This winter is shaping up to be one for the scrap heap. A true glance back into the late 80's mild & westerly bad old days. Hopefully not the start of a trend…. I've only had to light a handful of open fires since November.
Originally Posted by: four
Except it isn't really mild, December was mild, January only a little above average.
There were some very prolonged mild spells in the winters referred to where week after week we were 10C and more with a long reach of winds from the SW.
Ths winter has been more North Atlantic storm systems and it has been plenty cool enough for upland snow on occasions.
Originally Posted by: White Meadows
That's a very good counter to those likening this to a noughties bore fest. I remember the winters of the late 80s through early noughties very well, and they differed in a number of ways from this winter.
winters of the late 80s through noughties - disagree if you want.
1) Northern Europe was mild, but so too was the Eastern Seaboard through Midwest snow belt of America. Not the case this season.
2) The noughties winters were characterised by a Bartlett high feeding slack SW winds over the UK. Damp and mild, not wet and wild was the order of the decade. Where's Bartlett been this winter? He stuck his head up in early - mid Dec, but we've been more Polar Maritime than I remember the noughties being.
3) The pattern was often stable and set back then, whereas for much of January model output hi-res has been t+96 and I suspect this may continue!!!
4) And you'd barely have seen a hint of a scandi high in a noughties winter, that low pressure would have surfed the jet straiht into the gulf of Bothnia and probably not stopped until it hit Moscow. We've had one loitering about for a while, giving us a more polar maritime flow.
Just my perception, of course, and apologies for going OT Mods. I think while we have not had the weather cold fans want, there's sill been plenty of interesting fare for model watchers, and potentially more to come.
Chin up!