dry weather and a couple of thundery episodes as well. Very much a bog standard summer and nothing particularly stood out so a mid rating of 6th was all it deserved really.

7th       1991     Don't remember anything specific about summers 1991 or 1992 but I had to put them somewhere and as they appeared on the record to be less bad than both 1998 and 1993 they simply occupied 7th and 8th positions. Not much to choose between them but 1991 looked to be marginally better so took 7th ahead of 1992

8th       1992     See 7th placed summer 1991's description.

9th       1998     A toss up between 1993 and 1998 here as both were shockingly bad summers and easily the two worst ones of the 1990's. As 1998 had a better August than 1993 and overall summer 1998 was less cold than 1993 then it squeezed ahead of it.

10th     1993     What a stinker of a summer this one was, cold and wet was the main theme and there were very few warm and dry spells within it. To me this was the worst summer of the 1990's

Overall ranking of years

I have used a points system here based on where I ranked the summer as well as the previous and following winter to rank the years overall. Summers take double points to remove the bias of using the winters either side of the year. The summers are ranked from 1st taking 20 points down to 10th taking just 2 points. The previous and following winters use the same system except 1st takes 10 points down to 10th taking just 1 point. The following is the result I came up with.

Position          YEAR          OVERALL SCORE          Summer (Score x2)          Winter (Previous)          Winter (Following)

1st                   1995          35                                    20                                      5                                       10

2nd                  1996         35                                    16                                       10                                     9

3rd                   1994         30                                    18                                       7                                       5

4th                   1997         24                                     14                                      9                                       1

5th                   1990         22                                     12                                      2                                       8

6th                   1991         20                                     8                                        8                                       4

7th                   1999         18                                     10                                      6                                       2

8th                   1992         13                                     6                                        4                                       3

9th                   1993          12                                    2                                        3                                       7

10th                 1998          11                                    4                                        1                                       6                           

Looking at my ranking system it does roughly tie in with my thoughts that 1995 and 1996 were overall the best years of the 1990's for me weather wise with 1994 getting a decent 3rd position overall.

1997 could have ranked higher if there wasn't to be a shocker of a winter to end the year, similar with 1990 with that shocker 1989/90 winter that started it off that dragged 1990 down a bit.

1991 ranked a bit higher than I thought it might, maybe due to the quite good 1990/91 winter that started the year and this same winter also pulled 1990 up a little bit too.

No real surprise to see 1993 and 1998 at the bottom of the list however as overall the worst years of the 1990's. 1993 only got above 1998 as 1993 actually had not that bad a winter at the end of the year whilst 1998 was bookended by milder winters with that poor summer too so no surprise 1998 came out last.

Edited May 14, 2023 by SqueakheartLW

[B87]

1990 - warm, sunny and dry almost the entire year

1995 - as above

1997 - very mild, warm/hot from mid summer into autumn

1994 - a hot summer but a poor spring abd very poor September. Good November.

1999 - probably the most average year of the 90s. Fairly typical all year.

1996 - exceptionally cold Jan-May, average but sunny summer, sunny but cold Nov/Dec.

1998 - Feb, May and Aug were good. Cold April and autumn.

1992 - meh, great May. A very dull year.

1991 - generally cool and dull, July-September the only redeeming factor

1993 - very poor throughout

 

[Sunny76]

I’ll come back in a few days time for a broader review, but so far from my memory I would rank it like this.

1/ 1994 - winter 93/94 had some cold snowy spells, decent snowfall in mid February 94.

Hot summer weather in June and July, with plenty of thunderstorms in between the hot sunny days.

Only downside was the mild winter of 94/95, which lets it down.

10/ Definitely 1998 was my least favourite. A poor summer sandwiched between two very mild snowless winters.

[damianslaw]

Overall probably 1998 worse year, little redeeming features, a fine spell mid May only highlight. Very mild winter, Dec 98 also, a poor summer.

1995 hands down best year, even though Jan and Feb was very wet there was some snow. An interesting Spring warm and cold, excellent summer, varied Autumn, snowy cold Dec.

Enjoyed 1996 as well.

[Sunny76]

Best years would be:

1995, 90 and 94 for summers.

1991, 93/94 and 95/96for winters.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

im going to go out on a limb here and say 1995 was the best year bar none in my entire lifetime 

[A Face like Thunder]

Best year - 1995 definitely. A great summer followed by a very cold late December and of course the heavy snowfall at Blackpool in Feb 1996.

Worst year - happy to accept the 1998 opinions on this thread. The previous year, 1997, when I was in Lancaster, also comes to mind. I was abroad for most of late 1993 and early 1994, so have no recollections of these two periods. 

[damianslaw]

5 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

im going to go out on a limb here and say 1995 was the best year bar none in my entire lifetime 

Swap Jan and Feb 95 for Jan 96 and Feb 96 and I'd agree. March 95 to Feb 96 best 12 months.

[danm]

From a Summer perspective, 1995 is clearly the runaway winner. 1998 is the clear loser. 

