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A Decade Of Weather


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Posted
  • Location: Tiree
  • Location: Tiree

2000 to 2009.

As we head towards 2010. I thought this would be a great time to have a thread looking back at the past ten years.

from heatwaves to flashflooding, Tornadoes to Snow events.

we have had everything including the kitchen sink thrown at us.

what bits do you remember the most and what events will stick in you're mind the most?

thier's no shortage of weather events home and abroad.

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Posted
  • Location: G.Manchester
  • Location: G.Manchester

The last month of the decade might have ended on a cold note but the rest of the months were far from it;

(in brackets difference from 61-90 average)

2000-2009

January 5.0c (+1.2c)

February 5.0c (+1.2c)

March 6.7c (+1.0c)

April 9.0c (+1.1c)

May 12.2c (+1.0c)

June 15.0c (+0.9c)

July 16.6c (+0.5c)

August 16.7 (+0.9c)

September 14.5c (+0.9c)

October 11.2c (+0.6c)

November 7.6c (+1.1c)

December 4.8c (+0.1c)

+0.9c increase.

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Posted
  • Location: Upper Gornal, Dudley, 205m asl
  • Location: Upper Gornal, Dudley, 205m asl

A lot of us will have our own local events that we can recall. For example the end of February 2004 when i lived in Sunderland was very special. Over a foot of snow fell in one night in some very localised and very heavy snowfall.

The one that i think the event that will stick in most minds is that day in August 2003. Whether it record breaking temperatures in the south or severe thunderstorms in the north (which is what i had).

February 2001 should have been the event of the decade....but we all know what happened there (for us in England and Wales anyway!).

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Posted
  • Location: Ballygally, co. antrim, n.ire
  • Location: Ballygally, co. antrim, n.ire

Lightnin storm overlookin Larne in County Antrim! I love Lightnin storms and that one I will never forget!post-6398-12617885146213_thumb.jpg

Edited by shrike
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Posted
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: cold and snowy. Summer: hot and sunny
  • Location: Home: Chingford, London (NE). Work: London (C)

Down here in the London area i'd pick out these events:

Jan 2003 Thames streamer snow event.

August 2003 heatwave - 38c! Can't forget that week in early August, i had to sleep with 3 fans!

Jan 2004 thundersnow event - left central London on the tube, it was dry and cold, walked out of the station half an hour later near home and there was an almighty blizzard with over an inch having already fallen in just over 20mins. The snow stopped within an hour and there was mayhem on the roads. Probably around 4 inches of snow by the end.

June & July 2006 heatwave - Incredible heat. Day after day of intense heat, with countless days over 30c.

Feb '09 snow - The heaviest snowfall in this area since the legendary Feb '91 cold spell. 7 inches of snow fell in this area overnight, which is a rarity.

Edited by danm
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February 2001 should have been the event of the decade....but we all know what happened there (for us in England and Wales anyway!).

What? - I'm am old geezer now and do not remember so well as I should so perhaps you could remind me.

Edited by mike Meehan
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Posted
  • Location: G.Manchester
  • Location: G.Manchester

What? - I'm am old geezer now and do not remember so well as I should so perhaps you could remind me.

At the time charts were throwing up a very cold, easterly scenario much like January 1987. It came within 3 days of happening before a shortwave off the Atlantic threw the spanners in the works. 1 TV forecaster lost a bit of respect and it defined the 'even larger teapot' theory;

Rrea00120010203.gif

Rrea00220010203.gif

Turned to this;

Rrea00120010205.gif

Rrea00220010205.gif

And should have been a little like this;

Rrea00119870112.gif

Rrea00219870112.gif

Nonetheless Scotland did get very cold and snowy weather for a time (some local long standing record low daytime temperatures were broken in the far north)

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Posted
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

All in Liverpool except * which indicates Sheffield:

Autumn 2000 - neverending rain. Day after day after day.

December 2000 - huge snowfall on the 28th. Stuck around until New Year.

July 2001 - hot first week with some big thunderstorms.

April 2003 - 25C in the middle of April. Felt like a classic summer's day, sat in a quiet beer garden.

Summer 2003 - consistently warm with many bouts of hot weather, although the record-breaking spell in early August rather disappointed here. Nevertheless, the morning of the 10th saw a spectacular thunderstorm, bettered only in my book by the one in early September 1995.

