North West Regional Discussion 30 Jan 2019 onwards

[Spurry]

This time of the year tends to bring HP's that drawer in easterly winds which is great for us this side of the Pennines, so far April has been a very sunny and warm month

[damianslaw]

3 minutes ago, Spurry said:

This time of the year tends to bring HP's that drawer in easterly winds which is great for us this side of the Pennines, so far April has been a very sunny and warm month

Yes we are entering the time of year roughly mid April through until late May when easterlies are at their yearly maxim - i.e. far more likely now, as the atlantic enters its annual slumber, though this year it went into 'lockdown' a month ago, so this quieter spell could fizzle out sooner in May than might be expected.

Late April - early May is often in particular a time when northerlies an north easterlies can dominate. By June the chance of sustained settled dry clear weather here in the Lake District decreases, markedly so by mid July, I'd say mid April - mid June is the best time of year in the NW for dry sunny calm weather.

[carl1980]

Looks like a nice week coming up

[dodge]

2 hours ago, carl1980 said:

Looks like a nice week coming up

West is Best for once in this type of setup, with that nagging easterly breeze tempered somewhat with our locality, particularly for you.  Going to make the most of it in the Garden whilst that Atlantic is asleep.

[Frost HoIIow]

Been nice & sunny lately but that wind has certainly been a feature. Very gusty at times which has spoilt it a bit. Hopefully it'll ease off over the coming days.

[iand61]

8 hours ago, Frost HoIIow said:

Been nice & sunny lately but that wind has certainly been a feature. Very gusty at times which has spoilt it a bit. Hopefully it'll ease off over the coming days.

It’s certainly been rattling the fence panels a lot here over the last few days but this morning seems a bit calmer.

that said it’s been a fantastic few weeks of usable weather and with plenty of time on my hands, the garden is looking much better for it.

[iand61]

My temperature sensor isn’t the most accurate but it reached 22c this afternoon and the warmest day here so far this year.

certainly plenty of opportunity in the garden for topping up what is already as good a tan as I’ve paid a fortune to get in the past and that’s with using cream.

it’s just a shame that things look to be breaking down over the next few days but after a lengthy dry spell the ground could do with a bit of a watering.

 

[dodge]

Yes, changes are afoot...a much fresher and showery regime set to establish itself over the next week or so.  Probably the last of the gloriously sunny warm days today, and literally from 23rd March (Lock down) to 25 April - it's been negligible in terms of rainfall and one of the best spring months I can remember....but this is the UK, and no doubt 'payback' is waiting round the corner.

Edited April 25, 2020 by dodge

[East Lancs Rain]

Quite hazy this morning.

[East Lancs Rain]

Amazing the amount of leaf growth we've seen over the last couple of weeks.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by East Lancs Rain

[East Lancs Rain]

On 19 April 2020 at 12:41, dodge said:

West is Best for once in this type of setup, with that nagging easterly breeze tempered somewhat with our locality, particularly for you.  Going to make the most of it in the Garden whilst that Atlantic is asleep.

Yes it's probably been pretty bracing on the east coast this week. I was there end of May 2018 and the wind was freezing.

Edited April 25, 2020 by East Lancs Rain

[East Lancs Rain]

On 16 April 2020 at 20:59, damianslaw said:

Yes we are entering the time of year roughly mid April through until late May when easterlies are at their yearly maxim - i.e. far more likely now, as the atlantic enters its annual slumber, though this year it went into 'lockdown' a month ago, so this quieter spell could fizzle out sooner in May than might be expected.

Late April - early May is often in particular a time when northerlies an north easterlies can dominate. By June the chance of sustained settled dry clear weather here in the Lake District decreases, markedly so by mid July, I'd say mid April - mid June is the best time of year in the NW for dry sunny calm weather.

It's amazing how much of a difference the wind direction makes to the sunshine and rainfall levels and the overall feel of the weather. Throughout the winter we had a lot of SW winds and were plagued in thick cloud and relentless gloom. But now it's been sunny virtually every day for the last two weeks at least. It felt more like California weather than Lancashire weather, whereas the winter felt more like Seattle.

 

The average sunshine levels in this region are heavily weighted to mid-late spring and early summer. Late summer, Autumn and winter are usually much more cloudy (and wetter too).

 

When we get into August it'll probably be back to the cloudy damp south-westerlies again, usually happens.

[dodge]

BBC were hinting at some heavy rain on Tuesday spreading rapidly from the south west, but it appears to be have been delayed and downgraded a little, with a more slow progression and possibly just light rain when it eventually does reach our parts.  Gardens are long overdue a 'natural' watering.

Edited April 26, 2020 by dodge

[Geordiesnow]

2 hours ago, dodge said:

BBC were hinting at some heavy rain on Tuesday spreading rapidly from the south west, but it appears to be have been delayed and downgraded a little, with a more slow progression and possibly just light rain when it eventually does reach our parts.  Gardens are long overdue a 'natural' watering.

