Jump to content
Snow?
Local
Radar
Cold?
IGNORED

What's your favourite month from past memories?


Matthew.

Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Marton
  • Location: Marton

2014 was a year where virtually all months were above average. However December brought a change to a very different Polar Maritime incursion pattern. A very welcome change as I remember instead of the relentless S'westerlies that year. December recorded its second sunniest since 1929 with 140% of the average for the Uk! Temperatures trended downwards with Polar Maritime incursions bringing the average nearer normal. My favourite month for 2014:) Above has been great reading of many other months that I was too young to remember. I wish I had experienced some of them!

Edited by Matthew Wilson
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset

Quite difficult this when some years I didn't like any of the months, and others I like quite a few, but I'll try and pick a favourite from each year.

2016 (so far): MAY - sunniest month so far, despite being a wet month the rain was predominantly convective, had some good thunder, and the month felt continental overall.

2015: APRIL - wonderful spring month, very dry and sunny and got a good early tan.

2014: JULY - heat and sun interspersed with thunderstorms. June was also great but didn't have the thunderstorms that July did, especially the 17th-19th.

2013: JULY - I was living in Spain until June so didn't experience the months before, but July was without doubt the best summer month since 2006 here. Prolonged sun and heat for weeks and a fantastic electrical storm on my birthday. Thunderstorms to finish too. I also liked August.

2012: AUGUST - consistently warm, humid and thundery. There were seven thunderstorms in all and plenty of warm sunshine between. Some would say March but I just found that month a complete borefest other than surpassing 20C in the last week.

2011: APRIL - unbelievably summery April, a good early tan and beautiful Easter. I loved the hottest day of the year on October 01st too.

2010: JANUARY - just clinches it from December as it was much snowier and featured more sun here to enjoy the snow. Three consecutive Wednesdays with snow falling. December was just as fantastic but the breakdown just after Christmas ruined it, at such a crucial time too! (Had it been a poor winter, I would have said June for this year for the sunshine).

2009: DECEMBER - the perfect transition from late autumn into winter with the wild stormy start, dull chilly middle, then snowy wintry episode leading up the Christmas and New Year. 

2008: OCTOBER - loved this month for the variation with everything from summer warmth earlier on to gales in the middle and the wintry end with snow, thunder and lightning all in one day on the 28th, then sharp frosts to finish. Lovely autumn colours too. (May would be next for the thunderstorms and warm spell).

2007: APRIL - literally the only enjoyable month of the year weatherwise, and what a gorgeous spring month it was!

2006: JULY - obvious reasons, superb summer month. June was also fantastic. September had promise but was rather unsettled and wet.

2005: it gets difficult going this far back because the weather was more interesting in these days. So I will cheat and say the second half of JUNE for the heat and epic storms of the 24th and 28th, and the second half of NOVEMBER for the seasonal cold and early snow on the 25th. It should be noted that, other than 2013, this is the last summer I regard as good overall.

2004: MAY - just steals it from June (which was let down by the final third). Autumnal gales early on, followed by thunderstorms, then a beautifully sunny and warm second half. A month of variety.

Before then, I liked 2003 overall as a year as it was pretty seasonal. 2002 I could forget, though I remember a lot of outdoor activities in sunshine and warmth in August and September. 2001 had a good May and June from memory, and December was a lovely crisp month with snow between Christmas and New Year. My memory becomes a bit more selective from 2000 and earlier.

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Edinburgh (previously Chelmsford and Birmingham)
  • Weather Preferences: Unseasonably cold weather (at all times of year), wind, and thunderstorms.
  • Location: Edinburgh (previously Chelmsford and Birmingham)
10 hours ago, Matthew Wilson said:

2014 was a year where virtually all months were above average. However December brought a change to a very different Polar Maritime incursion pattern. A very welcome change as I remember instead of the relentless S'westerlies that year. December recorded its second sunniest since 1929 with 140% of the average for the Uk! Temperatures trended downwards with Polar Maritime incursions bringing the average nearer normal. My favourite month for 2014:) Above has been great reading of many other months that I was too young to remember. I wish I had experienced some of them!

2014 was an awful year. The relentless above average temperatures caused me to become totally uninterested in the weather for almost that entire year. The only good months were July (more on that below) and the very cool August. The final days of December were the best of the year though, bringing ice, thick frosts, and maxima not much above freezing. 

July 2014 was superbly thundery. There was a period where night after night it seemed that, reliably, we'd get some belting thunderstorms. And they lasted for hours. Saw my closest ever lightning strike that month too, must have been no farther than 200 yards away, possibly much closer. A great month in an otherwise poor year (bar August).

