Novembers 1993 And 1994

[damianslaw]

As we are heading towards November, I thought it may be interesting to recall the contrasting Novembers of 1993 and 1994.

The second half of Nov 1993 saw I believe one of the coldest sustained periods of November weather of the century, not quite as severe 1978 or indeed 1965 or even 1985 but there was plenty of snow about especially in the east and some very close to if not recorded sub-zero maxes. More recently Nov 2005 saw a toned down version of Nov 1993 with a similiar synoptic change mid month.

I remember the month vividly it started off fairly average, but come mid month we saw increasingly cold weather, with some arctic air around the 18th/19th and then a cold polar continental blast for the remainder of the month. However, this was quickly usehered out by a very mild spell in early Dec, I think the same thing happened at the end of Nov 1985 and also early dec 1988 saw a return to very mild conditions after a cold latter part of Nov 1988.. suggesting it is very difficult to sustained cold weather in Nov to hang on through to Dec.

In complete contrast Nov 1994 was an exceptionally mild month one if not the mildest ever recorded, not sure if correct, it saw an endless supply of mild tropical maritime air with plenty of rain or misty murky conditions and no frost. An awful month and again one I remember very well.

Do others have memories of these contrasting months? Does anyone have any stats on these two months..

[cheeky_monkey]

november 1994 was indeed the mildest on record..only november to record an above 10c cet.

[Weather-history]

The maximum for the 23rd November 1993 at Manchetser Airport was just -1.0C

The absolute minimum for November 1994 at Manchester Airport was just -0.3C on the 29th

[damianslaw]

The maximum for the 23rd November 1993 at Manchetser Airport was just -1.0C

The absolute minimum for November 1994 at Manchester Airport was just -0.3C on the 29th

Thanks for these stats, they very much show the complete contrast.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I remember the contrast very well. November 1993 was the first November since I started taking weather records, and while I don't remember the first half at all (cloudy and damp near the North Sea coast by the looks of it) I vividly remember the second half. I was ill with flu during the third week and remember a few days of hazy sunshine and maxima of 5C, then cloud spilled in from the east. Earlier in the year I had associated easterly winds with sea fog so I assumed it would probably turn foggy, and was amazed to see sunshine and snow showers result on the 21st (such is the innocence of youth). Snow accumulated to a substantial depth late on the 22nd, and stuck around for seven days, desppite a significant reduction of the depth of snow cover around the 25th.

So, come November 1994, I was waiting for a wintry spell similar to November 1993, and kept hearing forecasts report "top temperatures will reach 10 to 14 degrees". I remember a large numbber of warm cloudy days and temperature homogeneity- it was, indeed, "10 to 14 degrees" for most of the month. It was a big shock to the system after the cold November 1993.

Another statistical quirk: average minima for November 1994 were, in many areas, comparable to the average maxima for November 1993.

[Terminal Moraine]

November 1993 had a mean max' of 4.5c here and only 1965 and 1985 have been colder in the last 46 years. 1994 had a mean max' 5.4c higher, at 9.9c, and the mean min' that month was 1.7c higher than the mean max' in 1993.

1993 had 6 mornings with lying snow ( met' office definition )although there were no heavy falls, the greatest being just over 4cm on the 20th. 1993 also has the distinction of producing the lowest November max' since 1965 with a value of -2.3c on the 23rd.

1994 gave 16 days with a max' of 10c or higher, exceeded only by 1978 with 18. If it had not been for the very cold spell at the end of November 1978 it would have been even warmer than in 1994 and the warmest November on record.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Think I remember having snow on wednesday 24th nov 1993, looked on archive charts looks like from west with cold continental air in place

[Summer of 95]

It was indeed a stunning contrast, in every way as striking as Julys 2006 and 2007 were. In Nov 1993 I don't remember much of note in the first half (although it certainly wasn't record-breakingly mild at least) but I do remember the second half well- lots of hard frosts, first lying snow since Feb 1991, even a couple of ice days. Although Nov 1988 had more snow 1993 was certainly the best November I can remember for sheer depth and duration of cold; if that spell from 18th-25th had occurred in Jan or Feb now it would doubtless have these boards going wild.

1994- what a contrast! TWS' remark about "10-14 degrees most of the month" is spot on; it was like that day and night after day and night, and cloudy with it- but strangely I don't remember it being particularly wet; the wet months were later, Dec 94 to Feb 95. However I think November 2002 was even worse; it was very mild too with seemingly constant Sw'lies and lots of cloud, and was also extremely wet with it. Like 1994 it barely managed any frost.

[Optimus Prime]

The lowest night time minima all month here in November 1994 was 0.8c on the 2nd and 2.6c on the 1st and 3.0c on the 7th. The other lowest minimum was 4.6c on the 22nd! The lowest maximum all month was an unbelievable 8.3c.

Compare that to November 1993 wehere the temperature dropped to -7.2c on the 23rd, -5.8c on the 20th and -4.1c on the 19th. The maximum on the 23rd was only -0.5c.

Edited November 1, 2009 by Optimus Prime