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What Did You Think of Winter 2019/2020?


How did this Winter go for you?  

116 members have voted

  1. 1. How was this Winter for you?

    • Out of this world!
    • Fab
      0
    • Very good
    • Good
    • Yeah, it was okay
    • Quite rubbish
    • Terrible
    • What ya talkin’ about? There was NO Winter!
    • Yes, I really liked this Autumn... (sarcasm)
    • Huh! Who needs the snow anyway!


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Posted
  • Location: Carmarthenshire
  • Location: Carmarthenshire
1 hour ago, Captain Shortwave said:

It was better than 2013/14. There was one day where snow fall and there were dry and frosty spells. Unlike the above winter which was an endless train of rain and wind (oddly Feb 2014 was spared infamy because the last week or so became more settled as the jet stream finally lifted northwards).

Yes, it was definitely better than 13/14 and also 15/16 here.  Although we had record February rainfall this winter, Jan 2014, Nov 2015, Dec 2015 and Jan 2016 were actually all wetter here than Feb 2020.  The rain this year has been relentless over a longer period though since last August.  At least we had a few drier days over the Christmas holiday this year compared to the horrible winters in 13/14 and 15/16 but otherwise it's been a very poor winter.  Ironically we had our first flake of snow here on February 29th which wouldn't have been winter if it wasn't a leap year!  

I remember thinking back in autumn 2012 or autumn 2013 that we were well overdue a prolonged cyclonic zonal winter.  We've certainly paid for it since then!  I'm definitely starting to fondly remember the dry anticyclonic 'faux cold' we took for granted before the colder period kicked in around 2009. 

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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

2nd poorest Winter I can remember round here with just 2 light coverings of snow both lasting only a few hours. Worst was 2013-14 with only one brief light covering one evening. Can things get worse in the future? Wouldn't surprise me if we went the entire Winter with no snow cover at all in the near future. We seem to be steadily heading that way.

Edited by Frost HoIIow
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Posted
  • Location: Solihull, Midlands. (Formerly DRL)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, thunder, hail & heavy snow
  • Location: Solihull, Midlands. (Formerly DRL)

The results pretty much as expected so far!

Think would have to say this Winter is as bad as that 2013/14 one. Or at least very nearly as bad. Too many storms for my liking during the Winter of 2013/14, as interesting as it may have been for how windy it was. 

Would seem a shame if snow cover during UK Winter gets less and less. But I guess it (sadly) can’t be ruled out! 

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Posted
  • Location: Nymburk, Czech Republic and Staines, UK
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny and warm in summer, thunderstorms, snow, fog, frost, squall lines
  • Location: Nymburk, Czech Republic and Staines, UK
3 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

I hope it’s a decent one, but I have a bad feeling it will be poor, but with the one advantage being more thundery activity.

Decent thundery activity would definitely be a positive. I just hope it’s a fairly sunny summer overall, not bothered by mega heatwaves but sunshine is important, especially after the dreary winter we’ve just endured.

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Posted
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada

You're not alone if you thought this was a poor winter. It has bored the pants off your fellow weather weenies in North America. There hasn't been a winter storm of any consequence in the eastern U.S. away from the higher parts of New England. The Great Lakes did a bit better but rather bland too. Out west, not much happened. Where I live, it's a ski resort and eventually they had enough snow to operate, but I would think the winter snowfall total has been about half the normal amount even up in the mountains. At the coast, very little snow has fallen all winter.

 

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire

Probably the worst winter I've ever endured. Although I was away for the sole snow event down here. Just a non-descript, depressing mushfest.

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Posted
  • Location: herts
  • Weather Preferences: frosty mornings,freezing fog(makes the trees look nice!),snow,summer storms
  • Location: herts

Pants!!

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Posted
  • Location: Upper Gornal, Dudley, 205m asl
  • Location: Upper Gornal, Dudley, 205m asl

Thanks to some bits and pieces of falling snow, it's not quite the worst winter ever. But it's close enough to be able to hold the scraper for the bottom of the barrel.

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Posted
  • Location: Cambridge, UK
  • Weather Preferences: Summer > Spring > Winter > Autumn :-)
  • Location: Cambridge, UK

Pretty poor all round. I feel so sorry for all of those in western areas who have borne the brunt of some atrocious wind and rain for the last 3 months, and suffered serious damage. 
We've escaped the worst here, and even then it's been dreadful.

3 hours of snow last week was a novelty, even if it melted within a couple of hours.

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Posted
  • Location: Preston - Lancashire
  • Location: Preston - Lancashire

Wet, mild, windy and miserable sums it up for me.  Did not see 1 flake of falling snow here. Admittedly we never get much lying snow here, but to not see any at all is a bit rare.

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Posted
  • Location: Gourock, Scotland
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, Thunderstorms, Severe Gales, Hot & Sunny or Cold & Sunny!
  • Location: Gourock, Scotland

The last two weeks of February saved Winter for me. 
A wee dusting at sea level and numerous days of heavy snow showers. 
Still pretty crap though!

