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Global Warming
30 December 2021 21:15:43

This thread is for all comments, discussion and analysis of temperatures in the UK during January, with particular emphasis on the Central England Temperature (CET), for the simple reason that it is the longest running temperature series in the world with over 360 years of data. But you can comment on any interesting temperature statistics or data from across the UK, including your own back yard. 


To make things a little more fun we also run a competition in this thread throughout the year. This is by no means the only focus of the thread and you don't need to participate in the competition to post here. But it is a bit of fun which many of us enjoy.  


The competition is run on a monthly basis and you can participate in just one or two or all of the months. For those who do take part throughout the year there is an annual competition which runs alongside the monthly competition. Full details are set out below. There are no changes from previous years so those familiar with the competition do not need to read through everything. 


For those taking part in the competition all CET predictions for January should be sent directly to me via the forum private message system. Do not post them directly into the thread.


You can also send me predictions for the average CET for 2022 as a whole if you wish along with your January prediction.


The deadline for predictions is 2359 on the last day of the preceding month (so for January it is 31 Dec at 2359).


Entries after 2359 on the final day of the month will only be accepted at my discretion if I consider there is a reasonable excuse. No entries will be accepted after the 2nd of the month. There is a penalty of 0.2C for each day that a prediction is late.


Here is a reminder of how the CET competitions work for the benefit of everyone but also anyone who would like to join in for the first time. All are welcome to participate.


How do the competitions work?


Each month a new thread is opened a few days in advance of the start of a new month. Your challenge is to predict the mean Central England Temperature (CET) for the following month. The CET is the longest running temperature series and goes back to the mid 1600's. Each month I post some statistics about the CET for that month in recent years as well as a summary of some of the latest model output and long range forecasts to provide some context to assist you in making your prediction. 


Predictions can be made either to one or two decimals (the actual data is published to two decimals). The closest person or persons to the final figure at the end of the month are declared the winner for that month. There are no prizes. This competition is just a bit of fun and the chance to amaze your fellow posters with your skill and foresight in predicting the weather (or you can just make a random guess!).


We use the Hadley data for the purposes of this competition which is maintained by the Met Office. Provisional figures are published daily with a final adjusted number usually issued on the first day of the following month. 


In addition to the monthly competition there is an annual competition which runs throughout the year. The annual competition keeps a running total of the cumulative prediction errors from each month for each person. Absolute differences are used so it makes no difference if you overpredict or underpredict the CET in any given month. At the end of the year the person with the lowest cumulative prediction error after totalling each of the 12 months is declared the winner for the year. This is always a hard fought contest and requires a consistency of good predictions in order to win.


Summary of important points 


- Predictions can be made up to 23:59 on the final day of the month before the one to which the prediction relates. Entries may be accepted up to two dates late but with a penalty.


- All predictions should be made by private message to me. 


- Once you have sent your prediction you are only permitted to change it once prior to the deadline. Any subsequent amendments will be ignored.  


- You may make a prediction to either one or two decimals. You can predict the same figure as someone else (except for a 2022 whole year CET prediction which must be unique). 


- Where two members have the same cumulative prediction error for the year at the end of any month, the order of ranking in the competition table will be determined by which person has had the closest prediction to the actual CET in any month. If there is a still a tie I then look to the second closest prediction for each person and so on until the tie is broken. If the tie cannot be broken (very unlikely by December but can happen in the first couple of months of the year) then each person impacted is awarded the same position in the table. 


Missed predictions


If a person participating in the annual CET competition does not make a prediction in any one month (including January) their prediction error for that month will be calculated as follows:


- the upper quartile (75th percentile) of the prediction errors of all the people in the annual competition who did make a prediction for that month will be calculated at the end of the month plus a penalty of 0.4C (to tie in with the penalties for late predictions); 


The result of the above calculation will be used as the CET prediction error for any person who misses a prediction in a particular month subject to one further point:


- If, for any person, their average monthly prediction error for all the previous months in the year to date is higher than the 75th percentile of errors (across all entrants), then the person's average prediction error will be substituted instead of the 75th percentile figure. This override is only likely to apply to those people towards the foot of the table who have very made very large errors in previous months and hence is no likely to be of significance to the overall result. 


One final important point. If you want to be included in the year long competition you may not miss more than two predictions during a calendar year. If a third prediction is missed that person will be eliminated from the annual competition (otherwise it would mean 25% or more of the annual error being calculated on non-existent predictions which would reduce the credibility of the competition too much). However, that person can continue to make predictions for the purpose of the monthly competition.


Now on to some data for January:


Historic CET summary for January


1971-2000 4.20C (30 years)


1981-2010 4.44C (30 years) 


2001-2020 4.72C (20 years)


January 2021 was the coldest January since 2010 with a CET of 3.1C. 2020 was very mild at 6.4C.  