Another of my favourite months has to be July 2015. It had incredible variety in terms of temperatures. An intense but brief heat wave at the beginning of the month saw the hottest ever July temperature at 36.7C. Then the last third of the month was exceptionally cool, with the 5th coldest July night ever recorded on the 31st. I was in Northumberland at the time, and maxima were struggling to reach even the teens. Coupled with wind and rain it felt very much like late Autumn.

Edited by Relativistic
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Edinburgh (previously Chelmsford and Birmingham)
  • Weather Preferences: Unseasonably cold weather (at all times of year), wind, and thunderstorms.
  • Location: Edinburgh (previously Chelmsford and Birmingham)

Ah, how can I forget February 2012!

The first two weeks were bitterly cold. This is reflected in the CET value, which was 0.0C to the 14th. The running CET figure (i.e. the CET figure up to that date) was sub -1C from the 2nd through to the 5th, and also on the 11th.

The reason for this was an extension of the Siberian high well into western Europe, drawing raw, dry Siberian air over the UK. Here in Essex this resulted in numerous cold, clear and crisp days, with maxima below or just above freezing. On the night of the 4th and into the 5th we had a respectable snowfall, bringing 5" of level snow. Lying snow persisted for a over a week. The days of the 10th and the 11th, and the morning of the 12th were clear and cold, with overnight lows on the 11th and 12th reaching as low as -13C in the region. I also saw freezing rain on the 12th. The thaw arrived on the 14th/15th.

This led onto the second half of February 2012. From the 15th onwards almost everyday reached double figures, more often than not in the low to mid teens. I have memories of sitting outside at school lunchtimes without a blazer on in the sunshine, in February! It was an incredibly mild (warm even) end to February, and of course this warmth lasted into March for another memorable month.

It was a real shame because early on in the month the Met Office were suggesting that the weather would go one of two ways after mid month; it would either continue to be bitterly cold, or it would become substantially warmer, and unfortunately for Winter lovers things went the wrong way. But it still made the month stick in my memory as being one of incredible contrast, split down the middle into two completely opposite halves.

CET:
1st-14th Feb 2012: 0.0C
15th-29th Feb 2012: 7.6C
Overall: 3.8C, bang on the 1961-90 mean, the two halves cancelling each other out completely.

Edited by Relativistic
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

As its summer I`ll pick june best month normally, it was half term,I remember the farming forecast as it was then on the sunday thunderstorms every afternoon for the following week,how lucky was I to be off school.

Widespread thunderstorms every afternoon as forecast and it was hazy and humid.

Rrea00119820601.gif 

Edited by Snowyowl9
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Wrexham, North East Wales 80m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and thunderstorms
  • Location: Wrexham, North East Wales 80m asl

March 2013 - 40+cm of level snow at my low lying location in early Spring takes some beating.

December 2010 - the night of 17th or 18th when we had thunder and lightning with heavy snow falling and a temperature of minus 7 was quite surreal.

Edited by Carl46Wrexham
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
On 05/08/2016 at 19:49, Weather-history said:

Forecast from early February 1986

 

What a chart that is on the still image *drools*

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: sheffield
  • Weather Preferences: Basically intresting weather,cold,windy you name it
  • Location: sheffield
18 minutes ago, Nick L said:

What a chart that is on the still image *drools*

Very interesting remark he made,overnight temps minus 2 that's not very much. Oh how times have changed,how soft are we now!!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

Severe

3 hours ago, markyo said:

Very interesting remark he made,overnight temps minus 2 that's not very much. Oh how times have changed,how soft are we now!!!!

Ahh but that's -2c and overcast light snow,the really cold air came later bringing severe frosts all round.

Penetrating frosts at -2c with those strong to gale force easterlies temp probably be nearer -4c here.

Edited by Snowyowl9
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m
3 hours ago, markyo said:

Very interesting remark he made,overnight temps minus 2 that's not very much. Oh how times have changed,how soft are we now!!!!

Maybe you do not remember 1986 but you may want to remind yourself.Minus 2 does not seem much but it sure is with a 20 and 30 mph east wind,i can assure you that windchill was far colder than -10 in 2010 when it is dead calm.Not only that this cold came in late January and lasted for 6 weeks unrelenting with cold east winds throughout,areas like here in the pennines spent almost all that time subzero including daytime where maxima was very low.February 1986 still remains the coldest of any month in 53 years !

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds
3 hours ago, markyo said:

Very interesting remark he made,overnight temps minus 2 that's not very much. Oh how times have changed,how soft are we now!!!!

