I have to say, purely from a pattern matching point of view, I think the hopes of a particularly cold winter are slimmer than they have been in recent years.
The jet is roaring away stronger than is has been for many years, and the storms are starting to form...I think November will be a very unsettled month with the jet roaring all the way through the British Isles and through to central and eastern parts of Europe.
I think we would be unlikely to see a cold winter this year (for more reasons than the above of course), but time will tell.
Originally Posted by: Gandalf The White
I have to say I am struggling with any logic in that, Moomin. The jet can blow itself out in a matter of days and I know that it's not rare to find a sudden lurch in the pattern as the jet buckles and high pressure develops.
To write off January and February on the basis of a hunch that November might be dominated by a strong jetstream just seems rather fanciful to me.
Originally Posted by: moomin75
Sorry Gandalf, I should have said it was based purely on a "hunch"....Don't worry I'm not about to write off winter! I guess my thinking is mainly because how active we have become recently, although I confess this is just normal for October....
Of course I'm not saying that my "hunch", my "inkling" will be anywhere near the mark, but I do use pattern matching in my annual LRF. It's just one very small cog in the wheel.
Bearing in mind that we have a storm just over a day away and we still don't know the affects or the track of that, it would be folly of me to say that my LRF will be any more or less accurate than any other year.
It's all (to use Gooner's phrase) JUST FOR FUN!
Originally Posted by: Gandalf The White