How Was December 2011 For You?

[A Winter's Tale]

We've had all the hype about the Winter 2011/2012 and now we've completed the first third of the winter. December is over (or just about) folks and we've seen some varied weather across the UK. With plenty of snow, wind and rain in the NW of Scotland where it was generally cool, further south and east in some places it has been a fairly dull experience. However with most people expecting the best to come later on the winter, the expectation was quite low. However for some people, their first snowfalls of the winter had been observed and for quite a few it was the snowiest month of the year.

For me, it was a very decent month! It was generally cool and unsettled (with a mild period around Xmas), with lots of varied weather, I experienced plenty of wintry weather throughout, with two particulary cold spells that had plenty of days of snow fall and lying snow of a few cms lying on the ground for a few days. From constant snow showers to crisp, cold, sunny days and starry, frosty nights aswell as some lying snow, it was a very decent month for snow, the best since December 2010 (even still in terms of days of falling snow this month was better than last December) and in my time, it's probably up there with the top 5 snowiest months since the late 1990s here. And those two very decent cold spells with the first being very snowy, and the latter having a large snowfall with lying snow on the ground for days, this month has already beaten entire winters that I've seen. If this month was in the winter 2007/2008, I would have been stunned and amazed with the snow - just how times have changed.

Still, other than having seen my fourth consecutive winter of a snow plough sighting in the area after years of not seeing one, the stormy flavour was potent. The first few weeks were windy and wet. The first few days saw some Flooding and the fields remained flooded all month with all the low pressure systems and two periods of melting lying snow. A very showery and blustery month, and initially, freezing rain was a threat! However, most notably was the storms, particulary at the end of the first week of the month that saw school closures and distruption from a deep area of low pressure that earned a red warning from the met office. Since then, I've seen a few more storms but nothing on the same level. Lightning and Hail has also been present in December.

You can read more about December (and the winter) at My Winter Blog - http://forum.netweather.tv/blog/269/entry-4300-a-winters-tale-winter-blog-20112012/ and Snow Diary - http://forum.netweather.tv/blog/269/entry-4299-a-winters-tale-snow-diary-20112012/.

However, how was the first month of the winter for you?

[Optimus Prime]

2/10

1 day of snowfall (the only snow of the year)

No lying snow except for some piles left over from December which sticked around until February

An awful year for cold weather made up for the exceptional warmth in April, September and October.

[leicsnow]

I am sort of happy as I was expecting a thoroughly mild month for my location, and just as I was beginning to believe I wouldn't see any lying snow whatsoever this winter it snowed and settled! Even though I had one day of lying snow this December, and even if it did melt by 2PM I am satisfied with the month given the circumstances.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Tellow

[AderynCoch]

6/10

Ups and downs. Got about an inch or so of snow on the 16th, which was nice (especially leading up to Christmas) but for the most part the cold zonality was too marginal and then it turned mild just in time for Christmas. A pretty horrid New Year's Eve to see out the month too. Better than having mild zonality all month though.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

not too bad here, 9 minus minimums, ice and frost, 3 days of sleet/wet snow, great for a traditional autumn month for the south,

but like last year the last few days less cold, certainly dont think January will be as good

[Isolated Frost]

Stormy, a bit of snow, a bit of mild, a bit of rain and a rather sunny month aswell... pretty good due to the large amount of Pm air. Interesting and exciting, but not too cold/snowy, then again I as well as most expect a much cooler outlook for Jan and Feb.

6/10.

[Aaron]

Absolutely nothing special.. nothing to note, a few showers, that's it.

Can't vote on the poll either as I have had no snow lying days.. came close one night when Bradford, Wakefield and Sheffield got a few cm's.. missed it all though thanks to those crappy north west winds.

[johnholmes]

very mild, fairly wet and quite windy at times

[Polar Maritime]

I would say for me in my location it's been a fairly average/normal December.

[Terminal Moraine]

No complaints from me, it may have been the mildest December since 2006 but there was enough polar maritime air to allow 17 days with sleet or snow falling and 8 mornings with lying snow at 0900.

There was also 4 gale days, and it was the wettest month of the year.

[MeteoMadrid]

December of 2011 was worst December in Spain

We have not Snow in our mountains, we have not rain, we just have 1 snow day in my city...

As you can see...our minimun temperatura was -5,4º (normally the coldest minimun on December is about -9º), our maximun temperatura was +16,6º (normally the warmest one is about 10º)

December 2011: 8,9º (average 4,6º), so we have +4,3º

Incredible month, horrible month...it is a bad dream :lol: .

Well I hope that January will be better

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!!!!

Edited January 1, 2012 by MeteoMadrid

[reef]

I cant actually vote in the poll, as theres no option for 'zero days' lying snow.

