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A pleasure for me to start this thread. Studying nature is a favorite hobby of mine. Noticing the changes from year to year and seeing how nature differs with regards to wildlife, plants, weather and much more. Please use this thread to post up any recent observations you'd like to discuss and any noticeable changes that may be of interest to fellow observers.

This is similar to my "Summer vs. Winter" poll I did a few weeks back, but this one has a few differences. You can now choose between any season and also tell us all which one you hate. Why make this thread? - Well why not! My favourite season is quite a difficult choice between Spring and Summer, but I think Summer does just come out a bit farther ahead. This is because I like the feeling of being warm and having long days to do what you want with. I also like the powerful thunderstorms that Summer creates. Spring however does bring quite varied weather, like the possibility of a March snowfall and an early arrival of Summer in May, but as said, I think I prefer Summer slightly more. My least favourite season would definately be Autumn. I absolutely hate Autumn! The only thing I like about it is how beautiful the trees can look but that is about it. September is the only decent month with the other two simply being a mix of horrible wet and windy weather. It is also too cold and too dark to now enjoy the sun and warmth and it's too mild for snow. You're also watching everything die and rot, especially in October and November. Autumn is just depressing in my opinion and that's why I hate it!

The weather can be quite a sneaky thing sometimes - a promised warm and thundery Summer becomes dull and unsettled, the prospect of lots of heavy snow in Winter just becomes mostly rainy affairs... it doesn't always go as we hoped or dreamed for. But, what would be your dream Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring? And what type of weather would it include? For example, would your Winter be constantly mild with frequent spells of Atlantic frontal rain? Would Autumn be full of unusually warm spells? Things like that. You may just include just one season if you like when discussing your ultimate season set-ups. For me, Summer would be generally warm and settled (similar to what has occurred so far), with the Azores High Pressure system constantly sending some of its ridging to our East. Then, as Lows to the West bump up against the High Pressure to the East, hot and thundery breakdowns would be introduced. Ideally, most of the precipitation that falls would be of extremely torrential hail and rain with loud bangs of thundery and reasonably frequent lightning. Ocassional night-time storms included. At most, there would be no more than two spells of frontal rain during Summer, with most of the wet stuff coming from high-quality thunderstorms and showers. During the hottest spell, temperatures would reach up to 38*C, but only lasting for two days. Summer would, however, be above average in general. A dream Autumn would feature a number of unusually warm and unusually cold spells with a very early snowfall at the beginning of October. This of which would be caused by an exceptionally potent and unstable Northerly wind bringing much colder air than normal for the time of year. There would be a few odd periods of frontal rain, otherwise most of the precipitation would come in the form of showers, many of which would be wintry. September, though, would be mostly warm and sunny throughout with frequent Southerly or South-Easterly winds. Autumn wouldn't be that windy, either. Winter would feature strong Northern blocking throughout with Lows constantly getting forced to the South of the UK providing frequent snowfalls on their Northern flanks. There would hardly be any rain, except for some rain-to-snow events. Specifically, I'd have a repeat of 28th January 2004, where rain turned fully into torrential snow within one minute! But it wouldn't all be snowy, though, as there would be sunnier, quieter periods with slack winds and thick frost. To round it off, there would be unstable North-Easterly airflows with a segment of the Polar Vortex dropping down into Europe unleashing some monsterous sunshine and snow shower set-ups... But with some of these falling as hail as well. The 850 hPa temperatures would dip down to -20*C during Easterly/North-Easterly episodes, with the Winter's CET -6*C below average. The deepest snowfall would be up to 50.01cm and consist of snowflakes 2x larger than a £2 coin. Finally, for Spring, it would be a mixture of everything. Sunny spells, snow showers, hail showers, thunder, few odds spells of rain (drizzle not included), gusty periods, calm periods, and warm and cold spells. May would generally veer on the hot side, though, with temperatures 2*X above average. However, May 1st would see a rare UK-wide snowfall. Just another aspect about this topic is the weather events don't necessarily have to be realistic (e.g: a very deep Polar Low of 750mb giving a 2,000 meter dumping of snow over Carding Mill Valley).

Hello again! I started this thread to hear your personal opinions on each month of the year in terms of the weather and other environmental factors. Below are my opinions on each month: January - January is often a month of two halves for me. I think the first half is generally very miserable. The Christmas and New Year celebrations have ended and the daily routine of work and school restarts and generally the weather is quite dismal as the Atlantic train is still in full force. I also think daylight is a bit too short, but that get's better in the second half. The second half is much better, daylight is slightly longer and the Atlantic train weakens, meaning more in the way of proper wintry weather. February - February is the best winter month for me as it often promises the best chances of wintry weather. Darkness falls at around 17:00, which I think is perfect for winter and the relentless Atlantic train finally stops, meaning a much greater chance of snow and cold. March - March in my opinion is a very decent month. In years like 2013, it can be a lovely extension to winter and in years like 2012 and this year it can bring an early taste of late spring, or more impressively early summer, which considering some regard March as a winter month is really very remarkable. April - April is also a very pleasant month for me. It is the time when the sun is strengthening, daytime is now longer than night, and nature bursts into life and the clocks have sprung foward. It can again, also bring an early taste of summer. May - May is probably my second-favourite month because it can often be quite summery and days are now much longer than night. May can also promise the best weather in some years as the westerly usually haven't quite kicked into gear yet, June - June is often my favourite month. Days are very long and June is often the most summer-like month in the UK. (with the exception of 2012 of course) July - July is also a good month, but it is often when we get the "Return of the Westerlies" and it can often be quite cool and cloudy. However in years when July is dominated by a heat wave, I would say it replaces June in my preference list. August - August is ok, but it can often be ruined by westerly winds bringing rain and cloud. One thing it usually is good for though is torrential thunderstorms and is usually redeemed when the heavens open, along with the thunder and lightning. September - I often see September as the "calm before the storm" month as it can often be a lovely extension to summer, even though nights are longer than days at the end. In more recent years, I would say that September has been more summery than August. October - October can start off ok, but it usually turns sour very quickly especially as the Atlantic train kicks into gear. Only the Autumn leaves redeem it slightly. November - The worst month for me is November. It is a month dominated by the Atlantic's mild, wet and windy rubbish. The leaves have gone, the plants have died, the sky is grey... yeah, it's just depressing. December - A very decent month in my opinion. The festive season starts and the world generally feels closer together. Even though it often lacks wintry weather, the Christmas spirit makes it a lovely time of the year... along with the New Year's Eve parties. Well those are the months according to me. I'd like to hear what you think and of course, you don't have to go into as much detail as I have if you want.