Yes, when people think 25C is 'too warm' you know that people are not as tough as they used to be.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Reading
  • Location: Reading

Plenty of great months - for me April 2011 and August 1995 probably take joint honours. And getting a rare scorcher on my birthday (October 1) is nice - with 1985 and 2011 being the standout years.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would agree with many that my favourite memory was the end of November 2010, even though I prefer warmer spells especially for work, but the extremes excite me. This bore a beginning to an extreme cold spell bringing a lot of snowfall.:snowman-emoji:

asxx_20101125_0000UTC_mid.png

 

Edited by WeatherFane
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Chessington, Surrey
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, Hot and Sunny but not opressive
  • Location: Chessington, Surrey
1 hour ago, hillbilly said:

Maybe you do not remember 1986 but you may want to remind yourself.Minus 2 does not seem much but it sure is with a 20 and 30 mph east wind,i can assure you that windchill was far colder than -10 in 2010 when it is dead calm.Not only that this cold came in late January and lasted for 6 weeks unrelenting with cold east winds throughout,areas like here in the pennines spent almost all that time subzero including daytime where maxima was very low.February 1986 still remains the coldest of any month in 53 years !

Stop it . Mwah mwah (I want another one soon) I actually remember this and I was born in 78 . I remember my dad going on about the east wind and for years after every time a easterly is forcast he gets in the calor gas bottles Rams the cupboards. Still enjoy his stories from him because he was a plumber and he says it was a real happy time for him during and after he was so busy.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: sheffield
  • Weather Preferences: Basically intresting weather,cold,windy you name it
  • Location: sheffield
9 hours ago, cheese said:

Yes, when people think 25C is 'too warm' you know that people are not as tough as they used to be.

I agree,25c to warm for goodness sake,some right softies out there............:cold:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow, thunderstorms, warm summers not too hot.
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL

 

On ‎08‎/‎08‎/‎2016 at 19:41, Relativistic said:

Ah, how can I forget February 2012!

The first two weeks were bitterly cold. This is reflected in the CET value, which was 0.0C to the 14th. The running CET figure (i.e. the CET figure up to that date) was sub -1C from the 2nd through to the 5th, and also on the 11th.

The reason for this was an extension of the Siberian high well into western Europe, drawing raw, dry Siberian air over the UK. Here in Essex this resulted in numerous cold, clear and crisp days, with maxima below or just above freezing. On the night of the 4th and into the 5th we had a respectable snowfall, bringing 5" of level snow. Lying snow persisted for a over a week. The days of the 10th and the 11th, and the morning of the 12th were clear and cold, with overnight lows on the 11th and 12th reaching as low as -13C in the region. I also saw freezing rain on the 12th. The thaw arrived on the 14th/15th.

This led onto the second half of February 2012. From the 15th onwards almost everyday reached double figures, more often than not in the low to mid teens. I have memories of sitting outside at school lunchtimes without a blazer on in the sunshine, in February! It was an incredibly mild (warm even) end to February, and of course this warmth lasted into March for another memorable month.

It was a real shame because early on in the month the Met Office were suggesting that the weather would go one of two ways after mid month; it would either continue to be bitterly cold, or it would become substantially warmer, and unfortunately for Winter lovers things went the wrong way. But it still made the month stick in my memory as being one of incredible contrast, split down the middle into two completely opposite halves.

CET:
1st-14th Feb 2012: 0.0C
15th-29th Feb 2012: 7.6C
Overall: 3.8C, bang on the 1961-90 mean, the two halves cancelling each other out completely.

Yes early Feb 2012 was pretty good here too - we had a lot of frost, a number of ice days and then a few inches of snow on the 4th as a front came in from the west but bumped into the cold air from the east that was over us. I remember people on this forum from Ireland being depressed about it, but as seen below from the first chart which was the actual min temps from the coldest part of the period their frustrations were understandable as the cold air never really got a foothold that far west. The far west of Ireland was the mildest place in Europe! In complete contrast with Holbeach in England which recorded -16C. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16959950

NWS-NOAA_Europe_Extreme_minimum_temperatarchives-2012-2-2-12-1.png

Edited by Frost HoIIow
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

May 1997 was a superb month in terms of just the variety. Early heatwave, then a dramatic turnaround with winter returning. There were  some good thundery episodes. There was a cracking thunderstorm in the early hours of the 18th May and then it ended on a dry, sunny note. Funnel clouds were even reported this month with a tornado or two. That was a cracking month.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow, thunderstorms, warm summers not too hot.
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL

Not a memory as I am not Greek and I wasn't there but thought I would post this - bet it sticks in the minds of those who lived there in 2002. Most parts of the UK struggle to get this sort of snow most Winters yet a place 37 degrees north got pasted! 

archives-2002-1-5-12-1.png

News article of the snow in Athens http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WEATHER/01/06/snow.greece/index.html?_s=PM:WEATHER

Edited by Frost HoIIow
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

Thanks for posting the Feb 5 1986 bbc forecast footage. A full on proper easterly that didn't relent until the start of March. Odd how Bill Giles mentioned coldest weather in Holland.. 