February 2004* - big snowfall out of nowhere. Massive snowball fight ensued.

August 2004 - very warm and humid, with lots of thundery downpours.

November 2004* - cold front passed through on the 18th, turning a mild autumnal day into a wintry night with six inches of snow.

December 2004 - White Christmas! The odd light flurry earlier in the day, but the main event arrived in the evening - barely an inch fell, but everything was nevertheless white and festive. Stuck around through Boxing Day and into the 27th.

Late February 2005* - snow. Lots and lots of it, at least a foot's worth after days of heavy showers. Stuck around well into March, some patches on the higher ground lasting for over a month. I remember finally seeing rain falling out of the sky and thinking how unusual that was - more of this please!

Late October 2005* - unusually warm and sunny. Felt like summer.

March 2006 - surprisingly snowy! After a winter which threatened snowfalls but failed miserably, March came up with the goods. Liverpool had some good falls early in the month but the big event came on the 12th, when an east-west battleground event dumped six inches overnight. Went back to Sheffield that day, where snow flurries continued into the third week.

April 2006* - very late snowfall on the 9th, which started off as hail. A very snowy Woodhead Pass on the way back to Liverpool the next day.

Summer 2006 - June was good, but July was exceptional - consistently hot and sunny, save for a short blip in the second week. Best summer weather since 1995. Shame about August.

Autumn 2006 - summery September and another very warm October.

Winter 2006/7 - ridiculously mild. January didn't go below 6C in the first week and didn't go below 5C until the 21st! The only good events were a pre-Christmas fog episode and a decent February snowfall.

April 2007 - exceptional - warm, sunny and dry pretty much all month.

Summer 2007 - cold and wet. July was especially bad, with torrential downpours virtually every day despite a lack of actual heat.

January 2008 - ridiculously mild again. Managed one frost during the entire month (on the 3rd).

February 2008 - warm by day but cold by night with a surprising amount of frost. Very sunny.

April 2008 - no snow all winter, then it snows on the night of the 5th/6th leaving an inch or so. First time I can remember seeing lying April snow in Liverpool.

May 2008 - very warm and summery first two weeks. Big thunderstorm on the 11th (my birthday!), which left flash flooding everywhere.

October 2008 - winter in October! Some sleety precipitation on the 28th, but no sticking snow (as there was in some parts of the country). However, the Clwydian Range in North Wales appeared completely white for the last few days of the month.

November 2008 - very brief lying snow in the early hours of the 22nd. Can't remember the last time I saw lying November snow in Liverpool (might have happened in 1993, but again I don't remember).

Late December 2008 - Early January 2009 - very cold and dry. New Year's Eve was frigid, with some fog and even some very light snow - excellent.

Early February 2009 - big snowfall on the 2nd, with quite a bit in the morning but the main batch arriving in the evening, leaving several inches. Another light covering on the morning of the 5th.

Autumn 2009 - notably dry first half, very wet second half with non-stop rain - the worst since Autumn 2000.

Late December 2009 - pre-Christmas snow! And if not snow, then tons of ice and unusual amounts of graupel. Also an awesome thundersnow event on the 22nd...

...and it's not over just yet! :(

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Posted
  • Location: South East Cambridgeshire 57m ASL
  • Location: South East Cambridgeshire 57m ASL

One of my highlights was on the 28th of January 2004, when out of nowhere thunderstorms turned into Blizzards! Others include the hot summer of 2003, the hot weather of April 2007, a white Easter 2008, This years snowfalls in Feb and last week! Others I hated were the Summer of 2007 were there was only about 3 warm days, it rained every other day. And 2008... :)

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Posted
  • Location: Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
  • Location: Newton Aycliffe, County Durham

The last month of the decade might have ended on a cold note but the rest of the months were far from it;

(in brackets difference from 61-90 average)

2000-2009

January 5.0c (+1.2c)

February 5.0c (+1.2c)

March 6.7c (+1.0c)

April 9.0c (+1.1c)

May 12.2c (+1.0c)

June 15.0c (+0.9c)

July 16.6c (+0.5c)

August 16.7 (+0.9c)

September 14.5c (+0.9c)

October 11.2c (+0.6c)

November 7.6c (+1.1c)

December 4.8c (+0.1c)

+0.9c increase.