Here is a chart of the January CET for all years since 1961:


UserPostedImage


Direct link to larger version of the chart chart


Current model output     


GEFS - 850's are up and down a bit in week 1 and close to average in week . Surface temperatures look potentially somewhat on the cold side in week 2 although there is a lot of scatter.


https://www.wetterzentrale.de/de/show_diagrams.php?geoid=49069&model=gfs&var=2&run=99&lid=ENS&bw= 


https://www.wetterzentrale.de/de/show_diagrams.php?geoid=49069&model=gfs&var=5&run=99&lid=ENS&bw=


ECM (de Bilt) shows a similar position to GFS for surface temperatures.  


http://www.knmi.nl/exp/pluim/Data/PLUIM_06260_NWT.png 


Met Office contingency planners outlook   


https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/business/public-sector/civil-contingency/3moutlook-jfm-v1-secure.pdf


Temperature probabilities for January are 30% cold, 65% normal, 5% mild. That is quite interesting as it is very unusual for the mild percentage to be so low. A wet month is also only 5% which suggests an increased chance of blocking, although around a 2/3rds chance of an average zonal month.


3 month figures show 25% for warm and only 5% for cold which suggest January could be the coldest month of the winter.

Bertwhistle
31 December 2021 17:17:31

My bid is in! This year I feel slightly more organised and will be glad to be in the annual competition too.


Great intro GW for new players, and for old needing refreshment!


Bertie, Itchen Valley.
Retire while you can still press the 'retire now' button.
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
31 December 2021 17:56:42


My bid is in! This year I feel slightly more organised and will be glad to be in the annual competition too.


Great intro GW for new players, and for old needing refreshment!


Originally Posted by: Bertwhistle 

  Mine’s in too. 


Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
Join the fun and banter of the monthly CET competition.
ARTzeman
31 December 2021 22:21:44
Happy New Year to all .My figure is in.




Some people walk in the rain.
Others just get wet.
I Just Blow my horn or trumpet
Windy Willow
01 January 2022 06:18:00

Good luck everyone & Happy New Year!


South Holland, Lincs 5m/16ft ASL

Don't feed the Trolls!! When starved of attention they return to their dark caves or the dark recesses of bridges and will turn back to stone, silent again!
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
01 January 2022 07:48:02

Happy New Year to you all and good luck with your predictions!  


Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
Join the fun and banter of the monthly CET competition.
ARTzeman
02 January 2022 11:36:54

Met Office Hadley        12.7c       Anomaly        9.1c provisional to 1st


Metcheck                     11.76c     Anomaly        7.61c


Netweather                  12.8c       Anomaly        8.61c


Peasedown St John      11.57c     Anomaly       6.12c.      






Some people walk in the rain.
Others just get wet.
I Just Blow my horn or trumpet
KevBrads1
02 January 2022 11:37:54

New Year's Days with CET daily means of 8.0 and greater


 


1810: 8.7


1824: 8.1


1825: 9.7


1840: 9.3


1851: 10.8


1853: 8.6


1855: 8.1


1860: 8.7


1880: 9.6


1883: 9.6


1886: 8.9


1896: 8.6


1916: 10.5


1917: 10.4


1921: 9.0


1935: 9.5


1937: 8.3


1960: 9.5


1988: 9.3


2012: 9.8


2019: 8.0


2022: ~12.7


MANCHESTER SUMMER INDEX for 2021: 238
Timelapses, old weather forecasts and natural phenomena videos can be seen on this site
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgrSD1BwFz2feWDTydhpEhQ/playlists
Bolty
02 January 2022 11:42:16


New Year's Days with CET daily means of 8.0 and greater


 


2022: ~12.7


Originally Posted by: KevBrads1 


That's got to be a record, or very close to a record, for January.


Scott
Blackrod, Lancashire (4 miles south of Chorley) at 156m asl.
My weather station 
Retron
02 January 2022 11:50:24


 


That's got to be a record, or very close to a record, for January.


Originally Posted by: Bolty 


If 12.7 is confirmed, it'd trash the January record. The record is 11.6, recorded in 1834, 1932 and 2016.


https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/graphs/HadCET_act_graphEX.gif


https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/cetdl1772on.dat


Hell, it'd be close to a record for February, as that's 12.8C in 2004. The second highest in Feb is just 12.2C, also in 2004.


 


 


Leysdown, north Kent
Bolty
02 January 2022 11:53:02


 


If 12.7 is confirmed, it'd trash the January record. The record is 11.6, recorded in 1834, 1932 and 2016.


https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/graphs/HadCET_act_graphEX.gif


https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/cetdl1772on.dat


Hell, it'd be close to a record for February, as that's 12.8C in 2004. The second highest in Feb is just 12.2C, also in 2004.


 


 


Originally Posted by: Retron 


So definitely a notable day then!


Put it this way, only June, July, August and September have monthly means higher than that, and if it was thje annual CET, it would be by far the warmest year on record... all on New Year's Day.