Snowsports season is in full swing now up here - finally!

'Four metres' of snow in three weeks at ski centre

_111130127_glencoe.jpg
WWW.BBC.CO.UK

Operators of Glencoe Mountain say lifts and huts have been partially buried.
flypaper.jpeg
WWW.GLENCOEMOUNTAIN.CO.UK

Click to refresh the page Click a thumbnail to view larger webcam view  or scroll down for slideshow.

 

 

Edited by Mr Frost
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Posted
  • Location: South Ockendon, Thurrock, SW Essex
  • Weather Preferences: Severe frosts, Heavy snowfall, Thunder and lightning, Stormy weather
  • Location: South Ockendon, Thurrock, SW Essex

It was the year without a winter as all it was very wet, very wild and very mild weather.  Completely unseasonable and it was more like an extended autumn.  I would not have mind if it was a frosty winter, as at least that is seasonable weather.  But we got the dreaded trio of a hyped up jet-stream, a very cold polar vortex  and the Azores High which was a recipe for a disaster along with a warmer than average North Pacific, and a colder than average, as well as an absence of a North Atlantic Tripod.

Edited by Katrine Basso
grammar errors - missing words
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Posted
  • Location: Poole, Dorset 42m ASL
  • Location: Poole, Dorset 42m ASL

To be honest, not surprised by the whole thing, looking back on the summary of the forecast issued by the UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guide last year, it was very much spot on. 

[Updated - 27/11/2019]
The excellent UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guidance was released in the past few days.
This update covers the three monthly period December 2019 to February 2020 - Winter 2019/2020 You can read the UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guidance for yourself here
For tonight's blog update we're going to review the UKMO contingency planners guidance for December 2019 to February 2020.
The headline from this months temperature summary is that for both December 2019 and for Winter 2019/ 2020 above average temperatures are more likely than below average temperatures.
For December and December-January-February as a whole, above-average temperatures are more likely than below-average temperatures. Impacts from cold weather remain possible, but they are less likely than normal.
A clear signal but not much detail. Helpfully the "context" part of the guidance adds a bit more flesh to the bones:
The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a neutral phase, with very little likelihood of a significant El Nino or La Nina event developing during the outlook period. It is therefore not expected to have any influence on UK weather patterns.
The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently in a near-record positive phase, with warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western part of the Tropical Indian Ocean and cooler-than-average temperatures in the east. The IOD is disrupting rainfall patterns in the Tropics, which in turn exerts an influence on the European region, increasing the chances of mild, westerly winds during the outlook period. Tropical Atlantic rainfall, however, is predicted to shift further southwards than usual, which increases the chances of colder-than-normal conditions.
Meanwhile, the mid-latitude North Atlantic shows an SST pattern that moderately increases the likelihood of the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Positive NAO during the winter is associated with milder-than-average conditions. The sun is at a minimum in its 11-year cycle of activity which increases the chances of a weak stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) in late winter. The effect of a weak SPV is to increase the likelihood of a negative phase of the NAO and thereby colder-than-average conditions.
For December and December-January-February as a whole, the Met Office long-range prediction system and systems from other prediction centres around the world are in good agreement in showing an increased likelihood of the positive phase of the NAO. Along with the warming of climate, this contributes to an increase in the chances of above-average temperatures. Note that below-average temperatures remain possible, although less likely.
So mixed signals with a few pointers indicating a cold winter and a other pointers indicating a milder winter. On balance the UKMO Contingency Planners Guidance is pointing towards a milder than average winter but the chance of cold impacts is not ruled out!
How is precipitation looking?
For December and December-January-February as a whole, above-average precipitation is more likely than below-average precipitation
So a wet winter is the headline but what does the "context" part of the guidance have to say?
During winter, the influence of global drivers on UK weather patterns peaks and predictability is higher than at other times of year. For both December and December-January-February, there is a greater-than-usual likelihood of westerly winds bringing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean to the UK. The chances of above-average precipitation are therefore greater than the chances of below-average precipitation. The outlook implies an increased likelihood of impacts from high winds and heavy rainfall compared to what is normally expected at this time of year.
The increased probability of our wettest category does not imply extreme precipitation or storminess throughout the 3-month period. Indeed, the outlook does not identify weather for a particular day or week.
In addition, despite increased chances of the outlook period being wetter than average, a drier-than-average outcome remains possible, although less likely.
So overall a milder and wetter than average winter is forecast by the UKMO Contingency Planners Guidance but a drier and colder outcome or intervals can't be ruled out.
 

Says it all really, like I said no surprises really..

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Posted
  • Location: Dundee
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, thunderstorms, gales. All extremes except humidity.
  • Location: Dundee

For me a pretty poor effort. Some hard November frosts( Autumn of course) and a few snow flurries in the second half of February being the highlights. Not as wet as other parts of the UK though Feb well above average. Milder than usual in all three months but Feb near average and cool at times.
This saved Winter for the mountains up here as average means snow on the hills and with well above average rainfall in all but the NE of Scotland there are now metres of snow in places in the Western and Central Highlands. See Mr Frosts post above.  Here is a pic that I posted in the Regional thread Schiehallion from the East this morning taken from the road from Aberfeldy to Tummelbridge in Highland Perthshire. Same mountain now from the West to the left of the pic as some cloud spreads in.