Nightime minima was held up thanks to cloud cover, but very cold minima did occur a a few days later and much more so later in the month, when sub-freezing maxima were still being recorded, charts quite similiar to March 2013.

I don't quite remember Feb 86, but have vague recollections of it being a cold frosty month, we were sheltered from the snowy easterlies and it is probably due to the limited snow it doesn't hold much memory. My memories of the weather only go back to Jan 87. Though I do sort of remember the cold snowy Jan and Feb 85 and the very dry warm sunny summer of 1984, and conversely the wet summer of 1985. 

We've had no very cold February since 1986, 1991, 1994 and 1996 produced cold snowy easterlies but nothing sustained, likewise Feb 09 and Feb 12, the latter two almost carbon copies, with very cold snowy first halves followed by major turnarounds mid month, with very mild second halves. Feb 91 also quite similiar though the depth of cold was very severe from the 5-11, but again conditions relented mid month, and we saw quite average/mild temps second half, but not on the scale of 09 and 12. Had the synoptics of March 2013/early April 2013 occurred about 6 weeks earlier, then Feb 2013 would have possibly rivalled Feb 1986, alas the cold came too late, though Feb 2013 was preety cold overall.

Edited by damianslaw
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Hot and Thundery, Cold and Snowy
  • Location: King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
On 12 August 2016 at 23:37, Frost HoIIow said:

 

Yes early Feb 2012 was pretty good here too - we had a lot of frost, a number of ice days and then a few inches of snow on the 4th as a front came in from the west but bumped into the cold air from the east that was over us. I remember people on this forum from Ireland being depressed about it, but as seen below from the first chart which was the actual min temps from the coldest part of the period their frustrations were understandable as the cold air never really got a foothold that far west. The far west of Ireland was the mildest place in Europe! In complete contrast with Holbeach in England which recorded -16C. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16959950

NWS-NOAA_Europe_Extreme_minimum_temperatarchives-2012-2-2-12-1.png

Remember the morning of that too well. Everything was so still, and everything coated in white as if it was a severe hoar frost when I looked out of my window. Then nearly spilt my tea when I looked at how cold it was! We was so close to seeing the mother of all February's (63 and 47 excluded) but the jet managed to get a foothold by the skin of its teeth and flattened out the blocking, which as a result, collapsed. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snow, thunderstorms, warm summers not too hot.
  • Location: Medlock Valley, Oldham, 103 metres/337 feet ASL
1 hour ago, East_England_Stormchaser91 said:

Remember the morning of that too well. Everything was so still, and everything coated in white as if it was a severe hoar frost when I looked out of my window. Then nearly spilt my tea when I looked at how cold it was! We was so close to seeing the mother of all February's (63 and 47 excluded) but the jet managed to get a foothold by the skin of its teeth and flattened out the blocking, which as a result, collapsed. 

Yes it was a very severe February for central & eastern Europe. England got a taste of what could have been an amazing last third of Winter - as you say we were so close to something special. It just didn't hold on for long enough.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
On 8/14/2016 at 22:34, Frost HoIIow said:

Not a memory as I am not Greek and I wasn't there but thought I would post this - bet it sticks in the minds of those who lived there in 2002. Most parts of the UK struggle to get this sort of snow most Winters yet a place 37 degrees north got pasted! 

archives-2002-1-5-12-1.png

News article of the snow in Athens http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WEATHER/01/06/snow.greece/index.html?_s=PM:WEATHER

Incredible! It's amazing how such warm locations still manage to get shed loads of snow where we can be cold for weeks on end and get a dusting at most.

Most of January 2002 was just a standard Athenean winter with temps in the mid teens, save for those few days around the 05th when that mammoth snowfall took place:

http://www.tutiempo.net/clima/Athinai_Airport/01-2002/167160.htm

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ski Amade / Pongau Region. Somtimes Skipton UK
  • Weather Preferences: Northeasterly Blizzard and sub zero temperatures.
  • Location: Ski Amade / Pongau Region. Somtimes Skipton UK

February 1969 ( snow  from Polar Lows  ) February 1979 ( brutal cold NE winds and blizzards ). September 1959 ( Indian summer )  that's for my time in the UK.

For Austria , Summer 2015 ( heat and sunshine )   February 2014 ( deep snowfalls caused by Adriatic Low pressure system in residence ) 

Overall, February in my favourite month.

 C

Edited by carinthian
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...