The festive season kicked off for our family yesterday - a trip to Delamere Forest with a couple of mulled wines and a visit to Santa for the kids (even though they're now 15 & nearly 11!). Topped off by a great meal in a great pub with roaring fire (and a dog-friendly dining area!!)

The weather was chilly and crisp, almost perfect (2 or 3 degrees cooler with some lingering mist/fog would have capped it off).

Yet the weather is now going descend into the most horrible, crappy wind'n'rain-fest.

So I think it's time for a winter moaning thread.

 

---

Well, now is the time to join the UK winter moaning thread in earnest, since we always get the short straw in this country when it comes to winter.

All the lovely HLB we have seen through the summer and early autumn has evaporated from the Model Output, to be replaced by our evil nemesis, the Canada/Greenland Polar Vortex, a strong jet across  the Atlantic and the USA yet again (the greedy buggers) getting all the joy and fun of a winter wonderland.

 

All we get is a small bowl of gruel and like Oliver Twist, we get smacked around if we ask for "please sir, may we have some more?".

Bah humbug!

 

---

We have had just three falls of snow this year and nine days lying in total so if December fails to deliver this will end up as the most snowless year since 2014 and just a continuation of the unprecedented snow drought which set in during 2013

Even if we had south westerlies throughout the whole of December I would offer an almost zero probability of that resulting in the temperature failing to drop below 4C for 10 consecutive days as we endured under this easterly garbage. Nor would it result in day after day of slate grey skies and 1C diurnal ranges. So basically, as long as we lose the toxic easterlies, anything December brings would be a significant improvement on the abject horror show that November has been. Unfortunately a continuation of wind dominating from the SE quarter is looking likely and the outlook is simply vile albeit not quite as bad as it’s been with some clear skies likely as the wind switches to SW briefly before swiftly returning to the quadrant of doom.

https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?LANG=en&CEL=C&SI=mph&CONT=ukuk&LAND=UK&REGION=0003&WMO=03091&LEVEL=52&R=0&NOREGION=1 

Still no frost shown which is utterly ridiculous A frost free November and the repulsive mild unsettled gunk continuing into December. There has already been eight consecutive days with rain and there could well be a further eight more. It just does not get any more depressing than this. Even 2002 had frost during November and December.

 

---

No Winter expected until the 3rd week of December..... 

---

I am still devastated that we didn't manage to accumulate more than 1cm of snow last winter so I'm keeping my hopes low this year. My little boy is 3 now and getting a proper decent snowfall would be perfect this year. I'd be happy with just one thick snowfall to be honest. It would be one more than most years. Not looking likely any time soon though.

Just a week ago, there was quite a strong demand to get this thread up and running even though we were technically speaking, still in autumn at that time. Now, this thread in place and we are now actually into the meteorological winter and yet, it seems as though this thread is now starting to get rather forgotten about as it had been relegated to near the bottom of page 2 on the default thread listings before this post.

Anyway, I have quite a bit to moan about just now as far as this weekend's weather is concerned because we are now two days in the winter and yet,have still seen absolutely nothing of the Sun during this winter so far. Today in particular, has been really dark, dank and drizzly which has resulted in this officially being a completely sunless weekend in this part of the world. Indeed, you have to go all the way back to 21 November to find the last day which had more than an hour of sunshine and today is now the fifth sunless day since then.

I know that this is the darkest time of time of the year anyway but even with that, this is really getting beyond a joke now. In addition to that, today is now the 15th day in a row which has failed to stay completely dry, so you have to go all the way back to 16 November 2018 to find our last completely dry day and yet, we still haven't yet had any official rain days during this winter so far as I write. That is happening because the amounts of rain which we have been getting over this weekend have been really small which makes everything really tedious and boring when it comes to actually reporting that.

Even the temperatures are really boring just now because there has been virtually no diurnal temperature range over recent days. Fortunately, we have been spared from the absolute nightmare of really mild which is being experienced in a number of places down south, but it hasn't even been the least bit cold either and this winter so far has just been one massive frost-free and permacast hell so whilst this winter (or even this month) as a whole isn't likely to be as bad overall as what this weekend has been, this weekend is certainly one which I will be quite glad to see the back of now, especially as this has to be the most boring and tedious start to any winter which I can remember.

 

---

Winter has arrived here in true uk style,the temeperatures at 5am today and yesterday were 13c and 11c respectivly.

2C and 4C respectively up here so cool and miserable rather than mild and miserable. Steady rain at 4.8C as I write this evening.

Wow, really? You must have been very unlucky.