From an an overall, entire Winter season point of view, it would be 1995/96. The best Winter event of the 90's for the SE was Feb 1991. The worst Winter would probably be 1998/99. 1997/98 was also quite poor. 

[Sunny76]

40 minutes ago, danm said:

From a Summer perspective, 1995 is clearly the runaway winner. 1998 is the clear loser. 

From an an overall, entire Winter season point of view, it would be 1995/96. The best Winter event of the 90's for the SE was Feb 1991. The worst Winter would probably be 1998/99. 1997/98 was also quite poor. 

Nothing beats February 1991 in my opinion, and 93/94 was fairly decent.

95/96 and 96/97 were rather disappointing for snow in the SE. 

[B87]

I'm surprised that 1990 isn't getting much love but 1994 is. Summer 1990 was almost as hot as 1995, and warmer, sunnier and drier than 1994.

[Sunny76]

37 minutes ago, B87 said:

I'm surprised that 1990 isn't getting much love but 1994 is. Summer 1990 was almost as hot as 1995, and warmer, sunnier and drier than 1994.

I’m not knocking it, and I feel it was just as good as 1989, apart from the coolish early to mid June, but May was hot and sunny that year and most of July and august was warm or hot.

It’s possibly better than 94 because it had a better august, but September was cool and dull if I remember. The shift to colder weather really started to take place towards the end of August, but that doesn’t mean it should rank much lower.

Summer 90 was much better than 91,92,93,96,97 and 99, and only matched by 94 because of the hot July, and bettered by 95.

[cheeky_monkey]

49 minutes ago, B87 said:

I'm surprised that 1990 isn't getting much love but 1994 is. Summer 1990 was almost as hot as 1995, and warmer, sunnier and drier than 1994.

possibly because that record breaking hot spell at the beginning of August 1990 was usurped by Aug 2003 and then overtaken by recent summer hot spells also..i cant split 1990 & 1994 both were world cup years and Italia 1990 definitely made summer 1990 special so gets the edge over 1994

[Sunny76]

32 minutes ago, cheeky_monkey said:

possibly because that record breaking hot spell at the beginning of August 1990 was usurped by Aug 2003 and then overtaken by recent summer hot spells also..i cant split 1990 & 1994 both were world cup years and Italia 1990 definitely made summer 1990 special so gets the edge over 1994

I preferred the USA World Cup, despite England not featuring.

Brazil were enjoyable to watch and were pretty much unstoppable until they faced Italy in the stalemate final.

Plus, we had better thunderstorms in summer 94 in between the hot periods.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Sunny76

[Summer8906]

Only just seen this.

I think 1995 has to be the winner by a country mile, with a fine spring, a notably warm and sunny summer, a notably warm, sunny October, and a cold and, for some, snowy December.

January, February, September and November weren't so good, but the rest of the months ranged from somewhat above average to outstanding.

Worst year I think has to be 1998 with its mild winter, cool summer and persistent wetness. One thing I distinctly remember was that almost every month was unsettled to a greater or lesser extent, the exceptions coming in three-month intervals: Feb (mild but very dry and sunny); May (mostly warm and sunny); August (mostly warm and sunny, in fact better than any August from 2006-21 inclusive) and November (started mild and wet but long cold and dry spell set in before mid month).

Second place would be 1990, and third 1996. The former was not unlike 1995 in terms of profile, with persistent fine weather from March to September, though June was an exception being very dull, and wet towards the end. Jan and Feb were even worse than 1995, October was mixed (fine and warm becoming dull and wet), November was I think mostly fairly settled, and December cold and dry becoming mild and wet, so not quite as good as December 1995.

1996 was perhaps the most continental year I've experienced, with often cold weather from Jan 20th to end of March, a warm sunny June, and mostly warm and fine remainder of the summer albeit with a few wet spells. September was fine and sunny, November rather wet but cold and sunny with a NW-ly type and December was another cold one with some snow towards the end of the month.

I think I'd probably rank them in this order. Most of the years, even the lower ones, were acceptable, certainly away from the winter months.

1. 1995

2. 1990

3. 1996

4. 1997 - a lot of fine and often warm weather for much of the year, though June was terrible. Feb, Nov and Dec were poor but the remaining months generally fine.

5. 1991 - another year with something of a continental tendency, with a cold second half of Jan and first half of Feb including a notably cold and snowy spell in the second week of Feb. Mixed spring; very poor June but warm July and very warm and sunny August. Mixed autumn, then notably frosty and often sunny December.

6. 1999 - so-so summer with average June and wet, humid August balanced by notably warm and sunny July. But a good deal of reasonably fine weather for much of the rest of the year: mixed spring, and lengthy fine spells in autumn albeit with an extremely wet and dull second half of September.

7. 1994 - despite the warm summer this is fairly low down the list, as much of the rest of the year was very poor. Dull, wet and stormy Jan; brief cold snowy spell in Feb but mostly dull and wet; mild and damp March; cool and changeable April; cold dull May; changeable August-September and, following a fine first half of October mostly Atlantic-driven to close the year.

