Cold Decembers And The Rest Of The Winter

[North-Easterly Blast]

I have been looking into cold Decembers and what the rest of the winter is like. After the coldest December in the 1900s, 1981, the cold continued into the first part of January but not for the rest of the winter, and February was quite mild. After the next coldest, 1950, the cold did not continue for the rest of the winter and January and February returned to average. After the third coldest, 1933, the story was similar.

It was only after the fourth (1962 1. and fifth 1916 (1.9) coldest Decembers in the 1900s that the cold was sustained through the rest of the winter. Going further back, after the coldest December ever, 1890 (-0., the cold continued into the January but not into the February. After the cold December 1879 (0.7) the cold contnued into the January but the winter went belly up with a mild February. After the very cold December 1878 (-0.3) the cold continued into the January but spoiled itself a bit in February when temperatures returned nearer to average and nothing like the rest of the winter.

From my reckoning, a cold December doesen't always mean that the rest of the winter follows suit. It seems that more often than not the rest of the winter is rather dissapointing after a cold December; also in some winters after a cold December the cold has continued into January but February has often spoilt things a bit. There doesen't seem to be many winters with a cold December and the cold is sustained through the rest of the winter.

Kevin Bradshaw, a few years ago you wrote a list of these forums detailing warm Junes and the rest of the summer, which years had a warm June and the warmth was sustained through the rest of the summer and years with a warm June where the summer turned cooler later.

Kevin, or any other member of the forum, would it be possible to do the same for cold Decembers and the rest of the winter? To list years where a winter turned milder after a cold December and years where the cold was sustained through the winter after a cold December?

[Weather-history]

Kevin, or any other member of the forum, would it be possible to do the same for cold Decembers and the rest of the winter? To list years where a winter turned milder after a cold December and years where the cold was sustained through the winter after a cold December?

I don't understand why you asking this because it is clear from your previous paragraphs in your article that you have done at least some research on this. You opened the article with this comment

"I have been looking into cold Decembers and what the rest of the winter is like"

So why can't you list them?

Edited December 7, 2010 by Mr_Data

[Summer of 95]

1874-75 was a weird one. Dec -0.2, Jan +6.4, Feb +2.3.

1878-79 looks fairly "sustained". Dec -0.3, Jan -0.7, Feb 3.1 (milder, but quite cold by today's standards)- then look at the next 3 months; Mar 4.7, April 5.7, May 8.9. November 1878 was 3.5 as well- that was one LONG winter, even if it didn't break any individual monthly records.

[North-Easterly Blast]

1874-75 was a weird one. Dec -0.2, Jan +6.4, Feb +2.3.

1878-79 looks fairly "sustained". Dec -0.3, Jan -0.7, Feb 3.1 (milder, but quite cold by today's standards)- then look at the next 3 months; Mar 4.7, April 5.7, May 8.9. November 1878 was 3.5 as well- that was one LONG winter, even if it didn't break any individual monthly records.

What I mean to say is that February 1879 may have been a rather cold month at least by the standards of the last 20 years or so, but in comparison to the very cold December and January, Feb 1879 still had a CET of far from severe at 3.1*C, so in other words, the sustained and intense cold of the earlier part of that winter did not continue into the February.

Edited December 11, 2010 by North-Easterly Blast

[MP-R]

Another more recent one is that of winter 2001/2002. December was considerably colder than average, January's first half was cold but the second half was mild or at times, very mild, and February was just mild and wet throughout - an awful winter that was!

For me:

December 3.6C

January 5.7C

February 6.5C

A winter to forget definitely.

[AderynCoch]

Another more recent one is that of winter 2001/2002. December was considerably colder than average, January's first half was cold but the second half was mild or at times, very mild, and February was just mild and wet throughout - an awful winter that was!

For me:

December 3.6C

January 5.7C

February 6.5C

A winter to forget definitely.

Yes, the month from mid-January to mid-February that year averaged about 8C. Yuck!

[Altohumorous]

Wasn't last winter an example of a cold december overall mean followed by a cold Jan and fairly cold Feb, in these islands?