Thank you SC.  I really have enjoyed this thread, more so the light hearted banter than trying to climb the table but it's all been such fun.  I appreciate the time and effort you've put in, especially when you've been so busy doing other things.  I do hope we can pick this back up again at some time in the future, when you find time to relax a bit more.  Good luck with everything you do and I'll see you on the other threads!

Q mentioned there had been snow in some places on Christmas Day but I think mainly in Scotland, so it depends how we define it.  If a White Christmas is defined by snow falling in London, then I'd say definitely not.

Rainfall I believe stands at 78% to 28th December From the Met Office chart of Daily Accumulation chart and archive... 

Yes

Wonderful

Cheers Caz, I've enjoyed running this prediction game these past two years thanks in large part to those like yourself who have taken part in every month and kept it alive even during the less interesting months weather-wise 

I have seen a White Christmas defined as one with snow falling in a low lying populated area, which is the criteria I've long used in my mind.

So it comes down to whether that snow in Scotland was only at higher levels...

So kind

http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2014/12/26/white-christmas/

Okay... Lerwick is technically a low-lying official observation site in the UK so in a way it was a White Christmas... but it seems a bit naff calling it such when 99.9% of the UK didn't see a single flake.

On balance, I think I will go with it having been a green Christmas, despite what it does to my score 

Over on the 'white Christmas' thread, there's a positive result from Shetland, Aberdeenshire and a possible in Leicestershire.  My wishful thinking made me plump for a white Christmas but I wouldn't complain if you went for green.  You 'da boss SC! 

It's a shame we didn't see any flakes on Christmas Day itself, but at least I saw some on Boxing Day through the pub window. It's been a great competition SC, really appreciate all your efforts and the time you put into it but I understand why you have to let it go though. I don't think I would play another year though as the weather is taking over my life so need to switch off from it in my spare time  ....I can sense everyone thinking their lives have always been taken over by the weather.

Have a great 2015 everyone.

...and lets hope everyone else (not just lucky Caz) gets to see some proper snow during the second half of winter.

I do hope you get some snow, although my gut feeling has always been for a mild winter similar to last year.  Our snow has just about gone now and I'm looking forward to some sunshine in the Dominican Republic in a couple of weeks time.   

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it snowed there

I never imagined having such a lack of clarity on the White Christmas... I think the Leicester and Aberdeen cases give enough cause to call it white after all.

I'll do the final scores for December and of course 2014 when the sun and rain stats are uploaded by the Met Office, usually happens within the first 5-7 days of the month so should be any day now 

Yes, we don't realise how vague we can be until we have to prove the result and something that seemed straight forward becomes less so.  But we live and learn!  It's your competition, the final decision is yours and you're very fair, so I can't see anyone complaining about it. 

I remember the very first time we did this competition and I posted images of Scotland as proof it had snowed on the day I predicted.  I got light heartedly ribbed about my photoshop skills. 

I think maybe we trust each other more now Caz... I think 

The final results for the final game are now in!

The above chart looks a little different to those for previous months due to the negative three scores for those who predicted a White Christmas. The effect on the final positions was to place ARTzeman two steps higher than would have been the case if it had been a green Christmas, with schmee two places lower - so no impact on the podium finishers nor at the other end of the table.

You may have noticed my expression of surprise at the % of average rainfall - this was because, when anticipating the result, I hadn't taken into account just how much wetter Scotland (139%) and N. Ireland (119%) were than England and Wales (where only 86% of the LTA fell).

Well done to Rob and Caz for achieving podium finishes this month, showing good consistency with the past few (both in the top four all the way back to October!).

Gooner seems to have tripped right before the finish line, and we'll see if that's had much of an impact on the annual scores in a moment...

...in fact, right now! 

Another impressive year for Rob, with Caz not that far behind... but look who's sprung up and snatched third place! Quite the rise to success there Gooner despite the stumble 

You and Caz are separated by... wait for it... ONE point. After 11 months of cumulative scores! Seems improbable, yet there was a similar story in 2013 between me and Rob I think. I'll check later when I do a combined 2013/14 results table.

So we wrap up with the top four positions occupied entirely by full-attendance participants, who have at times been the lifeblood of this game, for which I'm very thankful 

...and thanks no less to all of those who have taken part throughout the year, with a special mention also deserved for ARTzeman who made entertaining entries for every single month of 2014 

I will miss this joint effort to anticipate the highs and lows of British weather, but I think it's fair to say it had a good run and I'm pleased with how it all turned out in the end 

For one last hurrah, I'm planning to dig up the 2013 results, combine them with the 2014 ones, and see what comes out - watch this space 

Thank you very much for the chart and the prediction game.  All good clean fun. Best of luck for the future ..

Cheers SC , seems I got all nervous and bottled it

Thanks for all your time with this , an awful lot of effort goes into it

Aww SC, I'm getting all sentimental about this thread.  It really has been a lot of fun and all participants have taken it as such, so it's been a pleasure taking part.  You should give yourself two pats on the back!  One for being consistently at the top of the league table and the other for making this competition such a success and for all the work you've put into it for the pleasure of others, especially me!  Thank you and congratulations.

I'm really going to miss the people who post in here and the banter we've had over the years, especially Rob who proved too hard to catch despite my greatest efforts.  It's been great and I hope we can do it again in the near future, when time and energy permits!   

The final hurrah:

Yep, that's two years worth' of scores on one chart, for those who participated in the largest number of months.

There are some estimated scores in there, for months missed, which are an average of the scores for the months in which entries were made.

Full attendance was achieved by Rob, Caz and ARTzeman - many thanks for your commitment to the cause 

Diving into the details a little, it is interesting to see how the virtual medals work out (1st = Gold etc.) when summed up across the two years:

Schmee - 2013: 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze  2014: 0 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

Domma - 2013:  0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze  2014: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze    A good improvement in 2014

Gooner - 2013:  4 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze  2013: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze    4 golds in 2013 came in Aug, Oct, Nov and Dec! What a run!

Caz      - 2013: 0 gold, 0 silver, 3 bronze  2014: 0 gold, 3 silver, 0 bronze     A real habit of being close to the top but not quite there!

Rob      - 2013: 0 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze  2014: 0 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze    The consistency is unparalleled

Myself  - 2013: 2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze  2014: 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze     If it ain't broke...

ARTzeman has never had a medal, so I commend him for showing us all how it's the taking part that counts - cheers ART 

Now here's a bizarre statistic - the total number of podium finishes for Gooner, Caz, Rob and Myself is exactly the same in 2014 as it was in 2013 

Using standard deviations to assess the consistency finds Caz to be the most consistent, followed quite closely by Rob. A real habit of occupying high positions on table but not the very top spot!

There's actually quite a jump from their two values (close to 7.5) and the rest of us (close to 10.5). So if you're looking for reliable scoring, Rob and Caz are the ones you should turn to 

So here we are - the end of an era that began in early 2012.

If life permits, a new game may yet emerge in the years to come 

Cheers SC

It would be good to see it back one day

It is indeed the end of an era.  I know I've already said this but I really will miss this thread and all of you who have taken part, whether with serious skilful predictions, or like me, with gut feeling guesses and wishful thinking. 

Well done SC, both for producing and managing the competition and of course for winning it.  You 'da man!!! 

Bye all.  See you on other threads.  Join us on the daily thread in the Forum Arms for now and hopefully SC will resurrect this thread again in the near future.