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So I have seen a few mentions recently of the rare mild, dry, and even sunny combination during winter, but it made me curious to find out how often do such months occur, and have any winters had at least 2 of the 3 combinations of mild and dry or mild and sunny throughout the whole season? What I will do to find this out is use the amazing historic weather data graphs from Starlings Roost Weather and month by month go through the different mild, dry and sunny combinations. I'll use the England and Wales region just for this as often Scotland won't be as mild or sunny if it's dry there compared to further south. I will start from the year 1900. If you want to play with around the data, it's here: Starlings Roost Weather STARLINGSROOST.DDNS.NET Before going through all the months, It's important to take note the averages of all months in England and Wales, using the 1981-2010 mean. December Temperature: 4.4C Rainfall: 97.3mm Sunshine: 47 hours January Temperature: 4.1C Rainfall: 92.4mm Sunshine: 53.7 hours February Temperature: 4.1C Rainfall: 66.9mm Sunshine: 74.7 hours Now that we know the averages it's time to look through the months, starting with Decembers that were mild and dry, (mean temperature above 5C, rainfall below 70mm) 1941: 5.1C 53.4mm 2004: 5.2C 69mm 1932: 5.2C 51.1mm 1987: 5.3C 64.9mm 2016: 6.0C 42mm 1971: 6.1C 39.6mm 1953: 6.7C 34.8mm (6th driest since 1900) 1988: 7.0C 45.9mm (4th mildest since 1900) Decembers that were mild but sunny (mean temperature above 5C, sunshine above 50 hours) 1980 5.1C 51.5 hours 2014: 5.1C 69.6 hours (second sunniest since 1900) rainfall was at 86mm so although not wet, not dry either! 1951: 5.1C 50.5 hours 2004: 5.2C 52.8 hours 1948: 5.2C 54.0 hours 1983: 5.3C 50.9 hours 1929: 5.3C 56.2 hours 2019: 5.6C 55.3 hours 1986: 5.6C 50.8 hours 2016: 6.0C 50.7 hours 1994: 6.1C 52.2 hours So from the data above for December, the only ones that were truly mild dry but also somewhat sunny is 2004 and 2016! Moving onto January, starting with mild and dry (mean temperature above 4.6C, rainfall below 65mm) 2000: 4.5C 55.3mm (Special mention even though not very mild it was sunny!) 2022: 4.6C 37.5mm 1949: 4.9C 44.3mm 1923: 5.0C 61.5mm 1976: 5.1C 62.4mm 2005: 5.7C 67.5mm (not below 65mm, but it's not one I would class as being wet either!) 1989: 5.8C 46.9mm 1916: 6.9C 58.0mm (mildest on record!) Januarys that were mild but sunny (mean temperature above 4.6C, sunshine above 60 hours) 2022: 4.6C 79.0 hours 1994: 4.8C 63.10 hours 2023: 4.9C 74.6 hours 1989: 5.2C 61.5 hours 2012: 5.3C 67.2 hours 2007: 6.6C 60.0 hours Although not as mild, 2000, 2003 and 2015 could be considered with mean temperatures of 4.5C, 4.3C and 4.2C respectively, and all with above 66 - 71 hours hours of sunshine! So from the data above for January, the only ones that were mild, dry but also somewhat sunny is 1989, 2000 and 2022! 2003 could also be considered as well but it wasn't as dry or mild, and with a rainfall figure of 86-91mm. Finally on February, starting with mild and dry (mean temperature above 4.7C, rainfall below 50mm) 1999: 4.8C 52.3mm (Slightly above 50mm again but was slighty sunny at 79 hours) 2004: 5C 58.7mm (Not reaching the dry threshold but sunny) 1949: 5.2C 42.1mm 1992: 5.1C 47.3mm 2008: 5.2C 43.6mm 1943: 5.5C 49mm (82.9 hours of sunshine so potentially a 3 way combo!) 1920: 5.4C 48.2mm 2023: 6.1C 16.8mm 2019: 6.4C 53.1mm (Above 50mm but had to include this one!) 1998: 6.9C 23mm Februarys that were mild but sunny (mean temperature above 4.6C, sunshine above 85 hours) 2016 4.7C 91.0 hours 2014 5.0C 85.4 hours 1939 5.0C 82.3 hours (below 85 but mild and dry with 60mm of rain!) 2008 5.2C 116.5 hours (another big total) 1949 5.2C 106 hours 2004 5.0C 88.1 hours 2000 5.8C 93.6 hours 2023 6.1C 84.3 hours 2019 6.4C 118 hours (incredible total) 1998 6.8C 88.9 hours So from the data above for February, the only ones that were mild, dry but also somewhat sunny is 1943, 1998, 2004, 2019, and 2023, a lot more! Spent a while writing this one up but from all of this is it possible for winters to feature all 3 clear combinations? Pretty much no to the best of my knowledge, however some can be mild and dry such as 2004-05, 2016-17, or on the mild and sunny side such as 1988-89! I would say the more previous winter of 2022-23 wasn't too far off, seeing a dry, but sunny winter, however it wasn't that mild. 2018-19 is another contender too @Summer8906 after 1988-89. If there's any knowledge gaps or winters pre 20th century that stand out ( @Weather-history) That would be nice to add. I know those who don't like cold but want it sunny will enjoy some of these months. Thinking of you all @East Lancs Rain @baddie @NEVES SCREAMER @Sun Chaser @SunSean@Alderc 2.0 @In Absence of True Seasons@raz.org.rain

