February 2008

[damianslaw]

Remembering back to February 2008 as this winter is showing strong correlations with how winter 2007/2008 panned out so far, especially Jan 2008 - almost carbon copy of Jan 2020. Not saying Feb 2020 will mirror Feb 2008, but interesting to note Met Office prediction of quite a bit of high pressure in the vicinity of UK, which happened in Feb 2008 as well.

Feb 2008 brought a lengthy dry very sunny spell, I think it might have been the sunniest on record. There was also a large diurnal temp range on a run of days, with cold frosty nights and very mild maxima, with light winds. I remember it feeling very continental and there was some great rime/hoar frost formations.

Anyone else share recollections of Feb 2008.

Interestingly March 2008 delivered the snowiest spell of the whole season, with snow at easter. Another northerly happened in April 2008.

[MP-R]

A very pleasant month from memory. Chilly start, then a very mild and sunny spell followed by a cold and sunny spell with sharp frosts. I recorded 15C on the 09th and -6C on the 18th. The final week then saw the Atlantic ramp right up bringing a very unsettled March. In fact March brought my lowest ever pressure reading from that bomb on the 10th.

I quite enjoyed spring 2008 for its variety from the cold stormy weather in March, to the many April showers days, to the thundery warmth in May, but that's going off topic...

[Frost HoIIow]

Woke up to 5 inches of snow during that Easter. Was a really nice surprise. A good half of it melted away through the day once that late March sun got to work.

[trickydicky]

Lived and worked in Preston at the time and can primarily remember it being very mild and sunny. 2008 was similar to this year in that it was at the end of a roughly 5 year spell when unusually warm periods had become the norm. Hopefully this year is the end of our current spell.

[damianslaw]

10 hours ago, trickydicky said:

Lived and worked in Preston at the time and can primarily remember it being very mild and sunny. 2008 was similar to this year in that it was at the end of a roughly 5 year spell when unusually warm periods had become the norm. Hopefully this year is the end of our current spell.

Yes it marked the end of a notable mild period that started around Spring 2003, spring 2008 brought some notably colder than average conditions at times, and we then descended into a cool summer, chilly autumn and relatively cold winter, the colder period then lasted about 5 years before a milder theme developed in summer 2013 which we've been stuck in ever since give and take the odd colder spell - that's nearly 7 years now.. also we descended out of solar minima through winter 08/09.. again just where we are in the solar cycle now...

[Snowyowl9]

February 2008 was a one of a kind I really liked that month as we had these cold surface easterlies setting in after the warm high moved away,and then masses of starlings came over every late afternoon to do their amazing displays,I`ve never seen so many starlings,they landed on the trees close by and could hear the branches with so many.

[danm]

Poor year all round weatherwise for me. A mild winter, cool spring and cool summer. 

[Don]

2 minutes ago, danm said:

Poor year all round weatherwise for me. A mild winter, cool spring and cool summer. 

What about the October snowfall?  I always think of 2008 marking the change from persistent warmth to general colder conditions lasting until 2013.  However, you could say the changes started summer 2007. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

I remember February 2008 pretty well, I was in Norwich and it was almost continuously sunny from the 8th to 20th inclusive, apart from a brief incursion of fog and cloud from the east during the middle of that spell.  There were also some stunning sunsets.  It started off mild by day with highs of up to 14C and minima near freezing, but during the latter part of that spell it was near average by day and colder than average by night.  I remember being quite saddened on the 20th when I knew the high pressure was set to pull away, which is unusual for me with an anticyclonic spell especially in winter.  The month also had a localised snow event in the Norwich area late on the 1st, and I remember having a snowball fight on the University of East Anglia campus, although most of the snow melted in the sun on the 2nd and was gone by the 3rd as mild air moved in.  The last week of the month was more forgettable with mild temperatures, some cloud and some sun here and there, but the sunshine of the 8th-20th, as well as a reasonably sunny first week, ensured that it was the sunniest February on record (although exceeded in East Anglia subsequently by February 2019).

Edited February 9, 2020 by Thundery wintry showers

[Weather-history]

On 29 January 2020 at 21:51, damianslaw said:

 

Anyone else share recollections of Feb 2008.

 

The month started off wintry, remember snow showers coming in on the NWly that evening of the 1st and there was a slight snow cover next morning

It was a very sunny month, it was sunnier than the following August. Remember those sunny pleasant afternoons but really cold nights. There was a brilliant afterglow midmonth, numerous reports on it.

Who remembers the earth tremor, a 5.2,  at the end of the month? Felt it here. 

[Thundery wintry showers]

Ah yes - I wasn't sure what it was at the time, but when I wrote "stunning sunsets" I was especially recalling the afterglow on the 18th.  Here's a couple of pics of it from Norwich:

The 17th was also pretty good, although my photos of it came out blurry:

And this was the University of East Anglia on the 2nd February 2008, following the snowfall late on the evening of the 1st:

Edited February 12, 2020 by Thundery wintry showers

[North-Easterly Blast]

I think that at the start of Feb 2008, some lucky parts of the country saw a little snow, but the month mostly saw HP giving a spell of warm days in the second week, then a change in orientation of the high resulted in a faux cold period in the third week with severe frosts and some fog towards the end of the spell.  In fact up to now it was the last occasion the February CET finished in the 5s.  

[cheese]

At Church Fenton, there was one day that had a low of -8C and a high of 8C. A very sunny month with lots of cold nights but mild days. I also recall one day with freezing fog that persisted all day, giving us a high of -2C and a very heavy rime frost.

We did manage a bit of snow that month too.

Oh, and there was that earthquake in Lincolnshire that was felt here and across much of the country.

Edited February 12, 2020 by cheese

[Weather-history]

It was a brilliant afterglow on the 18th. It was so bright that is what struck me.

[Weather-history]

1 hour ago, Weather-history said:

 

Who remembers the earth tremor, a 5.2,  at the end of the month? Felt it here.