I bet 2001-2010 doesn't show the same increase on the 71-00 average.

lucky for you you had the coldest dataset to compare to.

For me, July 2006 was memorable, a hot, sunny, continental style summer that you just don't get in the North East.

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

There were some memorable weather events in the decade 2000-2009 but for me it wasn't as good as the decade 1990-99.

The standout month for me has to be July 2006- I spent most of that month in Leeds and it was like spending a month on the continent- most days were sunny and hot, the average maximum was about 25C and the hot sunshine was broken up by a few big thunderstorms. Even Cleadon managed an average maximum of 23C that month.

Other standout events:

Cold snap of late December 2000- very atmospheric. Thundersnow at Cleadon at 4:50am on the 29th.

Cold snap of early March 2001. Temperature dropped below -10C early on the 3rd, and 8cm snow cover did not thaw substantially despite two days of continuous sunshine.

Arctic outbreak of 8/9 November 2001- extremely dramatic with hail, sleet, snow and thunder.

Bright frosty snow-covered spell around New Year 2002.

March 2003- remarkable for its sunshine.

Summer 2003- especially June for its combination of warm sunshine and thunderstorms, and August for its exceptional heatwave on 1st-9th in France (which was rather too extreme) and T-storm in Tyneside on 10th. September was pretty nice that year as well.

Late Feb 2004- memorable for the wrong reasons, Cleadon got 5 inches but in Lancaster, where I was, there was just a dusting.

Christmas Day 2004- again, for the wrong reasons, I was in Cleadon which had nothing, while Lancaster had falling and lying snow from mid-morning.

Late June 2005- hot sunshine & thunderstorms, also the thunderstorm of 31 August 2005 sticks out.

27-29 December 2005- a rare example of a 21st century snowy easterly.

March 2006- unusually cold & snowy.

April 2007- record breaking, I really enjoyed the first half but got a bit bored during the second half.

April 2008- switch-around at the beginning, memorable spell of sun, showers and thunderstorms in Norwich

February 2009- very unexpected snow events in Exeter

June 2009- phenomenal month in Exeter, plenty of warm sunshine, big thunderstorms on 6th and 15th

July 2009- exceptional for thunder frequency in Tyneside

December 2009- longest spell of snow cover in Cleadon since February 1991, first instance of >50% snow cover on Christmas Day since 1995

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

It was notable to me with the exception of July 2006 and to a lesser extent July 2003, just how mediocre generally the Julys of the 2000s were

2007, 2008 and 2009 were washouts

2000, 2002 and 2004 were nowt to write how about.

2001 and 2005 had their moments.

July 2006 was the standout and it complete puts into shade the other Julys of the 2000s, literally, as it was the only July of the decade that was above the 1971-2000 July sunshine average for England and Wales.

Edited by Mr_Data
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Posted
  • Location: Wales, Valleys - 700ft ASL
  • Location: Wales, Valleys - 700ft ASL

July 2001: Mega thunderstorm that went on for hours

August 2003: Exceptionally hot

January 2004: Very heavy surprise snow giving many inches

July 2006: Sutained exceptional heat and dryness

January 2007: Storm force wind, strongest ever experienced

April 2007: Exceptionally warm, dry and sunny

February 2008: 2 huge snow events in 2 days giving nearly a foot of snow

December 2008: Exceptional sustained cold

July 2008: Endless rain

February 2009: 3-4 large snow events, 2 weeks of lying snow

November 2009: Endless rain and wind, wettest month ever recorded

This current cold snap doesn't even register.

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

Here goes then: :hi:

For summer weather, three 'events' stand-out for me: the hot weather of 2003 and 2006, and the amazing degree of convection we enjoyed last July - 6 thunder-days on the trot?

For winter weather, there may be more: the early February blizzard of 2001 was awesome; the amazing switch from mild to cold in Jan/Feb 2003, when 18C gave way to a 30cm blizzard in about three days; this week's snowfalls...more to come, when (and if :hi: ) I can remember them!! :cold:

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Posted
  • Location: Ware, Herts
  • Location: Ware, Herts

For me the most memorable event has to be the 2003 summer - the hottest temperature on record in this country was recorded not far from where I live, and we had 2 weeks of amazing sunshine and thunderstorms.

February 2009 has to be one of the best cold spells I remember from the decade, but the year ending one we've just had/still in is also a great winter memory.

