One of the mildest Winters for some years?

[Summer of 95]

There hasn't been a day fail to reach 4C yet this autumn/winter; that is unprecedented in the last 25 years this late in the season. Even the late 90s rotters and 2006-7 had managed it. 

 

The lowest minimum is similarly the highest in that period taking the whole winter half year; although the winter quarter of 97-8 saw nothing below -2 till February we had a -5 in late October 1997.

 

The maxima are nothing special though; typically between 6 and 9C compared to long stretches of 10-13C in such winters as 06-7,97-8, 94-5, 89-90. It's the lack of anything low, both max and min, that stands out.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Summer of 95

[Summer of 95]

Now I posted that and it has started snowing..... probably not for long but very unexpected.

[The PIT]

GFS shows a cool possible cold period in FI so it may actually cool down a bit.

[Bottesford]

To say its been mild in Berlin would be an understatement!

 

These are my current stats:

 

Average temperature: +6.5 °C

Average maximum temperature: +8.8 °C

Average minimum temperature: +4.1 °C

Maximum temperature: +12.2 °C at 19:23:00 on 09 January

Minimum temperature: +0.3 °C at 07:48:00 on 01 January

 

To compare, Jan average min is -3c and max is +2c so we're some 6c above average. Now my sensor is located on my roof terrace so I did wonder if the building was affecting it but my stats aren't too far off these: http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/EDDT/2014/1/14/MonthlyHistory.html

 

Another sunny day and 7c already...

[4wd]

January is near average here so far.
It's the coolest mild winter for a while. 

Mild is 10C plus in the UK

[Coast]

AFTER the mildest December for 15 years and a warmer-than-usual new year, normal weather service is about to be resumed.

 

Following a week in which 8°C and 9°C were recorded, daytime temperatures in Nottingham were expected to drop to 5°C by tomorrow – an average mark for the second week of January. But the unusually warm early winter has produced unusual sights in Notts including...

• The appearance of a rare glossy ibis wading bird, usually found south of the UK, in a field on the outskirts of Lowdham.
• Blossom on trees in Enfield Street, Beeston, and Mona Road, Lady Bay, in the second week of January.
• Hedgehogs apparently delaying their hibernation because of unusually warm weather.

 

The Christmas and new year weather headlines were dominated by storms that battered the south-west coasts and caused extensive flooding in the south and west of England. In the east, the weather has been wet, windy and mild, confirmed Notts weather data collector and Nottingham Post columnist Andrew Shaw, who monitors weather stations at Attenborough Nature Reserve and in Stapleford. "December was very mild – not a record-breaker but one with the lowest number of frosts since 1988," he said. "The mildest temperature we recorded was 13°C, and that was at midnight on December 15, which is very mild for mid-December."

 

The appearance of the glossy ibis may yet herald the gradual spread northwards of the species – something that has happened in recent years with other wading birds like the egret. The bird feeds on adult and larval insects such as aquatic beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets and flies – and a plentiful supply of those would point to a warmer-than-average winter. Barry Nelson, Notts spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said there had been no other unusual sightings that were attributable to warm weather. A flock of 14 rare parrot crossbills has drawn bird-watchers to the Budby and Birklands areas of Sherwood Forest – but according to the RSPB, their presence will have more to do with food shortages and easterly winds in Russia and Scandinavia than the weather in the UK. "There are the usual winter visitors like redwing and fieldfares," said Mr Nelson. "As long as there is food they will stay around. Once it is gone, or if snow covers it up, off they will go."

 

At Kirkby-in-Ashfield an award-winning wildlife campaigner, Wendy Radford, of Cedar Wildlife Sanctuary, reported that too many hedgehogs have been dying after failing to hibernate successfully. Especially vulnerable are hedgehogs born later in the year – known as autumn orphans – which may not have enough excess weight to cope with hibernation. Wendy has taken in 30 this winter but looked after 50 last year and 70 the year before.