The plus-side of the month was that it was very sunny, quite dry and had a few days of strong winds. However for wintry weather it was complete garbage. We had just two air frosts, with the lowest temperature being -0.7C. The first of these arrived so late it was the 4th latest date for the first air frost in 31 years. There was also no falling sleet or snow and no lying snow at 0900. As a result this winter sits as the worst on record in the winter index so far, even below 1988/89.

[Thundery wintry showers]

At Cleadon the first two-thirds of the month were reminiscent of the Decembers of 1993 and 1999- generally sunny, with temperatures mostly close to or just below normal, and with a couple of Atlantic gales thrown in. There was an unexpected snowfall on the 16th as a weak front produced some rain overnight 15th/16th and then turned to snow as it sank back south again. Hail and sleet showers followed, turning the snow cover to slush and then ice, but enough survived to give 80% snow cover at 0900 GMT on the 17th, and about 60% cover on the 18th. The last third of the month ended up much milder and dry with average amounts of sunshine, a pattern that I find rather boring, although the 22nd had a surprising amount of warm sunshine.

Overall I rated the month at 6/10, a decent but unspectacular start to the winter here.

[Backtrack]

I cant actually vote in the poll, as theres no option for 'zero days' lying snow.

The plus-side of the month was that it was very sunny, quite dry and had a few days of strong winds. However for wintry weather it was complete garbage. We had just two air frosts, with the lowest temperature being -0.7C. The first of these arrived so late it was the 4th latest date for the first air frost in 31 years. There was also no falling sleet or snow and no lying snow at 0900. As a result this winter sits as the worst on record in the winter index so far, even below 1988/89.

There is, at the bottom it says 'none'

[Zenarcher]

December 2011 was a horrible month for me bringing constant Atlantic storms over my area and they weren't our usual lows they were much more severe bringing damage on two occasions. Its been mostly cloudy as well with hardly any sunshine. The only highlight of the month was we had 1 day of lying snow. Near the end of the month I've noticed its already staying lighter for about 10 minutes longer not much but its a start.

Edited January 1, 2012 by weathermaster

[cheeky_monkey]

In terms of cold it was poor all round....1st 17 days in Edmontom very mild and dry just a couple of dustings...snow very patchy on the ground...then back to the UK been dull damp misrable and very mild havent seen any UK sun yet....going back to Canada in a week then be able to catch some rays.

[Andy Bown]

December 2011 was remarkable in that it only had 1 air frost which was a minimum of just -0.1c on the 10th! It was the warmest December I have recorded since beginning measuring temperatures in 2003! There were 2 days where wet snow fell heavy enough to settle and 3 very wet days midway through the month accounted for 52mm of the 97mm total.

For Warminster, Wiltshire ...

Average max = 8.43c (Highest = 11.8c on 31 Dec)

Average min = 4.69c (Lowest = -0.1c on 10 Dec)

Mean = 6.56c

Dry days = 6

Precipitation days = 25 (of which wintry = 4)

Rainfall = 97mm

[damianslaw]

I'll give it 6 out of 10. A decent first 18 days with plenty of polar maritime air giving some snow showers from time to time and very large totals for the fells. We had a surprise cover on the morning of the 10th which was very festive it being a saturday morning. I was in Newcastle between 15-18th and enjoyed more snow and then a couple of cold frosty days. However, the period 19-31st was a mild rainfest really did not enjoy conditions at all over christmas - I sort of wish the month had ended how it started - it was the wrong way round this year..

The fells are nearly all green now - very poor show, but already the snow is starting to come back and the outlook looks very white on high ground - how it should be in January.

[Evening thunder]

For here I'd rate it as an ok sort of month, changeable weather with some decent showery days (some with hail and sleet), some strong winds (not severe though) and rain at times, also some mild cloudy SW'erly flows as well as the PM sunny/showery flows though. There wasn't that much frost though which was a negative.

In terms of snow it would be poor here as I didn't see any falling (though not too unusual for December down here), though I did see a very distant cover of snow towards Exmoor from the top of a nearby hill, but in terms of weather in general the month was far better than November's mainly snoozefest weather here, sort of in the 'average interest' range overall so 5 or 6 out of 10.

[Carl46Wrexham]

1 out of 10

A single day of alternating sleet/wet snow/rain/sleet....yup one of those mucky days when it feels so raw that you can't stand being outside for any longer than absolutely necessary.

That aside a very unseasonably mild, often wet month.

Rubbish.

[greybing]

awful ,awful.

[Stormyking]

4/10

Reason it got a 4 is because mid month we had some decent thunder and lightning for 2 nights running, and there was some sleety snow stuff around the 18th I think, so wasn't a complete disaster of a month

[Wynn D Woo]

2/10

A poor month generally, we had a couple of wet snow / sleety showers, 3 or 4 air frosts and lots of dull, dank wet weather. No lying snow but thats not too unusual for here. The wind was the big pain in the backside though, negating any mild temps