My snow event in October 2008 is a memorable one, especially for the time for year. IIRC we also had snow in April of the same year.

I believe it may have been 2000/1 in October there was a huge storm system across the UK; I was at Centre Parcs and many trees came down there, and across the country.

I haven't suffered flooding where I live, but I do remember a couple of decent thunderstorms, but unfortunately I couldn't tell you exactly when they were (2004 perhaps).

It's been a dramatic decade of weather for the UK... what will 2010-19 throw at us?

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Guest North Sea Snow Convection

A poor decade as far as I am concerned.

But the 'best' events were both the easterlies in 2005. The first in February and the second in December. Both bought far far more snow than at any time before or since. And that includes the colder winter of last year and anything that this winter has offered so far, despite its nationwide promise.

In terms of a dramatic and (scary) event then the Supercell thunderstorm that struck my local area in July 2007 would be the most notable. As much as I enjoy watching summer storms - this event has rather dimmed my enthusiasm for them. Much more wary!

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

There was another one that I missed out- February 2008 in Norwich. It had the snowstorm late on the 1st, and then that exceptionally sunny anticyclonic spell from the 8th to 20th with a large number of stunning sunsets- I can't remember any other anticyclonic spell like it during the winter months.

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Posted
  • Location: Harborne, Bham 187m asl
  • Location: Harborne, Bham 187m asl

Well for me, definitely the most memorable event was the Jan 28th 2004 thundersnow event. It was so unexpected for me as I was at college the whole day and did not realise that this was going to happen.

Another couple of events that I am surprised people haven't mentioned:

March 12th 2004: Got 6 inches from that. The Midlands and Wales did very well in this event.

Surprised that members especially those from the SW have not mentioned the late November 2005 snowfall. That event I will remember was on 28th November for me in the Midlands when again unexpectedly snow fell.

Talking of November 2005, it was rather special that it was a month of two halves, an extremely mild first half followed by a very cold second half turning it into an average month in the end. A complete flip flop that I have never seen since!

BEST MONTH OF THE DECADE THEREFORE = NOVEMBER 2005

In terms of summer, August 2003 will be very hard to beat.

Regards, hgb

Edited by high ground birmingham
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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

Well for me, definitely the most memorable event was the Jan 28th 2004 thundersnow event. It was so unexpected for me as I was at college the whole day and did not realise that this was going to happen.

Another couple of events that I am surprised people haven't mentioned:

March 12th 2004: Got 6 inches from that. The Midlands and Wales did very well in this event.

Surprised that members especially those from the SW have not mentioned the late November 2005 snowfall. That event I will remember was on 28th November for me in the Midlands when again unexpectedly snow fell.

Talking of November 2005, it was rather special that it was a month of two halves, an extremely mild first half followed by a very cold second half turning it into an average month in the end. A complete flip flop that I have never seen since!

BEST MONTH OF THE DECADE THEREFORE = NOVEMBER 2005

For sharp frosts November`s 2005 was by far the best,

snow it poor here,3 times as much snow last october alone

,best october on record here.

March 2006 was the best March`s of of the decade by far for cold and snow.

February 2007 for the deepest snow of the decade, for 20 years 1 foot.

2005/06 winter best winter of the decade for drifting, until this winter looks like this could excel it :rolleyes:

Summer 2006 was by far the best for a dry one yes it was too hot.

Best crazy wet stormy summer of the decade 2007.

Best april which will always be of the decade 2000 for snow 9 inches.

Edited by Snowyowl9
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Posted
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
  • Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

There was another one that I missed out- February 2008 in Norwich. It had the snowstorm late on the 1st, and then that exceptionally sunny anticyclonic spell from the 8th to 20th with a large number of stunning sunsets- I can't remember any other anticyclonic spell like it during the winter months.

Yep, lots of wonderful sunsets here too. Remember a particularly lovely one on the 29th (leap day!).

It was quite an unusual month really, similar in synoptics to February 1891 I guess? Despite the continued lack of snow, it at least helped to make up for another awful January.

Edited by AderynCoch
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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

I must say I forgot November 2005- but that deserves a mention from me as well. In Leeds, while not as prolonged as the aforementioned February 2008 spell, that anticyclonic interlude 16th-23rd November contained many of the same ingredients- sunny days, frosty nights and some pretty good sunsets (though not quite as spectacular as some of the Feb '08 ones). November 2005 had roughly twice as much sunshine as October 2005.