No doubt we'll see a record low on 1st July. That would be so typical of the UK climate.


Scott
Blackrod, Lancashire (4 miles south of Chorley) at 156m asl.
My weather station 
Col
  • Col
  • Advanced Member
02 January 2022 12:03:42


 


So definitely a notable day then!


Put it this way, only June, July, August and September have monthly means higher than that, and if it was thje annual CET, it would be by far the warmest year on record... all on New Year's Day.


No doubt we'll see a record low on 1st July. That would be so typical of the UK climate.


Originally Posted by: Bolty 


A few years ago I think quite a number of places recorded higher maxima on the winter solstice than they did on the summer one.


Col
Bolton, Lancashire
160m asl
Snow videos:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3QvmL4UWBmHFMKWiwYm_gg
western100
02 January 2022 18:43:10

Evening 


Where can i find the 1971 - 2000 CET averages for each month?


Worcestershire / Warwickshire Border
100m ASL
Twitter…..@Weather4u2
Global Warming
02 January 2022 18:47:35

Here is a first look at the January CET tracker


UserPostedImage


Chart 1


UserPostedImage


Chart 2

Global Warming
02 January 2022 18:49:33


Evening 


Where can i find the 1971 - 2000 CET averages for each month?


Originally Posted by: western100 


I don't think they are posted anywhere specifically by Hadley. I have captured my own table of averages below which includes the figures you are looking for.


UserPostedImage


Table

western100
02 January 2022 18:51:22


 


I don't think they are posted anywhere specifically by Hadley. I have captured my own table of averages below which includes the figures you are looking for.


UserPostedImage


Table


Originally Posted by: Global Warming 


Thank you very much 


I havent seen any publication from Hadley either


 


Worcestershire / Warwickshire Border
100m ASL
Twitter…..@Weather4u2
Global Warming
02 January 2022 19:00:55

Here are the January predictions. 


There is an amnesty from penalties for those who sent their predictions yesterday, given the new year celebrations. 


UserPostedImage


Table

Bolty
02 January 2022 19:08:06


Here are the January predictions. 


There is an amnesty from penalties for those who sent their predictions yesterday, given the new year celebrations.


Table


Originally Posted by: Global Warming 


Thanks GW. Was late with this myself.


Scott
Blackrod, Lancashire (4 miles south of Chorley) at 156m asl.
My weather station 
western100
02 January 2022 19:18:58


 


Thanks GW. Was late with this myself.


Originally Posted by: Bolty 


Thanks GW


Lots going mild for January 


Worcestershire / Warwickshire Border
100m ASL
Twitter…..@Weather4u2
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
03 January 2022 07:09:53


 


Thanks GW


Lots going mild for January 


Originally Posted by: western100 

  Quite a spread between extremes though as well!  


Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
Join the fun and banter of the monthly CET competition.
Col
  • Col
  • Advanced Member
03 January 2022 08:56:37


 


Thanks GW


Lots going mild for January 


Originally Posted by: western100 


It would be quite easy just to go for a default 1C above average for this month, or indeed most months. However I fell that there were enough cold signals out there to rein that tempation in, therfore I went for something only slightly above average.


Col
Bolton, Lancashire
160m asl
Snow videos:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3QvmL4UWBmHFMKWiwYm_gg
ARTzeman
03 January 2022 11:25:36

Met Office Hadley        11.3c       Anomaly      7.7c provisional to 2nd


Metcheck                     10.57c     Anomaly      6.42c


Netweather                  11.53c     Anomaly      7.34c


Peasedown St John      11.37c     Anomaly     5.92c. 






Some people walk in the rain.
Others just get wet.
I Just Blow my horn or trumpet
Global Warming
03 January 2022 12:17:47

Thank you everyone for your kind messages that were sent with your January predictions. Looking forward to another year of the competition. Sorry I meant to mention that yesterday.


I have had a few predictions in for the annual CET as well so here is the table for the record.


UserPostedImage


Table

Whether Idle
03 January 2022 16:28:28

Seeing the CET at 11.3 is fairly terrifying with a guess just below the LTA.  Nevertheless, Im hoping for quite a lot of high pressure to bring some foggy days and some chilly nights as the month progresses, and I hope an absence of more record breaking mildness.


Dover, 5m asl. Half a mile from the south coast.
Bertwhistle
03 January 2022 16:35:46


Thank you everyone for your kind messages that were sent with your January predictions. Looking forward to another year of the competition. Sorry I meant to mention that yesterday.


I have had a few predictions in for the annual CET as well so here is the table for the record.


UserPostedImage


Table


Originally Posted by: Global Warming 


Thanks GW; I'd quite like to do this one as well- but does it have the same deadline penalty-free, given the timescale?


Bertie, Itchen Valley.
Retire while you can still press the 'retire now' button.

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