2012: A weather review

[Bottesford]

Well its almost over so how's this year been for you in your area?

It started off well - a very sunny winter which led into Nottingham's best snowfall in years during early February - and the lowest temp of the year at -5c (11th Feb).

It was at this point very dry and we could see water issues coming up... Into last week of March and along came a really nice pleasant sunny week which got me looking forward to spring and a week off work but... bam the Friday I broke up the weather broke.

In came April and back came the rain and low temperatures. This put an end to the sunny & dry part of the year with the exception of the very best part of the year- the late May warm spell. Uniformly enjoyed for its high sunshine count, pleasant but never too warm temperatures and lack of rain. This gave my garden almost all the energy it got to grow with for some time after since the very moment summer & the bank holiday weekend I'd planned a bbq in hit - bam the weather broke again.

BBQing on the Queens Jubilee in 11c & constant rain with the heating still on in the house. Lovely - not.

Gladly for me I spent over two weeks of the dire June weather in sunnier places for work & holiday. July continued the terribly low sunshine volume and high rainfall with a few decent days at the end. This was when I recorded my highest temperature of the year at 26.8c (24th July) - the lowest yearly maximum I've recorded in the six years of record keeping and the second year to not reach 30c (2007 the other one).

August was better in that the rain slowed and it wasn't as cool. Sunshine totals were still low and this became ever more evident in my garden with peppers & tomatoes doing terribly with very few fruits and stunted plant growth. Cool weather leafy veg grew much better however - as did the slugs.

Into autumn and we got a very mixed more traditional season starting warm(ish) & dry (and the sun came back at last!) going into seriously heavy rain & gales with flooding in November.

It then turned cold as winter started with sunshine totals heading sky high again as seems to be the way of winter months in 2012. Now its turned milder and extremely wet.

Best bit: May warm spell closely followed by Feb snowfall.

Worst bit: Most of spring & summer

Most notable bit: Flooding in November & December

Will be remembered for: The year it rained a lot

My verdict: 3/10 - literally only saved by late May, Feb snow and sunny winter months. Too much rain, too dull and not warm enough at any point.

[Coast]

In simple terms; mild and wet - too wet! 805.5mm of the stuff so far this year:

[A Winter's Tale]

2012 started off with a bang with the most powerful storm I've ever seen on January 3rd. The first 12 days of January were unsettled and mild with consecutive days of rainfall and no frosts. The 13th-16th was a lot more settled and colder too with frosts and daytime highs between 3 to 5C and a low of -5C on the 16th. The 17th-25th saw a return to changeable, wet conditions with temperatures leaning on the mild side. There was some wintry precipitation in the end of January, mostly in the form of wet snow in short-lived polar maritime incursions but on the whole an underwhelming month for snow. However the month ended on a cold note with 6 consecutive days with maxima below 5C and minima below 0C from the 26th to the end of the month and also conditions turned much more settled.

And the cold conditions continued into the start of February, with the first 3 days having maxima below 5C and the first 4 days have consecutive air frosts. The 2nd was a particulary cold day with a maximum temperature of 2C and a minimum of -7C. The first 3 days were also dry. On the whole, the first 12 days were on the cold side with maximum temperatures no higher than 7C and minimum values no higher than 3C aswell. However from the 13th onwards it was much milder, with 13 days of maximum temperatures above 10C and only one air frost on the 19th. It was also quite wet from the 16th onwards. Certainly a month of contrasts but it was a very disapointing month regarding snow.

March 2012 began where February left off before a cooler blip between the 4th and 6th with some air frosts and some wet snow. The 6th-11th saw a return to the mild and unsettled weather - there was only one dry day in the first 11 days on the month. The final two thirds of the month was even milder but very dry with only 6 wet days from the 12th to the end of the month. Between 24th and 28th, there was a stunning warm spell where the temperature reached 20C for the first time in 2012. There were also some big contrasts in daily temperatures with highs up to 20C and lows down to 0C under the high pressure. There was no rainfall from the 24th to the end of the month.

Early April saw a dramatic change to much colder weather including the first April snowfall here since 2008. The 5th saw a particulary low minima of -5C. The 5th-13th saw quite unsettled conditions with slightly milder temperatures between the 6th and 10th. It was a very changeable month on the whole with 26 wet days in total, an impressive 11 days with an air frost and the average minimum temperature was pretty low at 1.8C. After a very mild and also a dry March, April was much colder and more unsettled.