 

Patchy flooding will have had no effect on livestock farming, said the NFU's East Midlands spokesman. However if another round of heavy rain swells the Trent, it could be bad news for arable farmers like John Miller at Kelham, near Newark. "This side of England has been getting away with it compared with the West Country, the South and the North-West," he said. "But the mild weather has had no effect on the crops, which are where they would be in a normal year." Mr Miller grows wheat, barley, oats, sugar beet and oilseed rape on 1,700 acres. He said: "I'm fairly happy with where we are, compared with last year when we were suffering with flooding and some of our beet rotted. "We were pumping water off the crop last January and February and pumping it on the next crop during a dry April. "I've been farming for 20 years and I've noticed a change in the climate since the turn of the millennium: periods of no rain at all, then too much rain."

 

So what about the weather this week?

 

At the time of going to press the forecast for today was for a bright day with daytime temperatures of 7C. However, cooler and wetter weather is expected from tomorrow, with temperatures dropping to 4C by the end of the week.

 

http://www.nottinghampost.com/Wildlife-takes-walk-mild/story-20434694-detail/story.html#ixzz2qMr8JvqZ

[4wd]

 

Blossom on trees in Enfield Street, Beeston, and Mona Road, Lady Bay, in the second week of January

Well I never, would that be one of those tricky winter flowering cherry trees perchance- that they always show when trying to tell us how mild it has been.Journalists are so lazy and are clueless about subjects like this. In fact that entire piece just describes normal UK winter really.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3345615/Winter-beauty-Prunus-x-subhirtella-Autumnalis.html

[Coast]

Movements to our North?

 

Snow in Stockholm spells end to mild winter

 

Rain, clouds, and tepid temperatures have characterized much of central and southern Sweden's winter so far, but state meteorologists said on Friday that a cold spell would move in over the entire country over the weekend.

 

A few hours after nightfall, residents of Linköping saw snow. By morning, it had reached the capital, with parked cars dusted with snow but gutter water twinkling with rain - a testament to the odd winter weather so far. The temperature went up to 2C in Stockholm, making the tenacity of the blanket of snow questionable. In southern city Malmö, temperatures hovered around a stubborn 8C. 

 

On Friday, Stockholm and Uppland are expected to be blanketed in around 10 centimetres of snow, which is expected to stay, said state weather agency meteorologists at SMHI. This weekend, a cold front will engulf the entire country.  By Saturday, temperatures will fall below freezing over much of the country, reaching as far south as Gotland Island in the Baltic Sea. By Sunday, the freeze will have reached the southern SkÃ¥ne County. 

 

"After the mild start to the winter there will be a proper change of weather," SMHI noted on Friday. "This weekend cold air will sweep down over the entire country and the cold is expected to stay into next week

 

http://www.thelocal.se/20140110/snow-in-stockholm-spells-end-to-mild-winter

 

Down a bit, down a bit more.........

Edited January 14, 2014 by Coast

[The PIT]

Bar one or two rather cold days no sign of any cold even now so I suspect Jan will come in at 6C here which will need feb to come in at 8.2C to make the warmest ever. So going to be a struggle I think.

[cheese]

 

Movements to our North?

 

 

http://www.thelocal.se/20140110/snow-in-stockholm-spells-end-to-mild-winter

 

Down a bit, down a bit more.........

 

Further north, there is moderate snow in Vilhelmina, northern Sweden with a temperature of -23.9C, after a low of -31.3C.

 

 

http://www.webbkameror.se/webbkameror/vilhelmina/vilhelmina_volgsjovagen.php

Edited January 15, 2014 by cheese

[The PIT]

We want our snow back we want our snow back.

Well a snow free largely air frost free Jan is still very much on. Say odds are 70 -30 on this happening.

[NorthYorksWeather]

Only 13 air frosts here in comparison with 21 this time last year and no falling snow whatsoever apart from up on the Wolds briefly in December, so February/March have got there work cut out if there gonna salvage this winter.

[Wynn D Woo]

Well just two more days until its 1 year since the last time it snowed and settled in these parts. Last winter was poor, this one is shaping up to be far worse...

[Coast]

 

UK weather: mild spell causes birds to break into song and flowers to bloom

 

The unseasonably mild winter weather has brought early signs of spring, including blooming flowers, budding trees and bird song

 

It may have been a stormy and inhospitable month for many people in Britain, but it seems the unusual weather has also upset the natural world as well. Plants, insects and animals are taking advantage of the unseasonably mild conditions to engage in the kind of behaviour normally seen in the spring.

