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It’s getting to that time of year where we all share our (mostly) pointless guesses at what the coming year will bring for our isles, climatologically speaking. Grab your crystal balls! January 2023: A cold and dry month. Anticyclonic and often cold during the first couple of weeks with unexceptional falls of snow. A more robust cold spell forming in the final third bringing very heavy snowfall and notably cold temperatures. The frostiest January since 2010. February 2023: Cold with frequent snowfalls. Localised areas having one of the snowiest Februaries in modern records. Very cold for three weeks and then turning milder from the south during the closing days, bringing a rapid thaw and flooding. Very dull. March 2023: Very wet and on the chilly side. Frequent low pressures on a southerly tracking jet stream. Localised areas having the wettest March since 1947. Cold snaps at times. Notably dull once again. April 2023: Exceptionally wet with temperatures generally rather below average. The wettest April since 2012. A sunnier month compared to February and March but still coming out a little lacklustre. Locally thundery in places due to persistent low pressure systems. May 2023: Another very wet month, finishing off a record wet spring. Cold for the first three weeks but heating up in the final week, therefor rather below average overall - but not exceptionally so. Exceptionally thundery. The first “heat spike” of the season bringing temperatures into the upper 20s/low 30s around the 25th-28th, also bringing torrential thunderstorms. June 2023: A very warm month, the warmest in five years. Despite the warmth, generally another wet month, with winds often from the south. Temperatures rarely below 21C on most days in the south. A hot end. Thundery. July 2023: Hot and humid. Unstable for the first half but turning drier later on. Rainfall coming out near-normal due to regional variation. Generally a sunnier than average month, ending a very dull first-half to the year. August 2023: Generally a warm but otherwise unexceptional month. Quite dry but a few wet areas due to some thundery spells. Sunshine close to normal, if not a little above. September 2023: Warm but with sunshine and rainfall not too far from normal. October 2023: Mild, wet and dull. Some fine spells in the first-half but becoming very wet later in the month. November 2023: Very mild and exceptionally wet with frequent low pressure systems bringing gales, heavy rain and mild temperatures, particularly by night. December 2023: Very wet, mild, and stormy at times, continuing the borefest of November. Drier over Christmas but still generally mild.

I usually see these type of threads started every year. Always a bit of fun. Didn’t see one yet so thought I’d start one. Get your crystal balls at hand!