---

Count yourself lucky. Chichester got just zero cm of snow - Brighton go it, Southampton got it,but in this little pocket of the snow desert, zilch.

Miserably wet at the moment, but we don't expect snow down here anyway any year until January. If nothing emerges in January, I'll join this thread in earnest.

---

We however were extremely lucky down here in the sub tropical county of Cornwall. For a snow lover I'm strangely placed but thankfully I still have many relatives in the hilly parts of Derbyshire (great area for snow)...
We managed 7cm on Wednesday 28th Feb and another 15cm on the 01st March before it vanished overnight into the 2nd.
The problem here is that we are so subject to wind direction for prolonged cold, if it's from the North we can get snow but it rarely freezes. The east is our only true cold direction. Listening to the general pupil around these parts they still talk about Jan 87 and not more recent years.
Goes to show how rare a prolonged cold spell is down here.

---

 

Similar story here. I know Joe B in south Manchester did better, but the snow tended to peter out as it reach Manchester (and the city centre itself got next to nothing also) so those west of here didn't do well at all. And I might be misremembering, but I think I recall SC having the same story as us up in Blackburn (?)

Luck of the draw with easterlies in this region. In March 2013, we got about 12cm level with drifts up to 30cm from an easterly (strictly speaking it was slightly north of easterly) and further WSW in the Wrexham area got about 25cm level plus drifts, whilst Manchester and many other places east of us were almost dry.

Last winter was a real frustrating one for many in this region, whilst pretty decent for others.

---

https://www.facebook.com/1377757209114043/posts/2399542053602215/

Northern Iceland has really copped it over the past week or so, with more to come. Not unexpected at this time of year, of course. 

I guess I’m moaning I’m not there!

I’d love to spend a winter season in Akureyri or Husavik - North Iceland must get copious amounts of snow nearly every winter. Perfect positioning between the Arctic and all the unsettled weather off the Atlantic. 

---

It was a bizarre spell wasn't it?

In Manchester, east of Princess Parkway did better than virtually everywhere to the west.

However you tend to do well when there's frontal snow from an easterly - that's when it's my turn to get sod all.

---

I would like to see a cold and snowy winter esp over Christmas period - The past few years we have seen mild weather on Christmas Day - let's hope this winter 2018/19 will at least frosty over Xmas. Last Christmas's 2015, 2016 as well as 2017 were very mild. Last Xmas was so mild we didn't bother lighting the fire and there is nothing quite like lighting the fire and have Xmas lunch and going outside for a walk after in cold and crisp air with snow falling and settling too or for snow to fall Xmas Eve and last into XMAS day. I would like to see a snowy winter and have in wintry weather in winter not early spring like this year!

There were daffodils just popping through my parents back garden last week and it wasn't even winter yet. We always seem to be lacking cold Decembers for some unknown reason in recent years.

This weather so is not seasonal at all. I feel hot at nights and going outside without a coat! We (SW ENGLAND have had pulses of rain and strong winds and more heavy rain along with exceptionally mild temperatures of late it's 01:30 am on 7th December as I type this - It's spitting with rain and drizzle outside as well as a breeze but most significantly is very mild at +14c outside.

This weather is utterly sickening it is an average daytime max temperature in October - We seem to have October like temperatures in December. This is ridiculous! Looking at the GFS and other model outputs, it appears that any cold will be brief next week with the first easterly fail of the winter. It really can't get any worse than this. - at least for the SW and South of England!

Whilst the north have had the pleasure of experiencing some snow and cold (albeit transient and wet snow) many of us in the south are so mild and wet - it feels tropical outside - humid dare I say it!

Why not bring on some cold, frosty, clear and crisp nights to kill these bugs, germs and pests! Even Christmas shoppers I have spoken to who hate cold would rather it was colder because at least it would be dry and they can do Xmas shopping! Winter is merely 1 week old and so far it's been a write off for any cold let alone snow!

Please moan, rant and rave as much as! Look forward to hearing from you, especially yourself Richard of Aberdeen! 🙂

---

This time last year we had about the only interesting winter weather in the past six years. Unfortunately the rest of the winter was a complete write-off after that.

Now it's back to the boring write-off conditions again with day after day of uninspiring tedium. Apart from the brief frosty interlude earlier this week the past month has just seen the toxic mix of frostless murk combined with frostless wind that have been the staple conditions of recent winters. Despite clear skies, temperatures are every bit as boring as under a gloomy easterlies thanks to this foul wind. It's ranged from 6.9C to 7.7C since midnight and seems stuck on 7C at the moment. Utterly tedious and worthless conditions that invoke absolutely zero interest whatsoever

Apart from 2014, every single Christmas period since 2011 has been dominated by crap weather. We've had to endure lots of wind, rain, grey skies and mild temperatures but have hardly seen any frost or snow despite this supposedly being the coldest part of winter. 2013 and 2015 in particular were downright horrific. A snowy spell over the Festive period is long overdue.