May started off on a average note but the 3rd was quite a warm day. However there was a cold spell between the 5th and 7th and there was also a snow flurry. The minimum temperature of -4C on the 9th was very low for May. It was also a fairly dry start to the month. However between the 10th and 18th it was very wet and the temperatures were cold for this time of year. However from the 19th to the end of the month, there was only 2 wet days but there was a spectacular heatwave between 21st and 28th including a maximum temperatures of 27C on the 24th - the highest of the year and warmest temperatures for a few years - and on 4 days teh temperature reached 25C.

June 2012 was a very disapointing month. The temperature only reach 20C once on the 26th and the average maximum temperature was 15.9C. The minimum temperature failed to exceed 5C during the first 9 days and maximum temperatures were as low as 11C and minima was also as low as 2C. It was also a wet month too with 24 wet days.

Rain fell on consecutive days during the first 11 days of July. Temperatures were a bit higher including the warmest temperature of the month, 23C, recorded on the 5th. However the temperature did not reach 20C between the 7th and 25th. On 6 days did the temperature reach 20C. Also, it was a very wet month with only 3 dry days.

August certainly was an improvement with 5 wet days during the first 11 days. It was also a much warmer month with a mean high of 19.3C and 12 consecutive days with the temperature reaching and exceeding 20C between the 10th and 21st including a high of 23C on the 10th. In total the maximum temperature reached 20C on 16 occasions but all of which occured in the first 21st days. There was also consecutive wet days between the 12th and 27th. The month also finished on a cold note on the 31st with a high of 15C and a low of 3C.

The first 9 days of September were quite decent with temperatures exceeding 15C, including highs of 19C and minimum temperatures as high as 15C. It was also quite a dry start with a few dry days. However there were consecutive wet days between the 9th and 20th and a bit cooler too including a maximum temperature of 10C on the 20th. There was a dry spell during the 21st-23rd but also a cold one too with a low of -1C on the 22nd. And it was a wet and unsettled end to the month and the temperatures were not all that impressive.

October started off with 5 consecutive wet days with changeable conditions. However there was a dry spell between the 6th and 9th but also a cold one too with 4 consecutive air frosts between the 7th and 10th including a low of -3C on the 10th. There were spells of wet and changeable conditions between the 10th and 24th - the warmest temperature of the month of 15C recorded on the 21st but on the whole temperatures were on the cool side. The month finished on a dry and a cold note with a cold spell on the 26th-27th, a low of -3C on the 27th and a very brief snow flurry on the 26th. A foggy end to the month on Halloween night. Certainly a cold month with 9 days with an air frost in total.

November started on a cold, frosty but also a showery note. There were 5 consecutive days with an air frost including -3C on the 5th and the first lying snow was visible on the Campsies. It turned milder between the 6th and 9th and there were consecutive wet days between the 6th and 25th. There were some mild days such as the 13th with maxima/minima of 14/8C and also some colder days such as the 10th with maxima/minima of 8/0C. However it was a cold end to the month with consecutive air frosts from the 24th, including back to back days with minima of -5C on the 29th and 30th. There were also 4 days in this time with maxima below 5C.

And the cold weather continued into December with 6 consecutive days with maxima below 5C, and an impressive 14 consecutive days with minima below 0C (combined with the end of November that makes for a run of minima below 0C that's longer than the severe cold spells of recent winters). There was also the most significant snowfall of the year on the 2nd/3rd with depths up to 3-5cm that stayed on the ground for a number of days. It was a bit milder on the 7th-10th but there was a return to cold conditions on the 12th-15th including the coldest maxima/minima of the year on on the 12th with values of 0/-8C. There was also a snowfall on the 13th that briefly left a dusting. It's been milder and more unsettled since the 15th but maxima has failed to exceed 10C until today.

All in all it has been a mixed year. The weather could have been more consistent, the summer really was dissapointing. However in terms of heat, the spells of late March and May were fantastic and August wasn't too bad either. The storm in early January was the most powerful I've ever seen. Autumn probably was the best season and was pretty cold whilst summer was the poorest. Spring was quite decent but mixed. January and February for periods were disapointing but there were some cold spells of notice. In terms of snow it's been mixed, January and in particular February failed to deliver whilst there was the first April snow since 2008, a snow flurry in May and the first snow I've ever seen here in October. The best of snow was in early December so 2012 didn't fail like 2007 after all. Regarding cold weather, it was mixed in January and February with long frostless periods. March was particulary dissapointing but April, May, October and November did very well regarding frosts and so did September. Without doubt, the best of the heat was in May and the best of the cold was in November/December.

