Normal service for here has been well and truly resumed though, as this afternoon has brought us a return to constant grey skies with nothing happening which is even remotely interesting in terms of any sort of actual weather with the temperatures also refusing to rise.

 

Ok here John, turned cloudy briefly but mostly a gorgeous afternoon, hazy sun and 13 C. In a T Shirt again for my walk. It's been a fantastic weeks weather to be outside!

 

Ok here John, turned cloudy briefly but mostly a gorgeous afternoon, hazy sun and 13 C. In a T Shirt again for my walk. It's been a fantastic weeks weather to be outside!

The Sun eventually came out here as well during the latter part of this afternoon, but with the temperatures still generally, refusing to rise.

Today's maximum temperature as you have said, was 13°C here in Edinburgh but that is quite a lot cooler than of late, and not all that much higher than what the temperature was during the latter part of this morning.

I think I'm a 'glass half full' guy and I've enjoyed the Edinburgh weather of late. The lovely snowy and frosty weather has soon given way to a sunny Spring and I've spent the last 6 days out in the garden and walking the hills of the city. I just make the most of it, get out there and enjoy! Edinburgh is a lovely city 👍

What's the betting that it all goes downhill here by the summer, though?

I'm all for decent weather at any time of the year and for making the most of that (albeit on a limited basis just now due to the lockdown). Indeed, drier spells are always welcome, especially given that we had a wet winter. However, the rainfall has to come back at some point in time (otherwise, it wouldn't then be long before the drought threads started on this forum once again due to concerns over a lack of rainfall) and all too often in recent years, that has ended up happening during the summer which has been wet and miserable as a result.

That is why if we are going to get any decent weather, I would actually much rather be seeing that during the summer rather than getting all of our good weather just now, especially as it is looking as though we may well be out of the lockdown at that time and therefore, in a much better position to be able to make the most of that than what we are just now. This is exactly what happened last year as well because back then, almost the entire spring was dry and sunny (indeed, that was our sunniest period of last year by some considerable distance) only for the summer to be very poor.

As we all know, last spring was when the first lockdown happened which didn't give us much of a chance to make the most of the good weather which we had back then. However, the weather had then turned wet and miserable by the time that restrictions were eased a bit during the summer, so we had very little in the way of decent weather to enjoy then.

With the way that this spring is going just now, I can see the same thing happening again, albeit with the current lockdown restrictions not being quite as strict this time. Hopefully, there will still be some decent weather left for us to enjoy during the summer and if this means that the spring isn't quite as good as it was last year, then so be it.

 

What's the betting that it all goes downhill here by the summer, though?

I'm all for decent weather at any time of the year and for making the most of that (albeit on a limited basis just now due to the lockdown). Indeed, drier spells are always welcome, especially given that we had a wet winter. However, the rainfall has to come back at some point in time (otherwise, it wouldn't then be long before the drought threads started on this forum once again due to concerns over a lack of rainfall) and all too often in recent years, that has ended up during the summer which has been wet and miserable as a result.

That is why if we are going to get any decent weather, I would actually much rather be seeing that during the summer, especially as we are looking as though we may well be out of the lockdown at that time and therefore, in a much better position to be able to make the most of that than what we are just now. This is exactly what happened last year as well because back then, almost the entire spring was dry and sunny (indeed, that was our sunniest period of last year by some considerable distance) only for the summer to be very poor.

As we all know, last spring was when the first lockdown happened which didn't give us much of a chance to make the most of the good weather which we had back then. However, the weather had then turned wet and miserable by the time that restrictions were eased a bit during the summer, so we had very little in the way of decent weather to enjoy then.

With the way that this spring is going just now, I can see the same thing happening again, albeit with the current lockdown restrictions not being quite as strict this time. Hopefully, there will still be some decent weather left for us to enjoy during the summer and if this means that the spring isn't quite as good as it was last year, then so be it.

 

You have such a depressing time with your weather, John, I wonder if you might not find stamp collecting less exasperating? I am trying to picture what could take you further downhill from here. It's worrying.

Roger

You have such a depressing time with your weather, John, I wonder if you might not find stamp collecting less exasperating? I am trying to picture what could take you further downhill from here. It's worrying.

"Damn, I got sniped on that mint 4-margin 1840 penny black that nobody else had bid on"...

"I paid for an 1840 2d blue but got one of the 1841 ones instead and they won't refund me"...

"That stamp which was sold as unmounted mint has a trace of a hinge on it"...

Stamp collecting can be full of moans too.

No moans about spring so far here, FWIW. The sun is shining this morning, there's a gentle northerly and I'll be out there soon doing some gardening.

 

You have such a depressing time with your weather, John, I wonder if you might not find stamp collecting less exasperating? I am trying to picture what could take you further downhill from here. It's worrying.

Roger

 

You have such a depressing time with your weather, John, I wonder if you might not find stamp collecting less exasperating? I am trying to picture what could take you further downhill from here. It's worrying.