 

Wildlife experts have received dozens of reports of snowdrops blooming across the UK, nearly a month before they would normally be expected. Trees such as elder have also been spotted budding while in Hampshire are even showing their first leaves. Hazel in Devon, Lincolnshire and Cheshire has also been seen flowering. Some birds have also been recorded nesting while the first reports of song thrush singing arrived on 13 January now several have been spotted around the country.

 

The first Chiffchaff of the season has also been reported in north Wales while the first ladybirds and Red Admiral butterflies have also been spotted. Phenologists, who study the life cycle of plants and animals, claim the early signs of spring are part of a recent trend that has seen natural events arriving around 12 days earlier than the long term average. But with colder conditions forecast for the end of this month, the false start to spring could have a negative impact on many species if colder weather arrives.

 

Dr Kate Laithwaite, the Woodland Trust Nature’s Calendar project manager, said: “I would be really surprised if it stayed mild for the whole January to March period and that is the concern really. “Most shrubs and flowers will probably be all right as they are in the early stages of their annual cycle. “For insects and amphibians it is not so rosy. Ladybirds, for example, have finite energy reserves and nectar at this time of year will be thin on the ground, so they might not make it through to the spring. “Similarly frogs only get one chance to breed each year and if it gets very cold the spawn can freeze and will be lost if they are fooled into breeding too early.â€

 

Since the start of January much of the country has seen temperatures in double figures, with the average temperature for the whole country last week being around 47.6 degrees F. It follows mildest Decembers since 1988, with an average temperature of 42.3 degrees F. The Woodland Trust records sightings of spring from members of the public as part of its Nature’s Calendar project, which is aimed at monitoring the long term changes in the countryside to the climate. Last year Britain saw a similarly warm start to January before experiencing one of the coldest springs on record. It meant that many amphibians and insects suffered poor breeding seasons.

 

Over the past 25 years, flowers such as snowdrops, forest anemone and bluebells have bloomed up to 12 days earlier compared to the long term trend. This year it has already received 50 recordings of hazel flowering, including some as far north as Aberdeenshire, with many branches heavy with catkins They have also received 36 reports of snowdrops flowering, which normally occurs in February, with some appearing as far north as Glasgow and Northumberland. Readers of The Telegraph have also reported some early signs of spring in their gardens, with strawberries flowering in Wokingham and bumblebees in Peasedown St John, Somerset. Rosebud cherry trees have also been seen to have blossom in many parts of the country.

 

The Royal Horticultural Society said they had started receiving some reports of snowdrops flowering but that was increasingly normal for recent years. Daffodils began flowering at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens near Weymouth, Dorset, last week while farmers in County Durham moved early spring lambs inside to shelter them from the stormy conditions. However, the heavy rain, strong winds and tidal surges that have accompanied the mild conditions have also taken their toll on many species.

 

Waterfowl such as ducks, which have been nesting earlier than usual due to the mild conditions, had their nests destroyed by flooding. Sussex Wildlife Trust has reported swallows nesting and several species of butterflies on its nature reserve. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has also reported large displays of snowdrops on its reserve at Loynton Moss. Dr Laithwaite said that weather patterns tend to vary from year to year, affecting plants, insects and animals in different ways. However, she said there had recently been some rapid changes that were forcing species to adapt. She said: “Some species are adapted to stop-start spring weather where it is unseasonably mild and then gets cold. “If this becomes a predominant pattern that we see in the spring, which we believe it is, then some species will struggle.â€

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10574428/UK-weather-mild-spell-causes-birds-to-break-into-song-and-flowers-to-bloom.html

[Hiya]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10574428/UK-weather-mild-spell-causes-birds-to-break-into-song-and-flowers-to-bloom.html

A swallow? What a load of rubbish!

[The PIT]

Only 13 air frosts here in comparison with 21 this time last year and no falling snow whatsoever apart from up on the Wolds briefly in December, so February/March have got there work cut out if there gonna salvage this winter.

Blimey you're cold only one air frost here.

Yes I've seen signs of spring already. One lilly in my ponds has never died back and carried on growing.  The lawn needs cutting as that's been growing slowly through out the none winter as has the hedge. Could do with some dry weather to dry everything out. Dry and cold would be best as it would dry out quicker then I could cut it.

Worst winter I can remember without doubt. The only saving grace some stormy stuff in December but most of that was half baked..

