Lettucing Gutted

Without a doubt winter 2013/2014 has to the worst winter in my life for its horrible combination of miserable weather, mildness, wind and rain and the complete lack of anything even remotely wintry. Even my TV aerial has been wrecked by this wretched weather! However all of these other winters listed below are almost as bad:- -1987/1988, 1988/1989 (second worst winter) -1989/1990, 1991/1992, 1992/1993, 1994/1995, 1997/1998, 1998/1999 -1999/2000, 2000/2001, 2001/2002, 2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007 (third worst winter), 2007/2008 -2011/2012 Rest In Pieces winter 2013/2014!

I wish for cold easterlies and northerlies with snow for the pitiful remains of this very mild winter giving way to an otherwise very cold year with northerlies and cool zonality giving frosts and sunshine and showers like 1962.

I think damianslaw has been forward in time and seen the future. 2016 will be "The Year Without A Summer Mark II!

10C...

Compared to all recent 30 year averages July 2007 and June 2012 were on the cool side but certainly not notably so.

That +AO is a pest. That combined with the new +PDO phase means everything is set for the year without a winter. So much for last years Arctic Ice recovery...

Not only that but apart from December 2010 the cold accolades are considerably more feeble than the warm accolades. To add to this the increase from December 2010 to both March 2011, April 2011 and May 2011 was also the largest on record and the increase from April 2011 to both July 2011 and August 2011 was also the smallest on record. The decrease from July 2011 to both October 2011 and November 2011 was the smallest on record. Also the decrease from August 2011 to both October 2011 and November 2011 was also the smallest on record. The increase from Spring 2011 to Summer 2011 was the smallest on record and the decrease from Summer 2011 to Autumn 2011 was also the smallest on record. In reverse the decrease from July 2010 to December 2010 was the largest on record. The increase from the first half of 2013 to the second half of 2013 was the largest on record. 2013 also has the distinction for having the greatest amount of CET frosts in the first half of the year but also the smallest amount of CET frosts in the second half of the year. Indeed in the last 8 years there are many occasions when a portent and/or sustained cold spell has "Blown itself out" or even "blowtorched itself out" (That's a new term for the Net-Weather Urban Dictionary!) to be replaced with ridiculous and/or sustained mild spells such as late March 2006, mid April 2006, late April 2008, late July 2008, early November 2008, mid February 2009, late June 2009, mid March 2010, late May 2010, early January 2011, early February 2011, early September 2011, mid February 2012, mid May 2012, late July 2012, early November 2012, mid December 2012, early July 2013, late September 2013 and late November 2013.

Shocking but very true words North-Easterly Blast. Whilst the fact that January is becoming less snowy itself is worrying, the fact that it's 30 years since the whole UK had snowcover for at least over half the month of January is even more shocking.

I won't be surprised if we have the opposite situation of September 2006 for years to come. Remember how September 2006 was not only an exceptionally warm September but it was also warmer than any month in between July 2006 and July 2010 and all Augusts in between 2004 and 2013. In opposite fashion to this March 2013 is not just an exceptionally cold March but it's also colder than any month since December 2010 and all Februaries since 1996.

8C (18C? not!)

The last time a below average November occurred in between a very mild October and December was 1985.

This has been one of the most ridiculous years ever. Despite 7 months coming in below the 1961-1990 CET average (the first six consecutive and the longest run of such months since December 1978-June 1979!) 2013 will still finish above the 1961-1990 average. 2013 was also ridiculous in that an exceptional cold month (March) was followed by 4 exceptionally mild months in the same year (July, August, October and December). This is forgetting to also mention that an exceptionally cold spring led to an exceptionally warm summer and yet another exceptionally mild autumn. 2013 also had an exceptional cold first half of the year followed by one of the mildest second halves of the year on record. Before July reared its ugly head 2013 had a very good chance of finishing below 9C but thanks(!) to July, August, October and December 2013 will finish above the 1961-1990 average yet again. Here is all 12 months rated out of 10:- January 10/10 (cool with big pattern changes) February 10/10 (seasonally cool and a buildup to a very classic cold spring) March 10/10 (classic cold March) April 10/10 (a rare cool and sunshine and showers April with switcharounds) May 10/10 (a rare cool and sunshine and showers May) June 10/10 (nice and fresh and the end of a great run of cool/cold months) July 1/10 (horrible, hot and humid with the return with avengeance of the Euro High and GIN Corridor Jetstream. Also brought back bad memories of the hot summers of 2003 and 2006) August 1/10 (horrible, hot and humid). September 1/10 (a classic early spell of cool zonality ruined by reminders of July 2013) October 1/10 (more horrible mild rubbish) November 10/10 (a rare cool seasonal November) December 1/10 (November sadly proved to be a one-off with the return of the dreaded Bartlett High and associated mild zonality mush) 2013 1/10 (a classic cool Northeasterly dominated first half ruined by a very mild Bartlett High dominated second half) This year has been so unlike 1993 which had an exceptionally mild first half of the year followed by an exceptionally cold second half. Indeed the total opposite.

The winters of 2007/2008 and 2011/2012 were also very zonal apart from the first half of February 2012.

Yeah the glory years of July 2007-June 2013 were just a cool blip in an ongoing and worsening mild horror show.

So yet another cold spell is reduced to a non event.

The stinkers are back. 8C

Well it looks like the Decembers of the 2010s are once again going the same way as the 1970s and 1980s Decembers. After a great start with the very cold December 2010 (like 1981) a stinker has followed with a very mild 2011 and 2013 (like 1988).

8.5C

Just think if they had left it until the end of the month for those upward revisions we would have had a rare large upward connection after the end.

Great read that thank you. It said the negative temperature departure at the North Pole for January 1963 was over 19*F below normal. I'll be very surprised if that's ever been reached there since.

Autumn is really turning into the pits for cold weather. Our last raging cold autumn was 20 yeas ago. The last time a very mild/hot summer led to even a remotely cool autumn was 1976. 1976 was also the last time a hot summer led to both a cool autumn and a cold winter.

January 2007 February 2011 March 2012 April 2011 May 2011 June 2003 July 2013 August 2003 September 2011 October 2006 November 2011 December 2006 These the just the worst of the most boring months for me. There are way too many more to list but not far behind.

R.I.P Autumn. 10.5C

It doesn't even feel like autumn anymore. It feels more like a muggy cloudy southwesterly or muggy cloudy easterly in June.

Well it looks like we can say goodbye to another year finishing below the 1961-1990 CET average.