So I know the majority of weather enthusiasts prefer cold winters over mild. When I was a kid I loved cold and snowy weather but for the last few years I prefer mild winters. I still like walking in deep snow but I prefer mild weather in winter now, even though it’s often raining with it. The last few days it’s been dry and sunny but very cold, with temperatures only rising to 2 or 3C during the day and dropping well below freezing at night. It’s currently -4C outside right now with crystal clear skies, but I think I’d rather it was 10C with cloud and drizzle. In fact I really dislike temperatures below 10C, I just feel no desire to go outdoors when it’s in single digits and especially not when it’s below zero. Not a huge fan of the heat either, although I had a weeks holiday in the Cotswolds in early September and it was in the high 20’s and low 30’s, and although it was very hot, I still enjoyed it and would much rather have that than rain or the weather we are having now. Im not sure how anyone can prefer this current freezing weather over what we had in summer, I’d take 17C and cloud over 0C and sunny any day. Yes mild winters are boring but at least it feels more comfortable and I just really don’t like winter anymore, it’s just dark, cold and depressing. I’m much more of a mild/warm weather guy. Both 0 and 30C are uncomfortable for me, I like it best somewhere in the middle around 12 - 20°C. My favourite winter month was February 2019, with many days sunny and 13-17°C. Yes it was unseasonably warm, but I enjoyed it. December 2015 was also exceptionally mild, although it also was extremely wet in my area with really bad flooding. Tbh, I wouldn’t mind another winter like 2016-17, lots of quiet benign weather around 5-9°C. I just want to get winter over with. Spring can’t come soon enough!

There was a very short-lived but intense cold snap at during the first 6 days of Feb. 1912 Most of the winter had been mild, including the first-half of January, but there were signs of a change by the 15th with a big area of high pressure to our east. By the 18th, cold air across the north gave a foot of snow thanks to a SE wind A week of cold & frosty weather followed, but a very cold NE flow was beggining to establish by the 25th. Temperatures fell rapidly, with -3C daily C.E.T. values by months end. Notice the intense blocking across Iceland & Greenland. Into the first week of February an exceptionally cold pool of air spilled down from the Artic via blocking over Iceland, giving a severe spell of cold weather. On the 4th, -21C was recorded at West Linton in E. Scotland. The first 6 days of February averaged -2.5C. From the 2nd to the 5th, temperatures across the country were widely into minus double digits, even close to -10 as far south as Folkestone & Bexhill. Daytime temperatures struggled well below zero. A foot of snow fell at Durham. I believe the snowfall was more showery in nature, but records show a widespread coving of 4-6 inches across the country. In many places it's said to have been the most severe spell of ice since 1895.. but it wasn't to last. By the 7th the low pressure had blown up, forcing much milder southerly winds, bringing an end to the cold snap. The rest of the month turned exceptionally mild with winds often from the southwest. It also was very low pressure dominated, so a wet month too. The first 6 days averaged -2.5, the 7th to the 28th averaged 7.5C(!). The overall C.E.T. for the month was 5.4. The coldest days 3rd & 4th, at -4.3 & -5, the warmest the 27th & 28th at 11.1 & 10.5. Reminds me a lot of Feb. 2021. Actually a warmer month than 2021 though & 2021 recorded a colder temperature. The rest of the year wouldn't prove to be so great, so will 2021 follow the same path? Time will tell!