[Methuselah]

January - mild crap;

February - colder crap;

March - wonderful;

April - cold, wet crap;

May - cold, wet crap;

June - cold, wet crap

July - okay;

August - I've forgotten;

September - likewise;

October - cooler than average, wet crap;

November - cold, wet crap;

December - average, very wet crap...

Overall - cold, wet crap...

[Bottesford]

Bit of data to back it up (and just realised the mistakes in my first post!).

Temperatures... yes 2012 is the coolest year in of the last 6 mostly for average mins being lowest by some margin. 2006 stands out as the wonderful warm beacon - long for that kind of year again! Also can note when I moved house in July 2008 with indoor temperatures falling through the floor!

Right now to assess rain data...

[Milhouse]

A pretty poor year on the whole with an emphasis on excessive rainfall. And thats despite records for my neck of the woods showing that during the summer rainfall wasnt that far off average suprisingly. The only highlights were the stunning march, the week at the end of May and the small slice of summer between the middle of July and the middle of September. For nearby Humberside Airport between July 17th and September 10th all but 8 days reached at least 20c. 14 days recorded over 24c during that period.

[SnowObsessor90]

I think rain, rain, rain pretty much sums it lol

[Summer Sun]

This year has been far to wet and a lack of summer like heat has made this year one to forget totally hopefully 2013 will be better, it can't be worse can it !?

January - A mild month with low rainfall- Pass

February - Driest month of 2012 colder First half milder second half - Pass

March - 2nd driest month of 2012 a very warm month through out - Pass

April - Cold, wet, awful - Fail

May - Cold, wet, one wonderful week at the end - Pass just only thanks to the years best spell of BBQ weather with temperatures into the mid to high 20's for 5 successive days

June - Mild, wettest month of summer - Fail

July - Mild, driest month of Summer, with some summer sunshine mid month - Pass Just

August - Another mild month decent sunny periods second driest summer month - Pass

September - A mild and dry 3 weeks followed by a stormy and very wet end - Fail

October - Cooler than average limited settled periods and wet with snow during the last weekend - Fail

November - Cold a dry start followed by a cold wet end of the month snow on the final day - Fail

December - Above average temperatures after a cold and snowy first 5 days, very wet with above average rain and strong winds - Fail

So in summery I have give 6 passes (2 just) and 6 fails

Overall opinion of 2012 - Crap

A good start lead to a very wet and poor year with floods hitting many parts of the UK. 2013 surely can't be worse one would expect this pattern to break over the coming few weeks giving high pressure an attempt to take over

Edited December 23, 2012 by Gavin.

[Bottesford]

By the law of averages we will be due another extended dry period soon... lets hope it kicks off at the same time the current wet one did - early April - then keeps going until autumn.

[LomondSnowstorm]

January: continuation of an incredibly stormy 12 month period from 2011, with the 3rd seeing the most damaging storm since 1968 for the woods around here. Turned drier later on, trending colder too.

February: Failed easterly to start with here, had a bit of snow mid month but a month that promised a lot but delivered little really.

March: warm, sunny, one of the best months of the year. Warmest temperature of 2012 here occurred in March: 26C.

April: Another great month weatherwise, major flip around to cold at the start of the month with the biggest snowfall of 2011/12 at around 4cm and continued to be very cold throughout.

May: Not as settled as other Mays in the past but still better than most of the winter months, good spell late month though.

June: Exceptionally cool and wet month here, synoptically wouldn't have looked out of place in some classic cold winters but certainly not very summery.

July: If not quite the wettest then certainly the dullest July I can remember, sunshine hours for the first half of the month were between 10 and 20 and the only salvation was the fact that we were away in Austria for the end of the month where we at least had some warm sunshine (alongside some pretty impressive thunderstorms).

August: Pretty non-descript really, a few nice days and certainly the best summer month but nothing particularly warm with still some rainfall at times.

September: Not a memorable month, not especially warm but not all that wet either.

October: colder month, nice cold spell at the end with a bit of falling snow.

November: pretty typical November, some cold spells, unsettled mid month but colder at the end of the month.

December: Cold, relatively snowy first half, incredibly wet mid month probably through to the end.

Overall, I've seen better, a few memorable switch arounds but the most memorable feature was the almost unending rainfall.