[North-Easterly Blast]

I have to say that for two and a half months the overall temperatures have hardly changed at all - temperatures have just remained in a very narrow range every single day since early -mid November with 8-9*C day highs and 3-4*C night lows with hardly any days deviating much from these values in over two months.  It reminds me of late 1994 when the temperature never really seemed to change from early October to mid December.

 

Saying that, the early part of winter 2011-12 was almost or about on a similar level for temperature as the first part of this winter has been - albeit the early part of winter 2011-12 did see some colder zonality in mid December that brought a few frosts and a little snow down to the south Pennines, though mainly only over higher ground, and we did see a cold frosty period in the middle of Jan 2012, so there was a bit more variability to the first half of that winter.

[Jax]

Well just two more days until its 1 year since the last time it snowed and settled in these parts. Last winter was poor, this one is shaping up to be far worse...

Diety last winter was a complete mare here, wall to wall snow and ice for weeks and weeks well into what should have been spring, rather not do that again thank you.

A swallow? What a load of rubbish!

where is that? I cannot see any mention of such.

[johnholmes]

The mildest here, in 18 years data, since 2007 for mimimum values and 2008 for maximum values, 1 air frost so far, so back to 2000 for that, and no snow so far is only back as far as 2012.

[DELETED]

I know it has been mild thus far but I'm trying to stay positive. Remember 2011 to 2012? December and January were very mild months, but in late January to early February we suddenly got a cold plunge from Scandinavia. At the same time low-pressure off of the Atlantic bumped into the cold air on February 4-5 and gave us 10-25cm of snow in some places. So just because we are in mid-January doesn't mean it's all over because most of our snow and cold comes in February and even March and April in some years and plus, next week looks much cooler than this week.

Cant agree more i hope people dont write it off. Theres still lots of time to turn this poor showing around.

[redkite]

Wow, some are saying NOT especially mild?  In S Lakes, av Jan temp is about 6oC - every day execpt 12th has reached 6oC.  How about December?  Mean maximum at my site is 6.6 oC, so how many days didn't reach that?  None!  Mean max in December of 9.3 oC and no air frosts - this is the first time this has happened in my 36 years of observation!!  Only 3 air frosts to date, all in November. 13 days with a max above 10oC.  This is verging on the extraordinary!

[CongletonHeat]

Wow, some are saying NOT especially mild?  In S Lakes, av Jan temp is about 6oC - every day execpt 12th has reached 6oC.  How about December?  Mean maximum at my site is 6.6 oC, so how many days didn't reach that?  None!  Mean max in December of 9.3 oC and no air frosts - this is the first time this has happened in my 36 years of observation!!  Only 3 air frosts to date, all in November. 13 days with a max above 10oC.  This is verging on the extraordinary!

Some people on here just like to argue and be very pedantic, one bloke was even saying that 2c+ above average isn't mild here and used -48 and -50 in the arctic as an example, you will get used to it if you bother to stick around.

Edited January 17, 2014 by CongletonHeat

[Coopsy]

If anyone's interested its been the warmest winter in the 10 years since I have been here in the Rockies in Canada.

 

Other than 3 days of -30oC in December its generally been above freezing. It hasn't dropped below freezing in 3 days at night and been close to double figures during the day. We have grass visible in the yard and at 4300 ft ASL....its quite remarkable.

[The PIT]

Some people on here just like to argue and be very pedantic, one bloke was even saying that 2c+ above average isn't mild here and used -48 and -50 in the arctic as an example, you will get used to it if you bother to stick around.

+2C above average is mild probably in very mild category. We're talking the UK not the Arctic.

A brief rather cold spell next week which will put a spanner in the works for the mildest ever recorded here. That's going to be very hard to achieve.

[johnholmes]

Wow, some are saying NOT especially mild?  In S Lakes, av Jan temp is about 6oC - every day execpt 12th has reached 6oC.  How about December?  Mean maximum at my site is 6.6 oC, so how many days didn't reach that?  None!  Mean max in December of 9.3 oC and no air frosts - this is the first time this has happened in my 36 years of observation!!  Only 3 air frosts to date, all in November. 13 days with a max above 10oC.  This is verging on the extraordinary!

first of all welcome to Net Wx but your statistics are a bit meaningless until you drop your town in your avatar so we know where you are -please?

Edited January 17, 2014 by johnholmes