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Well, all this wind generated by the big coastal storm made me a bit unhappy this morning when a big limb fell down on the roof of the house - it shook the house like a bomb going off underneath - scary! It gouged out a small hole in the asphalt and substrate, but thankfully the wood held up underneath - gotta love these well-built, older homes.
Anyhow, got it patched up - even at 55 degrees and a stiff wind, it was quite comfortable up on the roof even in a t-shirt and shorts - guess the strong spring sun makes it feel a lot warmer than it is.
But the heat is surely coming - so not looking forward to that...
I'm grown very tired now of this persistent cold weather this April. I go out in hat and coat and still shiver in biting arctic winds and it's most un-springlike especially coupled with the incessant gloom, general lack of sun this month. Even the last cold April I remember, which was 2008, at least ended with a warm final week. This month has no redeeming qualities what so ever, although is climatically overdue given recent mild Aprils.
But still I can't help but find this month very depressing. It's been colder and more tedious than even last November, which says a lot. I look forward to May and the warmth it might bring. April is the first month since December 2010 to receive a 0 out of 10 in in my record books.
I always rate each month out of 10 in my weather records. I actually rated December 2010 2 out of 10, due to the unusual cold snap and lots of snow, which was more interesting than a usual December. But the score was still very low, because I hated that it was cold all month long, and since it had only one weather pattern lasting the whole month, it was a very boring month, unlike say February 2012, which went from very cold to very mild and ended up average.
The last time (before this month) that a month got 0 out of 10 was August 2010, because it was a dull, cold rainy pile of crap.
Summer 2010 averaged 2.7 out of 10 - June was good, but July failed totally by having less than 100 hours of sun, and august was very cold and pathetic.
Summer 2011, wet and dull, and coldest since 1986 averaged 1.6 out of 10
Winter 2011/2012 averaged 4.7 out of 10, as it was a very varied and interesting winter.
Winter 2010/2011 averaged 2.7 out of 10, due to being too cold, and very boring.
Spring 2010 averaged 4.3 out of 10, let down by a cold March, and cold May.
Spring 2011 averaged 6 out of 10, a very respectable score, owing to the settled dry March, record warm dry April, but let down by the crap May.
My ratings for each month are not as straight forward as simply warmer and dryer being better. They take into account weather variety and interest. Frequent storms (of any kind), more pattern changes and temperature swings, extremes in temperature, will all garner higher ratings. Boring weather, consistently colder than average weather, cloudiness, drizzly rain, lack of storms, will all mean crapper scores.
A list of all my ratings for previous seasons:
Winter 2011/2012: 4.7 out of 10
Autumn 2011: 5.7 out of 10
Summer 2011: 1.7 out of 10
Spring 2011: 6 out of 10
Winter 2010/2011: 2.7 out of 10
Autumn 2010: 4 out of 10
Summer 2010: 2.7 out of 10
Spring 2010: 4.3 out of 10
Winter 2009/2010: 1.7 out of 10
Autumn 2009: 1.7 out of 10
Summer 2009: 2.1 out of 10
Spring 2009: 5.3 out of 10
Winter 2008/2009: 6.1 out of 10
Autumn 2008: 5.3 out of 10
Summer 2008: 3.8 out of 10
Spring 2008: 5.8 out of 10
Last edited by Weatherfan2; 04-24-2012 at 07:11 AM..
I'm grown very tired now of this persistent cold weather this April. I go out in hat and coat and still shiver in biting arctic winds and it's most un-springlike especially coupled with the incessant gloom, general lack of sun this month. Even the last cold April I remember, which was 2008, at least ended with a warm final week. This month has no redeeming qualities what so ever, although is climatically overdue given recent mild Aprils.
But still I can't help but find this month very depressing. It's been colder and more tedious than even last November, which says a lot. I look forward to May and the warmth it might bring. April is the first month since December 2010 to receive a 0 out of 10 in in my record books.
So when are you moving to Florida, then? A lot of your fellow Brits have done the same, you'd have plenty of company.
As for here, the weather's been wonderful - I've been sleeping so well the past couple of nights as the indoor temps dropped close to 60, even with the windows closed...lol.
But the heat is coming, and it it won't be long before the "crying season" begins for me....bummer....
Your scoring method makes sense, given your preferences. I will say that I would have a rating system similar to yours, in that even if a month has really bad (warm) temperatures and/or no snow or frost to speak of, I would rate a variable, stormy month higher than a monotonous one, because it's more interesting. For instance, despite the fact that their averages are similar, I would prefer February 1986 in Laredo over January 2012 in Orlando, because the former was more extreme and overall more variable, and thus interesting. Of course there are exceptions - given the same averages, let's say in the 20's, I'd choose a less extreme month (ranging from -10 to +30) over a more variable month (ranging from -40 to +50) if it meant avoiding major thaws and warmth in winter, even if the bitter cold is eliminated. The basic concept behind all of this is when the averages are lousy, weather close to average all the time will be lousier than more extreme weather that may include some time well below average. Metaphorically, when one needs to roll a 6 on a dice, and averages a 2, it makes sense to roll the dice more, since the chances of rolling a 6 are maximized.
Sick of rain, sick of cloud, sick of my runny nose and blocked sinuses, sick of cold wet dampness that feels like you're wrapped in a mouldy towel, sick of this subarctic climate where we have another 6 months where 90% of time the weather will be like this.
Sick of rain, sick of cloud, sick of my runny nose and blocked sinuses, sick of cold wet dampness that feels like you're wrapped in a mouldy towel, sick of this subarctic climate where we have another 6 months where 90% of time the weather will be like this.
Maybe it's time to move someplace more to your liking, like Brisbane or points further north. From what I hear, landing a job anywhere in Australia is a snap, so just put in for work in the climate you prefer and move north.
Believe me, if getting work in the US was as easy as Australia, I'd moved to my ideal climate ages ago...lol.
Unhappy that the severe thunderstorms forecast, failed to eventuate. There was the odd flash and rumble, but the day was mostly clear and muggy. Some big downpours though, with some 100mm/4 inches totals over about 5 hours recorded up the river.
Unhappy that the severe thunderstorms forecast, failed to eventuate. There was the odd flash and rumble, but the day was mostly clear and muggy. Some big downpours though, with some 100mm/4 inches totals over about 5 hours recorded up the river.
The "odd flash and rumble" is the same as what we get in a whole year here.
Unhappy with that damn horrible icy and sunny westerly wind hanging around, we really want it to bugger off to the east ASAP
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