As things stand this is going down as the most snowless year since 2014 - astonishing given how poor the intervening years were. 2015 and 2017 managed respectable number of snow lying days but the depths were pathetic. We have not seen 10cm in nearly six years which is beyond ridiculous. Snow lying from the 23rd to 31st is the least we should be expecting to make this years snow lying days up to average and begin to compensate for all the dross festive weather between 2011 and 2017. 

What we will likely end up with is the first year since 2014 and only the second since 2006 to have two snowless winter months. At least 2006 had the outstanding snow in March and an excellent frosty high pressure in December. This year has been one of the grimmest ever for winter weather 

---

Spare a thought down here in Exeter , Devon and many in south west. We reached 16c earlier at one point after some drizzly rain showers, when the sun popped through . temp is now 14.5c feels so unseasonal! Just on an off drizzly rain showers! This would get away with being a mild October daytime max not December!!

---

If we did have 14-16C here it would be as a result of a foehn effect which would be miles more interesting than what we've got just now. Would likely produce interesting clouds and a decent sunset.

What we've got just now is just more useless grey gunk. I'm just at the end of my tether having to endure this utter crud week in week out. Every single Saturday afternoon has been the same since the clocks went back. Always overcast at sunset and in the absence of frost and snow, sunrises/sunsets are about the only thing worth getting the camera out for at this time of year.

This is just the pits. Worst late autumn/early winter since 2002

---

Is it ever going to stop raining for a few minutes?

---

Here in Edinburgh, we have the opposite problem to that.

Even though we still haven't had a single completely dry day here since 17 November 2018. What's happening is that we are getting some rain on every single day, but we are not getting much in the way of rainfall on any of those days. The result of this is that although November eventually came out wetter than average after looking for so long like being a drier than average month, that month was only just wetter than average and no more.

The rainfall totals for this area during this month on the other hand, are running at no more than average whilst just about all of the rest of the UK is having a much wetter than average month so far. Whilst I'm suggesting for a moment that there is any danger of any water shortages here in Edinburgh, we in this part of the world have one of the biggest rainfall deficits to have built up over the whole of the UK and yet, absolutely nothing is happening just now to even begin that process of making up that huge rainfall deficit.

In order for that to happen, we need to be getting a run of substantially wetter than average month and if we could at least get one month which was like that, it would mean that something interesting was actually happening here at long last and if that happened, I wouldn't then have to keep on reporting here that I am currently living in one of the most boring parts of the UK when it comes to our weather.

When you add all of that together, I would happily take some of that rain which is falling down in Manchester just now, that Bolty is so unhappy with.

 

---

We don’t want to lose this thread so here goes......

Another Scandi block fails to deliver anything of note IMBY, I really hope if the projected SSW takes place we end up with a block over Greenland, failing that mild SW zephyrs please. 😜

Don't worry, I'm sure that richardabn will have plenty to say on this thread in the very near future.

Anyway, my moan that we have now come to the end of a so-called "cold" spell in winter which in this neck of the woods, failed to deliver even a single official air frost as all too often, too much wind and/or too much cloud just kept on resulting the temperatures refusing to drop at night because of that.

Now, this spell of weather is ending with prospects of a possible snow/freezing rain event which is now looking as though this will just end up being one big massive non-event here in one of the boring parts of the UK on average when it comes to our weather.

Beyond that, we then go into yet another Atlantic driven spell of milder weather in the run-up to yet another Christmas.

Of course, we had some really mild weather at times at this time last year as well. However, we at least got our first official ice day at around this time last year and always had at least one official air frost during last winter's colder spells. On top of that, we even had some snow by this time last year even though we had to wait quite a bit longer here to get that, than almost everyone else in the UK.

When you add all that up, you have to say that this winter so far has been quite a major disappointment compared to the same period during last winter. We can only therefore hope that whatever happens after any SSW event which happens at around Christmas will more than make up for that during the rest of this winter.

 

---

Looking nailed on for another Xmas with particularly crap weather. 

I know 2009 and 2010 were rarities,  but they showed just how brilliant it is when we do get a snowy lead-up.

---

Looking twice as snowy as 2009 in this neck of the woods!

(twice absolutely nothing being still absolutely nothing )

---

A decent day today - bright, dry and not too cold. Makes a change from a lot of the rain this month has seen so far.

---