[Summer Sun]

By the law of averages we will be due another extended dry period soon... lets hope it kicks off at the same time the current wet one did - early April - then keeps going until autumn.

Yes its like all this poor summers the law of averages will give us a decent one some time, another extended dry period will of course happen at some point no one knows when though

[greybing]

January - mild crap;

February - colder crap;

March - wonderful;

April - cold, wet crap;

May - cold, wet crap;

June - cold, wet crap

July - okay;

August - I've forgotten;

September - likewise;

October - cooler than average, wet crap;

November - cold, wet crap;

December - average, very wet crap...

Overall - cold, wet crap...

That does pretty much sum up our climate.

[Weather-history]

What I will always remember 2012 for is the worst summer I can recall. It was atrocious. Memorable thunderstorm at the end of August.

[Skip Spence]

Must agree with the Ponce. Largely hideous apart from the end of March, end of May and end of July. Unbelievable amount of rain from mid April to date. Apart from the pleasant spell end July, no summer. Again. All in all, even worse than usual; and usual's plenty bad enough.

[Thundery wintry showers]

I spent the period January to mid-June in Cleadon in the Tyne and Wear area, and from mid-June onwards I was based in Sandhutton (N Yorkshire). This will have made slight differences to the specifics but the general weather was much the same.

January- Mild, dry and sunny, most memorable for a windy start and an anticyclonic spell midmonth with stunning sunsets, reminiscent of the February 2008 one. Otherwise, a month that won't stick in the memory, though the high sunshine amounts were welcome.

February- Cold first half, much milder second half, very little snow, though an "ice-storm" on the 4th.

March- Warm and dry with variable cloud until the last third, then exceptionally warm and sunny, with 20C on a couple of the days.

April- A "switch-around" at the start with some wet snow and a strong NE wind, then the month became increasingly dull and wet.

May- Cool and cloudy first two-thirds, a notable cold snap on the 5th/6th but not quite cold enough for sleet/snow. Memorable warm sunny spell in the last third which rather fortuitously coincided with a trip to Norwich to have a BBQ with some students.

June- Dull and wet with low daytime maxima and frequent Atlantic depressions, some convective events at the end although Sandhutton's thunderstorms on the 28th were nothing compared with what Tyneside got. My birthday (22nd) was particularly autumnal this year, as were the preceding two Fridays.

July- Dull and damp first half with a staggering number of drizzly "non-weather" days, got drier, brighter and warmer in the second half but still often cloudy.

August- Warm sunny first half, the sunshine was mixed with showers and frequent thunder in the first week while the second week was mostly dry, but the second half saw dull wet conditions increasingly make a return.

September- Dry and sunny until the last week, warm first third and cool middle third, but then exceptionally wet around the 23rd-25th with flooding.

October- A varied and "episodic" month, with unexpected snow showers on the 26th/27th- the first time I've seen snow in October. Wet, due to a couple of active individual frontal systems, most notably overnight 11th/12th. Sunshine probably a little above average, though it was grey and drizzly around the 22nd-25th.

November- An average month until the last week with little of note, then yet another exceptionally wet spell thanks to slow-moving frontal rain belts.

December- A cold first half which promised snowfalls but failed to deliver more than a brief dusting on the ground, though it was notably sunny. Since midmonth, though, it's been mostly dull and wet with yet more slow-moving frontal belts and flooding.

Overall I found late-March, late-May, the first half of August and much of October rather enjoyable, but otherwise pretty poor- the main points of note were the unrelenting greyness of much of June and July and the frequency of active slow-moving rain belts with prolonged moderate rain sustaining for upwards of 24 hours and resulting in flooding.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Thundery wintry showers

[Guest pjl20101]

Trouble with the weather this year has been the very negative QBO, lowish solar flux and a very cold PDO. All of those analogues don't bode well if you like it settled.

[Zenarcher]

For my location,

Jan: A big storm hit Scotland at the very start, luckily missed my location the eye of the storm passed over here so was calm while most area's had strong winds. For the rest of the month I usually expect more unsettled weather but it didn't come and we ended up with high pressure to our north during the last few days giving cold and sunny weather.

Feb: High pressure stayed around for most of the month so it was mostly sunny and cold which is great.

Mar: Another month where high pressure dominated for much of the time so more sunny weather and slightly warmer than normal.

Apr: More unsettled low pressure systems came from the NW at times giving some hail showers and colder than normal weather. Still was a great month for weather though.

