Winter 2023/24 was a wet and warm winter coming as the 4th wettest and 2nd warmest on record. The winter did feature noteworthy weather in December and February. December it was rain and wind while in February it was the one day Snow storm.
December is very good indicator of whether winter will be a mild one or not and anything over 6C nearly always ends up with a mild winter. Normally months cannot be used to indicate what the following season will be. However the trend holds true going back several centuries although eventually this quirk will cease to be true. Strangely enough December started Winter on a good note with Snow falling on two of the first three days the 2nd and the 3rd with a depth of 7cm being reached on the 3rd. This was down to 6cm on the morning of 4th and had gone by the 5th. The start of the month indeed had a notable cold spell with air frosts on five days out of the first 7 days. The coldest night was the 2nd with -4C being the low and a notable -3.4C on the 3rd. The last air frost of the month was on the 7th. No Snow fell at the 3rd and with the month finishing at 6.4C shows how mild the the rest of the month was. Temperatures hit 10.8C on the 9th and then they were days of spring like weather from the 15th to 18th with 13.4C being reached on the 18th. More spring like weather from the 20th to the 25th. 13.4C on the 24th joining the 18th as the joint warmest day of the month. To add insult to injury for those wanting a white xmas this was actually shown on the models but swiftly disappeared from the forecasts. Double figures were reached again on the 27th and 30th. Night time temperatures never reached double figures however they generally stayed around of what would be the normal day maximum. The warmest night was the 19th with 9.1C being the low.
Rainfall wise the month was the 4th wettest on record with 166.3mm falling. Snow gave 15.1mm on the 3rd then a further 17mm of rain fell on the 4th. More heavy rain on the 7th with 16.7mm and 23.2mm on the 9th. A dryish spell lasted from the 13th to the 20th when only 3.2mm fall it then turned wet again with double figure on the 26th, 30th and 31st these being 15.8mm,12.4 and 10.4mm.There were only three dry days in the month.
There were three named storms for December these being, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit on the 9th, 10th and 27th to the 28th. Elin produced 23.2mm of rain and a gust up to 62mph on the 9th. Fergus had zero impact on the region and neither did Gerrit. The Met office failed to name the strongest storm of the month this being Pia which produced a 77mph gust on the 21st and many more into the sixties. This was one of the highest gusts recorded in December and the highest since digital records were started in 2003. This shows that the Met Office isn't very good at naming storms and is often beaten by other met office from other countries. It also failed to issue red warning which should have been the case.
After such a mild start to winter I promptly wrote of the rest of the winter knowing that it wouldn't bring much if any in the way of wintry weather. Bar one day in February this was the case.
January was an average month temperature wise and rainfall wise.
Spring returned for the last 12 days cancelling out a cold spell of the month which lasted from the 7th to the 20th bar a one day break on the 13th. The month start on a wet mild note with most of the months rain falling in the first two days this being 18.2mm on the 1st and 22.4mm on the 2nd. Temperatures returned to normal by the 5th and the cold spell started on the 7th the period seeing the coldest day 1.4C on the 17th and recording six air frosts. The coldest night was the 18th with -4C followed by the 19th with -3.5C. Spring returned on the 21st with 12.1C being reached and the warmest day followed shortly afterwards with 14.1C being reached. From the 21st to the 31st 7 days reached double figures. The warmest night was on the 22nd with 7.3C being the low.
Rainfall I've already mentioned most of the rain fell on the 1st and 2nd and double figures were only reached once more with 10.1mm on the 21st. Only 5.1mm fell from the 4th to the 20th which was a start contrast to 40.6mm in the first two days.
January had three names storms by the Met office. Henk, Isha and Jocelyn on the 2nd, 21st-22nd and the 23rd to the 24th. Henk produced 22.4mm but nothing more. Isha produced a gust of 53mph and 10.1mm of rain while Jocelyn produced a gust of 50mph. Winds reached 50mph again on the 25th
It was left for February to save winter and it didn't being the 2nd warmest February on record and a wet month. It did produce one Snow storm which caused havoc in Sheffield for a few hours mostly due to bad driving and everyone going home at the same time.
Spring like to start the month which lasted for the first six days as temperatures reached 13.5C on the 2nd and double figures followed for the next four days. Temperatures dropped closer to average bar a one day cold snap of the month with a high of 3.2C and a low of -0.3C. Temperatures returned to just above average and spring back in charge from the 13th with one of the warmest February days on record with 17.1C on the 15th. This was the warmest night with 10.4C. Spring like weather continues until the 21st when temperatures returned closer to average with a few night frosts with the coldest night being -1C on the 25th and a lesser air frost the day after with a low of -0.6C. Temperatures picked up a little but the cool spell prevented the warmest February on record being recorded.
Rainfall was above average for February with 38mm falling on the 8th which was the only Snow of the month. Double figures were reached again on the 13th with 11.5m and 12.1mm on the 21st. Less rain fell during the last seven days as the month limped towards the 100mm mark finishing just below at 98.1mm.
The lack of storms mean a quiet month with only 41mph being the highest gust of the month.
So the mild December once again indicated the type of winter to come and despite promises of SSW and cold spells briefly thrown up by the models these never materialised to change the pattern from mild overall picture.
| This Winters Averages and Highs and Lows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Average Temp 4.7C | This Winters Average 6.1C | Difference from average 1.4C |
| Average Max Temp 7.4C | This Winters Max Average 8.6C | Difference from average 1.2C |
| Average Min Temp 1.9C | This Winters Min Average 3.6C | Difference From Average 1.7C |
| High Max 17.1C on the 15th of Feb | Low Max 1.4C on the 15th,17th of Jan | Highest Daily Range 10.8C on the 13th of Jan |
| High Min 10.4C on the 15th of Feb | Low Min -4.0C on the 2nd Dec, 18th of Jan | Lowest Daily Range 0.4C on the 22nd of Feb |
| Number of Air Frosts 15 | Days of Thunder 0 | Days of Snow 4 |
| Days of Rain > 0 66 Days | Days of Rain with Trace 8 Days | Days with Gusts ≥ 50 mph 6 days |
| Average Rainfall 227.1 mm | This Summer Average 341.6mm | Percentage of Average Rainfall 1xx.x% |