I became interested in the weather at the age of about three or four, mainly observational based on looking at clouds and changing weather patterns.In 1993, I developed more of a general interest, relating wind directions to their characteristic weather, and also becoming interested in mists, fogs, atmospheric pollution and dust, and the 'fog effects' that rain, hail or snow can cause when falling on somewhere on the horizon.My meteorological interest particularly soared during 1995, a year with more than its fair share of noteworthy weather- a very mild and wet winter, snowfalls from a westerly wind in March, a spring featuring alternation between heatwaves and cold wintry spells, a famous hot summer, an 'Indian summer' in October, and a wintry spell at Christmas.Since then, my interest has tended to focus more on the synoptic side of weather- pressure patterns, wind directions, fronts, airmass setups etc, although I still maintain an observational interest.My 'career' on the Internet began as a member of the BBC Weather message boards, but I soon gravitated to Net-weather during 2003, and have been heavily involved with the forecasting side of the site.Generally speaking, I favour variety in our weather, so my favourite overall weather type is sunshine and showers for that precise reason. Of interesting weather phenomena, I am generally most fascinated by snow events and thunderstorms, finding their effects awe-inspiring. Of course, put the three together, and it will become obvious where the idea for my Net-weather name of "Thundery wintry showers" comes from.However, as with all weather phenomena, given my preference for variety, I would get bored of snow and thunderstorms if they happened too often for too prolonged a period- but in this country in the christmas pudding it seems that if anything we don't get enough of them. Generally speaking, I appreciate lying snow most when it sticks around for 3-6 days at a time before swiftly melting.