May: Average start nothing interesting but the end high pressure arrived giving very warm temperatures one of the warmest May's I've recorded a great month but I feared at the time maybe summer has arrive too early.

Jun: At first continued the settled and warm weather but towards the end we got more wet and windy weather.

July: High pressure was always near by but never settled down so was a mixture of unsettled days and sunny days overall for a summer month it was decent.

Aug: A warm and settled start but the end of the month ended wet and windy overall it wasn't too great.

Sep: Was a mix of settled and warm weather and unsettled at times.

Oct: Temps for the first few days were strangely warmer than normal, the month was mainly settled and a great month overall.

Nov: Usually expect very wet and windy weather here at this time of year but that never came too sure we had unsettled weather but nothing big.

Dec: Last year it was very stormy this year has been different more colder and settled.

Overall - Not a bad year but I do like it better than 2011's weather, we had a mixture of cold and warm weather just I believe the nice weather in May for me was summer arriving too early because none of the summer months were able to match it. December has been colder than normal although not cold enough for snow.

Edited December 23, 2012 by weathermaster

[Ben_Cambs]

Jan: Pretty mundane, not much action weatherwise.

Feb: Very cold and snowy first half countered by a mild second half, though the most interesting month of winter overall by far.

March: Very dry but rather uneventful.

April: Relentless rainfall and cool temperatures.

May: Same as April.

June: The same..

July: A slight improvement on the past months though not particularly warm or dry.

August: By far the best month of the summer, plenty of warm and sunny weather which included a couple of cracking thunderstorms.

September: Nothing too spectacular.

October: Mundane.

Nov: Not too eventful.

Dec: Some decent frosts and one snowfall, though not great now that the wet weather has returned!

August was the most interesting month this year...

[Summer Sun]

April: Relentless rainfall and cool temperatures.

May: Same as April.

Don't forget the hot spell at the end of May which lasted for around a week

[J10]

January - A disappointing month in terms of wintriness but at least not too wet.

February - A few snow events but nothing long lasting, again quite dry.

March - The driest month on the year, quite mild at times all well.

April - Quite a cool month, rather disappointing for Spring.

May - The highlight of the year was the local arrival of the Olympic torch on a baking hot and gloriously sunny day.

June - Very wet and cool

July - Not as bad as June with the start of the school holiday giving a 10 dry dry and sunny /bright spell

August - Disappointing, quite cool and wet at times.

September - A great first week, when I was in Spain and then rather disappointing.

October / November - Disappointing rather wet at times, however a major hail storm at start of November

December - Wet Vert, average temps

winter - milder than wanted

Summer - Cooler and wetter than wanted.

Overall 4/10 if being generous, possibly from my perspective worst weather year I can remember.

What I will always remember 2012 for is the worst summer I can recall. It was atrocious. Memorable thunderstorm at the end of August.

What was your summer index this year.

[Aaron]

January: very windy first half, rather wet, hail, sleet and snow showers, mini-cold snap in the middle of the month, harsh frosts and plentiful sunshine. Okay.

February: cold first half, good snowfall, cloudy, mild second half. Good.

March: warm, dry and very sunny. Boring, but pleasant.

April: wet, cloudy, cool. Good temperatures, far too cloudy, rainfall okay.

May: cooler first half, very sunny, warm second half. Sunniest month of the year with 222.8 hours of sun. Average rainfall. 2 air frosts. Very good month.

June: exceptionally cloudy, cool and very wet. Rainfall would be okay, if it was sunnier and warmer.

July: cannot remember much about this month, cooler than average, cloudier than average. Boring and forgettable.

August: slightly warmer than average, cloudier than average. Boring and forgettable.

September: Same as July.

October: cooler than average, sunnier than average, snow on 2 days. Good.

November: slightly cooler than average, plenty of air frost, rather sunny. Good.

December so far: fantastic first half, going downhill rapidly with the arrival of cloudier, milder weather.

2012 will not be remembered for any reason here. It was wetter than average but not exceptionally so, unlike other areas. Summer could be sunnier, but other than that, 2012 was okay, but boring, and NO thunderstorms (other parts of the city had 2, but they both missed here). 5/10 from me.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Aaron

[The PIT]

January. A snow free month but however made up for that with some windy weather with gusts passing the 60 mph on three occasions . A mild month as well with rainfall Just below average.

February A cold start to the month with some rare snow managing a brief depth of 7cm. Otherwise a very dry month and fairly uneventful. Temps just below average.