Roger

Surely though, it is pure common sense for anyone to be more likely to be looking for decent weather once the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted so that we can then make the maximum amount of use from that, rather than have all of good weather just now when our options are more limited because of the lockdown, only to find that there isn't any decent weather for us to enjoy by the time that these restrictions have been lifted.

Whenever I speak to anyone on the streets, people will usually always say that they hope that we can get a decent summer, whereas I haven't yet met anyone who has said that they would happily settle for a dry and sunny spring, and not be bothered in any way about what the following summer is going to have in store for us.

Furthermore, I'm also not suggesting in any way that we will actually get a poor summer this year as I could easily be taken by surprise on that front, as I was in 2018 when we had that decent summer which followed on from the Beast from the East events in the latter part of the preceding winter and early part of that spring. However, past experiences have shown that we are usually far more likely get a poor summer here in Scotland (I am aware though, that it could all be different down in England) after a dry and sunny spring, than we are to get a decent weather then.

Because of that, I don't really see that as having a depressing time with the weather as I am really only stating what it is generally like in this part of the world.

 

"Damn, I got sniped on that mint 4-margin 1840 penny black that nobody else had bid on"...

"I paid for an 1840 2d blue but got one of the 1841 ones instead and they won't refund me"...

"That stamp which was sold as unmounted mint has a trace of a hinge on it"...

Stamp collecting can be full of moans too.

Not to mention the dropping value of stamps. Kids don't collect them any more so don't grow up into rich collectors. I was lucky in the early days of Ebay. Stamps were a very easy thing to trade (low postage no pun intended) and a lot of the older people hadn't cottoned on. So I could buy cheap GB stamps from abroad and then sell them at inflated Stamp Fair prices. Unfortunately now it is easy to get almost any stamp and prices have dropped. My mint Victoria Jubilee set is still worth about the same as it was years ago.

Grey today again but a tad of brightness appearing and slightly warmer, creeping into double figures.

Edinburgh has seen the best/most interesting weather in the country once again this week whereas here the entirety of March has been a coma inducing borefest devoid of even one day where interest levels are raised from zero.

It's beyond a joke. First we see the nonsense of snow no longer coming on northerlies but westerlies instead meaning the likes of Edinburgh and Glasgow get snowfall after snowfall and we get nothing. Now the nonsense of foehn effects coming on north westerlies instead of south westerlies meaning Dundee and Edinburgh get the warmth and we end up with windy blandness.

An utterly awful month. The only time there's been any sun there has been a 40-50mph wind accompanying it. Today that wind has finally dropped out and what is there? Soul destroying featureless grey gloop covering the sky in it's entirety like so many days of this godawful autumnal March.

It's been beyond dire since the cold spell ended.  The most depressingly dull and uninteresting late winter/early spring I have experienced.  Devoid of variety, devoid of the normal and natural cold and warm spells we should be seeing.

So much for the cold March we were supposed to be getting. Not a flake of snow since 14th February and a grand total of 3 frosts since then. Four nights below 2C in March is just unreal. It's the worst March for cold I've recorded my 16 years of record.

At the same time it's dire for warmth with only two days reaching 12C - same as 2018. All days that reached double figures felt far colder because of the wind.

No convective activity whatsoever. None of the hail, rain, sleet and snow showers we should be seeing at this time of year 

North Westerlies should be bringing a mix of sun and showers with frost overnight not this soul destroying mild gloom with low diurnal range. Min was 5C last night and now it's 7.4C. As if this sort of crap isn't bad enough from easterlies 

The variety, changeability and extremes have just disappeared from our climate leaving us with relentless tedious and tiresome dross 

 

Surely though, it is pure common sense for anyone to be more likely to be looking for decent weather once the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted so that we can then make the maximum amount of use from that, rather than have all of good weather just now when our options are more limited because of the lockdown, only to find that there isn't any decent weather for us to enjoy by the time that these restrictions have been lifted.

Whenever I speak to anyone on the streets, people will usually always say that they hope that we can get a decent summer, whereas I haven't yet met anyone who has said that they would happily settle for a dry and sunny spring, and not be bothered in any way about what the following summer is going to have in store for us.

Furthermore, I'm also not suggesting in any way that we will actually get a poor summer this year as I could easily be taken by surprise on that front, as I was in 2018 when we had that decent summer which followed on from the Beast from the East events in the latter part of the preceding winter and early part of that spring. However, past experiences have shown that we are usually far more likely get a poor summer here in Scotland (I am aware though, that it could all be different down in England) after a dry and sunny spring, than we are to get a decent weather then.

Because of that, I don't really see that as having a depressing time with the weather as I am really only stating what it is generally like in this part of the world.

 

The rare commodity of common sense tells me that there's the human take on this and that of the the meteorologist, John. One allows you to moan, the other should be a source of fascination and curiosity. As a human I fear and worry where Covid-19 is taking us, but as a Biologist I know I am observing the essence of the evolution of life in action, the battle between a host and a pathogen, at which I cannot resist a sense of awe and wonder, however weird that may sound. 