Although I'm only talking about grass here rather than plants I really don't think the gardens are overdue rainfall. We just had the wettest February on record, initially the soil where the grass grows was damp so no doubt underneath that where the roots are will be quite wet. Now as time gone on, cracks on top of the soil has cracked and it looks dry but I still imagine the soil underneath that is still quite damp hence at least in my garden the grass is still growing albeit at a slower rate than if it was raining mixed with sunshine. 

I think we are too quick to worry about a lack of rainfall at times in this country. Dry spells won't last forever and this one is coming to an end now. 

[Alexis]

Well, just watched the forecast and maybe a minuscule sprinkle in a couple of places tonight, but then nothing until Wednesday. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that band fragment or run south of us.

[damianslaw]

1 hour ago, Alexis said:

Well, just watched the forecast and maybe a minuscule sprinkle in a couple of places tonight, but then nothing until Wednesday. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that band fragment or run south of us.

This has been a theme of recent weeks, frontal systems from the SW failing to make inroads through N England, especially here, a couple of weeks ago the front fizzled out in N Lancashire.

Main reason strong heights to the north placing a force on a trough/frontal activity from the SW. Tuesday looks like being another case in point, heights to the north holding strong, and the low pressure looks preety flabby in nature with no oomph or winds to drive the front north, heights to the north and pushing it on a more southerly track, so yet again Wales, west midlands, CS england looks like getting the lion's share of the rain (this often happens in winter with blocking highs to the north, snow makes it as far as N midlands then retreats away..). 

However, the next low pressure looks like having more oomph to it, and finally we might see our first decent spell of rain since mid March.

Today we have managed to dodge the showers that have pulsed in just a few miles to the north, to give central cumbria a bit of a soaking, we've just had a spit or spot of rain in the wind. A very dry April.

[East Lancs Rain]

On 26 April 2020 at 17:44, Alexis said:

Well, just watched the forecast and maybe a minuscule sprinkle in a couple of places tonight, but then nothing until Wednesday. And I wouldn't be surprised to see that band fragment or run south of us.

 

23 hours ago, damianslaw said:

This has been a theme of recent weeks, frontal systems from the SW failing to make inroads through N England, especially here, a couple of weeks ago the front fizzled out in N Lancashire.

Main reason strong heights to the north placing a force on a trough/frontal activity from the SW. Tuesday looks like being another case in point, heights to the north holding strong, and the low pressure looks preety flabby in nature with no oomph or winds to drive the front north, heights to the north and pushing it on a more southerly track, so yet again Wales, west midlands, CS england looks like getting the lion's share of the rain (this often happens in winter with blocking highs to the north, snow makes it as far as N midlands then retreats away..). 

However, the next low pressure looks like having more oomph to it, and finally we might see our first decent spell of rain since mid March.

Today we have managed to dodge the showers that have pulsed in just a few miles to the north, to give central cumbria a bit of a soaking, we've just had a spit or spot of rain in the wind. A very dry April.

Make the most of it lads. Not often the weather gods are this nice to our region...

[East Lancs Rain]

Another really nice day here.   Mostly sunny with a few white clouds and temperatures around 15°C (59°F). Feeling a little chilly in the shade but warm in the sunshine.

Looks to be going downhill for the rest of the week though – with showers or longer spells of rain and temperatures in the low double digits. Can’t complain though given the excellent months weather that we’ve had. By the weekend it looks to be turning a little warmer but still unsettled.

Edited April 27, 2020 by East Lancs Rain

[East Lancs Rain]

The UK Central England Temperature is currently standing at 11.0°C. This is over 3 degrees above the 1960-1990 average. This makes it one of the warmest on record. Only April 2011 was warmer at 11.8°C. If this warmth continues we could end up with the warmest year on record (as January and February were also very mild months).

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/cet_info_mean.html

[cheshire snow]

Well the fronts from the south have no problem dumping the rain in spring and summer however in winter if there is snow coming from the south it fails to get further north than the Midlands I am sure there must be a reason but for the life of me I have no explanation so dammed frustrating.

C.S

[iand61]

14 minutes ago, cheshire snow said:

Well the fronts from the south have no problem dumping the rain in spring and summer however in winter if there is snow coming from the south it fails to get further north than the Midlands I am sure there must be a reason but for the life of me I have no explanation so dammed frustrating.

C.S

Thinking just the same myself.

 

[James M]

So glad the rain ended up further north. We need all the rain we can get here.

[Alexis]

Another BBC forecast that went a bit wrong. Wasn't forecast to get any further north than South Manchester and it ended up near the Borders!

[iand61]

34 minutes ago, James M said:

So glad the rain ended up further north. We need all the rain we can get here.

We do need some decent rain although after the deluges throughout the winter, it’s amazing how quickly the ground dried out and streams became a trickle.

I just hope that the next few days are the exception though and not the start of a wet summer as is often the case with a pattern change at this time of year.

[iand61]

3 minutes ago, Alexis said:

Another BBC forecast that went a bit wrong. Wasn't forecast to get any further north than South Manchester and it ended up near the Borders!

ITV didn’t have any better luck with theirs.

as already said though if it had been snow they would have got it bang on.