March A very mild dry month. The dry weather now catching everybodies attention and gloomy predictions of stand pipes for all in England are issued. How wrong they were. I make an observation that a June 2007 type of month would effectively cancel any drought orders despite claims to contrary.

April An extremely wet month in fact a record wet April for Sheffield with 196mm falling. Experts caught badly off guard and the drought orders float away in series of floods across the country. Also a very cool month. Snow also fell on the third with a slight covering

May Back to dry with average temps. Most of the months rain falling on one day. However models indicate a jet stream moving south so a wash out summer could well be on the cards.

June A month that ducks love. Cool and very wet 182mm of rain fell. Local paper forgets about June 2007 and asks me to comment on the record wet month. They lose interest when I point out it's far from a record and can't they remember the floods in 2007?

July Ducks on the rampage as it rains and rains. Not as wet as June but over a 100mm again. Cool again I speculate about whether it will be a record wet summer.

August Another wet month that just misses the 100mm mark. However enough rain falls to make a new record wet summer. Summer comes in on the cool and very wet side.

September Actually starts dry and with hardly any rain falling until the 23rd. Then the heavens open once more demonstrating that large rainfall events aren't as rare as some like to make out as 80mm fall in three days. Once again 100mm is passed.

October Bucks the trend and actually comes in with below average rainfall. A cold month with temperatures below normal Otherwise uneventful quiet month.

November Dry weather continues well into November until the 20th when the majority of the rain falls pushing the total once more past the 100mm mark. Temps just below normal.

December Despite a cold first part of the month the month is snow free.This making it the worst start to any winter for a very long time. Rainfall goes crazy once more becoming very wet after the 14th pushing the month once again past the 100mm mark and still counting. A new record wet year and the record keeps getting pushed upwards. The old record simply smashed. New survey says due to climate change we will get wetter. Funnily enough some years ago experts made the opposite prediction. Of course scary predictions keep the grant money rolling in. If it goes dry for the next six months the next survey will predict that drought is the future.

Edited December 23, 2012 by The PIT

[Isolated Frost]

Winter was mild (apart from a week of cold, drizzly south-easterlies).

Spring was okay (March beautiful, April useless, May had some late warmth).

Summer... I would rather not talk about it.

Autumn... ditto (bar a superb cold spell in October, and some sun at times!).

December was very cold to begin with, a few good snowfalls, and then mild and cloudy since, with a lot of rain.

Generally crap, with some less crap in between.

What I would give for 2010 again! Cold January, February, March, November and December, seasonal Spring and Autumn- warm Summer. Ahhh.

[Ben_Cambs]

Don't forget the hot spell at the end of May which lasted for around a week

Ah yes forgot that! Maybe all the uninspiring weather this year made me forget some of the better moments!

[damianslaw]

Overall a very wet unsettled year with a few notable exceptions.

January - a dissapointing month for snow, indeed we didn't see any, apart from the 13-16th and the tail end of the month it was very mild and often quite wet.

Feb - One of the few lengthy dry periods of the year started the month off, with a run of cold frosty days and the our heaviest fall of snow during the winter on the 4th - 5 inches, which stuck around for a good week. However, on the 12th things changed markedly and the rest of the month was very mild and preety much frost less..

Mar - very mild almost May like during the latter half, with an excellent spell of dry sunny warm weather, highly unusual for so early in the season.

April - Oh dear the heavens opened, a preety dismal spring month, copious rain little sun and often chilly.

May - a dissapointing first two thirds often cold wet with little sunshine, however the last 10 days brought our warmest driest spell of the year, an excellent spell of weather.

June - very dissapointing, cold wet little sunshine - a very poor summer month

July - started off in the same vein as June but got better with some drier sunnier spells at times, albeit too shortlived.

Aug - not too bad a summer month, better than many August's but failed to deliver a lengthy very warm sunny dry spell.

Sept - often wet and quite cool at times after a warm start, quite traditional.

Oct - a very autumnal month, with a bit of everything, one of the more interesting months weatherwise.

Nov - not bad overall some decent dry settled chilly weather to end the month.

Dec - a decent first half with a number fo frosty dry cold days, the 10th-13th was a lovely period with sunny cold days, however, only slight dustings of snow on the 2nd. Since the 13th dissapointingly non-wintry like, very dull and often wet and these conditions look like seeing the month out, a month of contrasts then.

Overall - apart from the rain, which at times was exceptional, a preety average year.