Stormy Weather II

[Serial_Apologist]

In response to Lat, just now checking my schoolbook records for 1963, I now see that daytime temperatures only rose above zero Celsius for a few isolated days during that notorious winter before a proper thaw settled in on Feb 26. Temoperatures were back to seasonal normal by March 2, this being followed by a very changeable, often rainy and windy month, but with temperatures around what would be expected for March. A cold north-easterly set in on April 4, bringing two days of sleet and soft hail showers to eastern areas, but as this airstream turned more south-easterly it brought mild damp weather, lasting until April 11, when a strong westerly regime resumed, with at times quite deep lows swinging frontal systems ahead and up from the SW, all preparing for a brief high pressure block right across the UK, bringing nonedescript weather until the 29th. Thereafter it was back to a norwest/westerly type, ie our all-year-round norm until recent years, with further high pressure blockage to the north forcing the jet stream and its associated lows across France from May 25. May then ended with warm easterlies and the first 25+ C midday temperatures for London, Liverpool and the N Wales resorts. This was about the best weather all year; the rest of the summer turned out to be a bit of a dog's dinner, with only brief settled warm spells and nothing describable as a heatwave - except for me, since that was the year I spent 3 weeks of August with a French family on the French side of Lake Geneva, and from the records I meticulously kept there, it did get quite hot at times - and we had some spectacular thunderstorms!

[Lat-Literal]

In response to Lat, just now checking my schoolbook records for 1963, I now see that daytime temperatures only rose above zero Celsius for a few isolated days during that notorious winter before a proper thaw settled in on Feb 26. Temoperatures were back to seasonal normal by March 2, this being followed by a very changeable, often rainy and windy month, but with temperatures around what would be expected for March. A cold north-easterly set in on April 4, bringing two days of sleet and soft hail showers to eastern areas, but as this airstream turned more south-easterly it brought mild damp weather, lasting until April 11, when a strong westerly regime resumed, with at times quite deep lows swinging frontal systems ahead and up from the SW, all preparing for a brief high pressure block right across the UK, bringing nonedescript weather until the 29th. Thereafter it was back to a norwest/westerly type, ie our all-year-round norm until recent years, with further high pressure blockage to the north forcing the jet stream and its associated lows across France from May 25. May then ended with warm easterlies and the first 25+ C midday temperatures for London, Liverpool and the N Wales resorts. This was about the best weather all year; the rest of the summer turned out to be a bit of a dog's dinner, with only brief settled warm spells and nothing describable as a heatwave - except for me, since that was the year I spent 3 weeks of August with a French family on the French side of Lake Geneva, and from the records I meticulously kept there, it did get quite hot at times - and we had some spectacular thunderstorms!

Much research there S_A for which thanks. It partly confirms my mother's assertion that because of the weather she didn't see a health worker for several months after giving birth in December 1962. I'd still like to know if the start of this year is the worst in the South East since that year but I won't press you on every one of the years since. I didn't get to Lake Geneva until July 1991 - plenty of jazz on the "public beach" which may or may not have been activities extended from Montreux but elsewhere too many cordoned off private areas.

[DracoM]

Nothing like '63 or '47.
2018 unpleasant yes, yes .............but '63 or '47,? No chance. And I live where conditions have been pretty awful.
A long winter, yes, but not in the same rank as the two quoted IIRC.

[BBMmk2]

1987 was too!

Filthy day today! Pouring rain!

[Serial_Apologist]

1987 was too!

Filthy day today! Pouring rain!

Must be the coldest, as well as windiest and wettest last day of April I can remember. But hold on tight, everyone, because once we're past Wednesday, it looks like it's going to start warming up nicely, to give us the kind of bank holiday weekend we deserve.

[cloughie]

Must be the coldest, as well as windiest and wettest last day of April I can remember. But hold on tight, everyone, because once we're past Wednesday, it looks like it's going to start warming up nicely, to give us the kind of bank holiday weekend we deserve.

Bright and sunny here but with a not to warm wind and some cloud.

[Serial_Apologist]

Bright and sunny here but with a not to warm wind and some cloud.

On the Weatherworld forum, somebody located in Southampton, who reports being on the far western edge of the rain belt, says he thinks he can glimpse blue sky, way down on the horizon to his west!

[teamsaint]

Not a drop of the much heralded heavy and persistent rain we were forecast here.

Bit on the cool side, but beginning to brighten up a tad.

[Serial_Apologist]

Not a drop of the much heralded heavy and persistent rain we were forecast here.

Bit on the cool side, but beginning to brighten up a tad.

And you're in the clear now, TS - the rain is petering out here in London now.

Ring ring: "Hello, is Peter in?"
"I'm sorry, he's out".

[Mal]

The Met office are struggling in North Bucks. Heavy rain was forecast yesterday evening; this morning: no rain forecast. It didn't rain. So very short term forecasting seems to be working OK!

[Serial_Apologist]

The Met office are struggling in North Bucks. Heavy rain was forecast yesterday evening; this morning: no rain forecast. It didn't rain. So very short term forecasting seems to be working OK!

Accurate weather forecasting has to take account of data inputs that are changing from hour to hour in situations without exact precedent (cue Amber Rudd apologists!): in this instance insufficient account was taken of the expected source of the energy outflow from yesterday's cluster of intense thunderstorms over the Benelux countries feeding into the rain band moving east more rapidly than had been predicted. The heat source and the cold inflow to the west from Scandinavia became decoupled. The low that moved north into the southern North Sea turned out to be less intense in consequence, and the associated rain band narrower.

[teamsaint]

And you're in the clear now, TS - the rain is petering out here in London now.

Ring ring: "Hello, is Peter in?"
"I'm sorry, he's out".

Good news about the rain.

Incidentally ,I find that a lot of Tchaikovsky's works tend to Pytor out.......

[greenilex]

Odd how often Southampton is on the line between weather systems and areas...

[Petrushka]

The forecast shocker of a day never happened here either. Windy and a bit chilly but some warming evening sunshine. Certainly not the torrential rain originally forecast nor the promised low temperatures.

[cloughie]

Odd how often Southampton is on the line between weather systems and areas...

Must be the Spithead influence!