02689647-24B6-4BE4-A967-A40C1298CF51.jpeg

7C714513-BB66-45BA-AC7E-3E8454687520.jpeg

Edited by Norrance
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Posted
  • Location: Fenland Fylde.The same village as Duncan Iceglide.
  • Weather Preferences: LP - Horizontal Drizzle - Nice Blizzards
  • Location: Fenland Fylde.The same village as Duncan Iceglide.

No lying snow whatsoever  on the Fylde (Lancashire) no real surprise there though

Few light frosts but not harsh  - hardly any ice of note.

 

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Posted
  • Location: Trowbridge, Wilts
  • Weather Preferences: hot summers; frigid winters; golden fall; bright spring
  • Location: Trowbridge, Wilts

Yes probably the worst in my very long memory, even the models really struggled to find any momentous charts for widespread snow closer than 240hrs. Not a thing to get excited about! Best not reread the NW winter forecast with regard to February precipitation....that is the definition of a bust.

guess we will all start again in November.....

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Posted
  • Location: Bedfordshire
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms, plumes, snow, severe weather
  • Location: Bedfordshire
On 03/03/2020 at 07:48, Azazel said:

Who's the maniac who voted "good" ?? 

?‍♂️

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Posted
  • Location: Longden, Shropshire
  • Location: Longden, Shropshire
5 hours ago, Dorsetbred said:

To be honest, not surprised by the whole thing, looking back on the summary of the forecast issued by the UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guide last year, it was very much spot on. 

[Updated - 27/11/2019]
The excellent UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guidance was released in the past few days.
This update covers the three monthly period December 2019 to February 2020 - Winter 2019/2020 You can read the UK Met Office Contingency Planners Guidance for yourself here
For tonight's blog update we're going to review the UKMO contingency planners guidance for December 2019 to February 2020.
The headline from this months temperature summary is that for both December 2019 and for Winter 2019/ 2020 above average temperatures are more likely than below average temperatures.
For December and December-January-February as a whole, above-average temperatures are more likely than below-average temperatures. Impacts from cold weather remain possible, but they are less likely than normal.
A clear signal but not much detail. Helpfully the "context" part of the guidance adds a bit more flesh to the bones:
The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a neutral phase, with very little likelihood of a significant El Nino or La Nina event developing during the outlook period. It is therefore not expected to have any influence on UK weather patterns.
The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently in a near-record positive phase, with warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western part of the Tropical Indian Ocean and cooler-than-average temperatures in the east. The IOD is disrupting rainfall patterns in the Tropics, which in turn exerts an influence on the European region, increasing the chances of mild, westerly winds during the outlook period. Tropical Atlantic rainfall, however, is predicted to shift further southwards than usual, which increases the chances of colder-than-normal conditions.
Meanwhile, the mid-latitude North Atlantic shows an SST pattern that moderately increases the likelihood of the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Positive NAO during the winter is associated with milder-than-average conditions. The sun is at a minimum in its 11-year cycle of activity which increases the chances of a weak stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) in late winter. The effect of a weak SPV is to increase the likelihood of a negative phase of the NAO and thereby colder-than-average conditions.
For December and December-January-February as a whole, the Met Office long-range prediction system and systems from other prediction centres around the world are in good agreement in showing an increased likelihood of the positive phase of the NAO. Along with the warming of climate, this contributes to an increase in the chances of above-average temperatures. Note that below-average temperatures remain possible, although less likely.
So mixed signals with a few pointers indicating a cold winter and a other pointers indicating a milder winter. On balance the UKMO Contingency Planners Guidance is pointing towards a milder than average winter but the chance of cold impacts is not ruled out!
How is precipitation looking?
For December and December-January-February as a whole, above-average precipitation is more likely than below-average precipitation
So a wet winter is the headline but what does the "context" part of the guidance have to say?
During winter, the influence of global drivers on UK weather patterns peaks and predictability is higher than at other times of year. For both December and December-January-February, there is a greater-than-usual likelihood of westerly winds bringing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean to the UK. The chances of above-average precipitation are therefore greater than the chances of below-average precipitation. The outlook implies an increased likelihood of impacts from high winds and heavy rainfall compared to what is normally expected at this time of year.
The increased probability of our wettest category does not imply extreme precipitation or storminess throughout the 3-month period. Indeed, the outlook does not identify weather for a particular day or week.
In addition, despite increased chances of the outlook period being wetter than average, a drier-than-average outcome remains possible, although less likely.
So overall a milder and wetter than average winter is forecast by the UKMO Contingency Planners Guidance but a drier and colder outcome or intervals can't be ruled out.
 

Says it all really, like I said no surprises really..

Yes, the Metoffice were pretty spot on really for a long range forecast.

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds

December and January were okay - mild, dry and sunny.

February was dreadful, far too wet.

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