This is a quick summary to see how the winter so far compares with previous cold winters.  It will be updated when the final stats for February are available.

The current winter can be compared with previous ones using the Central England Temperature series (CET).  This is the longest composite temperature series in the world – it provides assessments of the monthly mean temperature for each month from January 1659, just a few years after thermometers were invented.  It is the standard measure of temperature variations for the UK.

It is not a temperature from a single station, but a temperature calculated from a few available weather stations (the stations used change over the years of course) stretching from NW England down to Oxfordshire, so broadly representative of central England. However, the temperature of Central England correlates very well with   temperatures recorded in the regions of England and Wales.  The CET is probably the most frequently cited temperature series in the world.  The data are published quicker than local or regional climate statistics and it has the benefit of extending further in time, enabling current seasons to be viewed in historical context.

The following table gives a comparison of the CET values from October to February. 

Please note that the February figure is an estimated value calculated on the observations of the first 13 days of February, adjusted to take account of temperatures expected for the rest of the month.  The actual CET for the first 13 days was +0.9°C, over 3 deg. C colder than average.  However, the weather is now becoming milder and there is no indication, as yet, of a return to markedly cold weather.

Winter is defined in climatology as December to February. The estimate for February would give an average CET for winter 2008-09 of 3.1°C. The next table compares this with past winters since 1950. This shows – on current indications - that it will probably have been the third -coldest winter since that of 1984/85 but it is very close to two colder ones (1990/91 and 1995/96) and could still surpass them.

The cold winter of 1947 had an average figure of +1.1°C. The current winter is notable for having been persistently cold, unlike several of the coldest shown in the table.  The cold spells this winter have not been exceptionally cold nationally, but cold enough for significant snowfall.

The coldest winters (Dec. to Jan.) since 1950

The graph shows the lack of cold winters since 1995/96 but also the fact that it was colder than most winters in the early 20^th century.  

Finally, in view of the cold weather in late October that necessitated salting activity in many areas, the following table compares the October to February mean temperature, encompassing the salting season (to date).   Not surprisingly, the ranking of 2008/09 rises to 8^th, having been the coldest such period since 1985/86.

The coldest October to February periods since 1950 

This entry was posted on 16.02.09 and is filed under . You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.