I'll begin with the most phenominal aspect of winter 2013/14 at my home location, not far south of Salisbury:
In my records starting in 2003:
Month |
Total Precipitation (mm) |
Percent of Average |
2nd Highest Total |
in Year… |
Last Winter Ahead By… |
Dec '13 |
182.0 |
211.9 |
151.2 |
2012 |
30.8 |
Jan '14 |
233.5 |
305.6 |
177.2 |
2008 |
56.3 |
Feb '14 |
179.5 |
339.3 |
95.0 |
2010 |
84.5 |
Season |
595.0 |
276.5 |
301.4 |
2007-8 |
293.6 |
This last winter is so far ahead of the rest, it really is staggering. It's practically doubled my previous winter season record!
As each new month of the season is typically drier than the last, the anomalies just kept climbing, even though February had a lower total than January.
Now here's an interesting set of data when considered alongside the above...
Month |
Total Sunshine (hrs) |
Percent of Average |
Highest or 2nd Highest |
in Year… |
Difference Is… |
Dec '13 |
73.4 |
136.2 |
74.8 |
2008 |
-1.4 |
Jan '14 |
82.8 |
142.8 |
85.7 |
2012 |
-2.9 |
Feb '14 |
106.1 |
140.7 |
125.3 |
2008 |
-19.2 |
Season |
262.3 |
1.5 |
236.5 |
2012 |
25.9 |
The months were never record setters for sunshine, but were right up there at the top end. Those that do hold the record all had notable periods of mobile weather, which just goes to show how effective the return-polar maritime airmasses behind frontal systems can be for delivering decent sunshine totals in winter
Finally, we have the incredibly boring temperature data:
Month |
Max Avg |
Anomaly |
Rank (Leader) |
Min Avg |
Anomaly |
Rank |
24h Avg |
Anomaly |
Rank |
Dec '13 |
9.1 |
1.3 |
2nd (2006|9.90) |
3.7 |
1.5 |
3rd (2006|4.81) |
6.4 |
1.4 |
2nd (2006|7.35) |
Jan '14 |
8.7 |
1.8 |
4th (2005| 9.81) |
3.4 |
2.3 |
3rd (2008|5.39) |
6.0 |
2.0 |
3rd (2008|7.18) |
Feb '14 |
9.1 |
1.8 |
2nd (2008|9.35) |
3.3 |
2.3 |
3rd (2011|4.27) |
6.2 |
2.1 |
3rd (2011|6.61) |
Season |
9.0 |
1.6 |
2nd (2007|9.25) |
3.5 |
2.0 |
3rd (2007|4.43) |
6.2 |
1.8 |
2nd (2007|6.84) |
It's cringing to see just how little variation there was across the season... with February even managing to match December's average maximum, and a total range of just 0.4*C for all the stats
It was consistently between 3rd and 2nd warmest, with the exception of the average maximum for January.
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[email protected] https://twitter.com/peacockreports 2023's Homeland Extremes:
T-Max: 30.2°C 9th Sep (...!) | T-Min: -7.1°C 22nd & 23rd Jan | Wettest Day: 25.9mm 2nd Nov | Ice Days: 1 (2nd Dec -1.3°C in freezing fog)
Keep Calm and Forecast On