Roger

 

The rare commodity of common sense tells me that there's the human take on this and that of the the meteorologist, John. One allows you to moan, the other should be a source of fascination and curiosity. As a human I fear and worry where Covid-19 is taking us, but as a Biologist I know I am observing the essence of the evolution of life in action, the battle between a host and a pathogen, at which I cannot resist a sense of awe and wonder, however weird that may sound. 

Roger

On that note, my human side is saying that I'm actually quite enjoying this lovely weather and that we should enjoy any bit of decent weather we can get. On that note, I would put this sort of weather down as the sort of weather which I would like to be seeing, regardless of the time of year. However, there is also the other side of me which is a weather enthusiast. I'm no more than an enthusiast and so, I'm not an actual professional in any way as some members of this forum are.

However, the fact that I am an enthusiast is enough to mean that in terms of reporting anything on this forum, I like to go by what is actually interesting in terms of the weather, which is not necessarily going to be the same as the sort of weather which I would like to be seeing in real life. As an example of that, I wouldn't really want it to be raining, especially if I need to go out and about and people like Richard have rightly said that there is nothing really all that interesting about that.

In terms of reporting anything on this forum though, getting some rain is actually more interesting to me than this constant dry weather which we are seeing just now where the only thing which changes from day to day is the amount of cloud which is around. That also serves no useful purpose in nature as far as I can see, whereas it is our rainfall which makes everything green around us and helps to sustain our life. This means that it actually serves a very useful purpose in nature, even though it acts as a nuisance in terms of us wanting to be out and about.

In terms of you saying "One allows us to moan", this is what this thread is about (it is the "moaning" thread after all).

 

On that note, my human side is saying that I'm actually quite enjoying this lovely weather and that we should enjoy any bit of decent weather we can get. On that note, I would put this sort of weather down as the sort of weather which I would like to be seeing, regardless of the time of year. However, there is also the other side of me which is a weather enthusiast. I'm no more than an enthusiast and so, I'm not an actual professional in any way as some members of this forum are.

However, the fact that I am an enthusiast is enough to mean that in terms of reporting anything on this forum, I like to go by what is actually interesting in terms of the weather, which is not necessarily going to be the same as the sort of weather which I would like to be seeing in real life. As an example of that, I wouldn't really want it to be raining, especially if I need to go out and about and people like Richard have rightly said that there is nothing really all that interesting about that.

In terms of reporting anything on this forum though, getting some rain is actually more interesting to me than this constant dry weather which we are seeing just now where the only thing which changes from day to day is the amount of cloud which is around. That also serves no useful purpose in nature as far as I can see, whereas it is our rainfall which makes everything green around us and helps to sustain our life. This means that it actually serves a very useful purpose in nature, even though it acts as a nuisance in terms of us wanting to be out and about.

In terms of you saying "One allows us to moan", this is what this thread is about (it is the "moaning" thread after all).

 

Perfect reply, John.

I shall stop worrying!

R.

... Now the nonsense of foehn effects coming on north westerlies instead of south westerlies meaning Dundee and Edinburgh get the warmth ...

Two points come to mind here because we have seen the Central Belt of Scotland being a lot warmer at times during this month than SE England, despite being much farther north and we have also seen warm air coming from the north, instead of coming from the south.

Adding all of that up, it has been as though we had somehow been transported down into the Southern Hemisphere where you would expect it to be warmer the farther north that you went with the hottest winds being from the north, rather than here in Northern Hemisphere where we expect the exact polar opposites of those two aspects to be true.

That fact that this hasn't actually been the case, therefore shows just how crazy and mixed up our weather can be at times.

In terms of you saying "One allows us to moan", this is what this thread is about (it is the "moaning" thread after all).

 

I am gobsmacked at the negativity coming from you John. You've enjoyed the best weather in the entire country this week (19c dude !) and its still not good enough ! You've been rumbled. Even Richardadbn has called you up on it. You've pushed it too far and your credibility as a decent poster on this forum hangs in tatters now. 

I am gobsmacked at the negativity coming from you John. You've enjoyed the best weather in the entire country this week (19c dude !) and its still not good enough ! You've been rumbled. Even Richardadbn has called you up on it. You've pushed it too far and your credibility as a decent poster on this forum hangs in tatters now. 

 

I'm not suggesting for a moment, that this weather isn't good enough for me.

All I'm saying is that I would much rather be getting this weather during the summer, rather than getting it all just now only to then find that we have a poor summer after that.

I can't in any way see anything wrong with that. Because of that, I will continue to stand by that and I couldn't really care less about what the rest of you think about that, or my overall credibility on this forum as I know that there will always be others will continue to value at least some of my posts on here, even if you don't.

You might after all, call it negativity but I don't see that as being negative in any way.

Looks like I'd better make the most of Monday and Tuesday when it comes. Mid to upper teens with sunshine before a big steaming pile of cow pat comes down from the Arctic for Easter.

Looks like I'd better make the most of Monday and Tuesday when it comes. Mid to upper teens with sunshine before a big steaming pile of cow pat comes down from the Arctic for Easter.

More like polar bear poo.