8. 1992 - a generally good first half (except March and April) balanced by an often poor second half. Interesting blocked October, though, with a dominance of northerlies more typical of spring, and September despite being not great was also synoptically interesting at times with some E-W moving lows.

9. 1993 - a rather changeable year and mixed, so-so summer. Nonetheless synoptically interesting at times, with repeated thundery lows in late spring, and some cold dry weather in October and November. Fine Feb, March, June and second half of both August and October.

[big gap]

10. 1998.

To be honest I don't think any of the years were real stinkers, though I'd say 1998 was by far the worst.

Main thing about the 1990s was how the really bad weather concentrated itself in the late autumn and winter, particularly from mid-Oct through to Jan or Feb.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 15/05/2023 at 20:48, damianslaw said:

Swap Jan and Feb 95 for Jan 96 and Feb 96 and I'd agree. March 95 to Feb 96 best 12 months.

A very good point. Probably agree than 1995 was the top weather year of all the ones I have memories of (1978-, and more clearly 1980-). Perhaps 1990 in 2nd place and 1989 in 3rd.

I've said before that you could make a near-perfect year by taking 1995 but swapping Jan, Feb, Sep and Nov with the equivalent months in 1985. Cold winters at both end, and long, fine, warm period stretching from March to October.

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 16/05/2023 at 20:39, Sunny76 said:

I’m not knocking it, and I feel it was just as good as 1989, apart from the coolish early to mid June, but May was hot and sunny that year and most of July and august was warm or hot.

It’s possibly better than 94 because it had a better august, but September was cool and dull if I remember. The shift to colder weather really started to take place towards the end of August, but that doesn’t mean it should rank much lower.

I seem to remember September being mostly fine and sunny, if not spectacularly so, though it could have been one of those months with a lot of regional variation. There was a wet spell near the end and a brief N-ly outbreak mid-month. It seemed to be, rather like 1989, a year with a never-ending summer, which only really come to an end in mid-October.

The July-August 1990 warm spell was quite something else where I was, in NE Hampshire. It was, IIRC, literally sunny day after sunny day from about July 10th right through to mid-August. If I remember right, the switch was straight after the World Cup finished. I remember one day near the end of July, a Monday I think (so either the 23rd or the 30th, probably the latter) actually featuring significant cloud and thinking how unusual it was. The second half of August was more changeable but still with a bias towards fine and warm.

I wonder also if 1990 isn't getting as many high ratings as it's the furthest-back year and may not be as well-remembered by some? For example if asked to rate the 70s I could only really directly comment on 1978 and 1979, and would have to leave the rest to second-hand information.

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

On 14/05/2023 at 20:38, SqueakheartLW said:

9th     1989/90     Didn't know whether to put 1989/90 here or 1997/98 but as my memories of 1997/98 winter were so bad it meant 1989/90 ranked above it even though this was equally as horrific for cold lovers.

10th   1997/98     That super Nino and the dreaded mild winter to me was the worst winter I can remember of the 1990's. Even the brief cold snap in December and the even more brief one in January couldn't save this one from bottom spot.

I'd swap these round in the sense that 1989/90 was consistently mild, dull and often damp from about Dec 12th until the end of the winter, whereas the second half of 1997/98 starting from Jan 19th was very dry and often sunny. Also the final two weeks of Jan were generally cold.

In fact I'd probably put 1993/4 and 1994/5 as worse than 1997/8 due to prolonged dull, wet weather in both cases - the brief cold spell in Feb wasn't enough to prevent 1993/4 being a very difficult winter.

Winters-wise I'd say:

1. 1995/6

2. 1990/1

3. 1996/7 - poor Feb but rest good

4. 1991/2 - persistently dry and fine, often frosty, if slightly milder than average overall

5. 1992/3 - mild and pretty average rainfall-wise

6. 1997/8 - not as terrible as it could be due to very dry second half and cold second half of Jan.

7. 1998/9 - thinking about it this one was worse than 1996/7 as it was pretty much constantly changeable, if never terrible

8. 1994/5

9. 1989/90. Saved from bottom place by a fairly dry period from Christmas to about Jan 20, if extremely and unseasonably mild and mostly dull.

10. 1993/4. A surprising choice perhaps but the short cold spell in Feb did little to counteract the horrendously wet conditions of the rest of the winter, which continued almost without a break

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by Summer8906

[philglossop]

Well it's goes without saying summer of 1995 was the best. It was my personal 1976, first car, mates, clubbing etc. Fantastic summer. 

1990 was reasonable but that heat spike in early August is memorable- not least that it tied in with Iraq invading Kuwait and it was blisteringly hot- in fact that heat was only beaten last summer here in Devon.

 

Worst well the winter of 1998 was pretty awful as was Jan/Feb 1994 although we did get some snow here mid Feb from memory.