Leeds largely missed out on the snowfalls of the last week, apart from a few sleety flurries on the 28th, and that's why that spell doesn't immediately spring to mind.

Yes, February 1891 sounds like it was quite a similar month to February 2008- and it was, indeed, synoptically similar with high pressure mostly centred over and to the east of Britain drawing up mild southerlies, maintaining warm sunshine by day and some frosts by night.

I should've thought of 22/23 November 2008 in Norwich though- that weekend, with its 3-inch snowfalls, was great fun with all of the UEA undergraduates who had come out to the Waveney Hill area to cause mayhem with snowmen, and snowballs as tall as me that they would roll down the hill and into the lake!

Edited by Thundery wintry showers
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Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset

A very packed decade without a doubt. Here are what I remember the most:

2000:

September-December was unbelievably wet with no let up in rain and some quite good thunderstorm

December 28th had a surprise snowfall (well it was for me then when I didn't keep tracks of the weather)

2001:

March with its switch arounds from a very cold start, warm sunshine then an easterly with snow around the 21st

July 1st-7th due to a heatwave with excellent sunshine but some spectacular thunderstorms on the 4th and 7th

December was pretty much cold all the time with snow very shortly after Christmas

2002:

January with its rapid travel downhill from December to zonality for the rest of the winter

April 29th had severe gales causing massive waves over the seaside at Weston-super-Mare

May 16th-17th; 25.4C and sunshine then a dry electrical storm early on the 17th

September was like summer with dry most of the month

Christmas Day was balmy and sunny with a high of 14.1C

2003:

January cold spell saw ice days and some snow on the 8th, felt cold after December

March's anticyclonic and sunny, warm spell after a thundery and very wet start

April warm spell where 25C was recorded on two days

August the heatwave that brought the all time record of 35.1C to here

2004:

January 28th thundersnow event with torrential snow and then a crystal clear day after

February with its positively tropical first week then a significant snowfall on the 26th

Summer: May & June were dry and gorgeous then it all went downhill in July, awesome thunderstorms in August

November with its consistent dullness

December 19th due to the surprise 4cm snowfall overnight

2005:

February saw an easterly with six days of heavy snow showers, none of which gave any sort of covering

May 20th-22nd was a spell of brilliant thunderstorms, totalling most of the month's rainfall

May 27th beign the shortest heatwave I've experienced - beautiful day

Summer was nice throughout with just enough rain and some good thunderstorms in August and September

November must go down as amazing due to the mild and very wet first half then frosty second half with snow on the 25th!

2006:

Winter was almost consistently cold but with little snow at all

March had two good snowfalls, with some strong Atlantic weather to start and finish with a long easterly

Spring saw a dry and eventless April and summerlike start to May with thunderstorms then a very wet second half

Summer was amazing with a blazing June and July, some good thunderstorms then a not-so-nice August

September was as warm as August but also quite tropical with plenty of downpours and storms

October had some fantastic thunderstorms on the 1st and 16th and was warm throughout

November with the clear and frosty spell to start then Atlantic weather dominating from the 10th

December's cold and foggy spell around Christmas

2007:

The consistently wet and windy weather that brought two snowfalls on 24th Jan and 8th Feb

April was very dry with two wet days and summerlike weather throughout

May-July was consistently wet, most intense thunderstorm I have witnessed on 19th June

2008:

Another shambles of a winter, worse than 2006-2007

The late snowy spells in March and April

May with its summery spell reaching 27.1C on the 11th and some great thunderstorms on the 9th, 23rd and 29th

The awful summer that arrived after mid-June

The golden afternoons of late September

October's ending with wintry showers, thunder, lightning and frost

December's cold after Christmas with two ice days

2009:

The freeze up for the first third of January

The February snowfalls, the best of the decade in my opinion

March's cold start with snow then very springlike spell midmonth

June's late heatwave with thunderstorms

The awful July after a hot day at Wimbeldon on the 1st

September was one of the most boring weather months of the decade

November was a complete washout, plenty of convective days with 4 thunderstorm days

December - closest I've come to a white Christmas without getting one!

All in all, I think 2006 was the most interesting year for weather.

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