The
departing winter is definitely the mildest of those documented in form of
weather diary posted on this blog. On average, it was warmer than average and
less snowy than average, but its proper stint, lasting some three weeks, gave
us all a rough ride. Double-digit frosts persisted for the whole third decade
of January, gusty wind brought down perceivable temperature even to ghastly
–30C. We had two incidences of freezing rain in temperature of some –5C, but
did without heavy snowfalls. Much earlier than in 2013, the time to declare the
winter is over, has come.
I must
sadly admit my camera, although in full working condition, has spent last
months in a drawer, even with a battery disassembled. I somehow did not feel
the need to take snap, did not carry it along, hence the timeline will only be
supplemented with links to fellow bloggers’ posts, evidencing spells of weather
from the recent months.
Hot summer
swiftly gave way to gloomy and chilly autumn. First frost was recorded on 4
October 2013, when temperature in Warsaw dipped to –2.0C. Second and third
decade of October were in turn warmer than average, with month-time high of
+21.7C on 27 October 2013.
November 2013 went down in history of weather in Warsaw as almost frost-free. First
sub-zero temperatures were noted in the last week of the month and not a single
snowflake was witnessed. Temperature averaged out +5.6C, 0.2C colder than a
year earlier and notably warmer than long-term average of +3.2C.
4 December
2013
Snow begins
to fall around 9 p.m. and doesn’t melt, some 0C.
5 December
2013
Not a trace
left after yesterday’s snow. Slightly above zero over the day. A first winter
storm is setting in.
Ghastly
attack of winter. Temperature slightly below 0C, wind chill of –10C, gusty
wind, snow showers and occasional blizzards. 4 centimetres of white powder
manage to paralyse the traffic, leaving roads and pavements treacherously
slippery.
Still
blustery, yet the hurricane is wearing off. Little or no flurry, temperature
above zero over the day. The storm has wreaked havoc to several households
across the country. Mine has not had full electricity (2 out of 3 phases not
working) for the second day.
8 December
2013
Glorious
winter. Sunshine from dawn to dusk, no colder than –5C, but not above freezing
as well. Full electricity supply resumed at 3:40 p.m. Snowfalls begin in the
evening
9 December
2013
+4C in the
morning. No trace of yesterday’s snow. Gloomy autumn returns.
10 December
2013 – 15 December 2013
No point in
writing a diary. Every single day is grey, short, miserable and, weather-wise,
depressing – slightly above zero all the time, fogs lingering, not a single
sunbeam lighting up the shortest days of the year.
16 December
2013 – 19 December 2013
Frosty at
nights, above zero during short days. More frequent than intermittent spells of
sunshine lift spirits. No sign of winter in long-term forecasts.
20 December
2013
Gloomy…
21 December
2013 – 22 December 2013
For a
change, sunny, with southerly winds and day-time high of +5C on Saturday and
+8C on Sunday. Only length of the day reminds it’s winter actually.
23 December
2013
One day
when it gets dull, despite no sunshine (and no rain as well) it is well above
zero.
24 December
2013 – 26 December 2013
The annual
weather pattern is a Christmas thaw – last year after wintery pre-Christmas
weekend (double-digit frost, cloudless skies) temperature shot up from –4C on
Christmas Eve morning to +5C in the evening. Last Christmas with actual winter
(both snow and subzero temperatures) was observed in Warsaw in 2002.
2013
Christmas will be not only one of the warmest (day-time high nearing +10C), but
high temperatures, unlike in most years, are accompanied by clear skies and
sunshine. Lovely ;-)
27 December
2013 – 30 December 2013
What’s the
point in writing the winter timeline, if there’s no winter???
31 December
2013
-5C in the
morning… Chill makes itself felt after several abnormally warm days. Still,
it’s not the proper winter.
December
2013 was very warm. Average temperature in Warsaw was +2.4C (vs. long-term
average of –0.7C). Much warmer than a year ago, but 0.2C colder than in 2011
and 1.6C colder than record-warm December 2006. Stats:
-
month-time high: +10.5C on 28 December 2013 (unsurprisingly, around Christmas)
-
month-time low: –5.5C on 10 December 2013 (as for the low, very high)
- the
warmest day: 26 December 2013 (daily average of +7.4C, funnily enough, 26th day
was also the warmest in December 2012, when temperature averaged out +5.6C)
- the
coldest day: 10 December 2013 (daily average of –2.5C, while on the colder day
in December 2012 it was –12.5C)
1 January
2014 – 11 January 2014
Over that
period:
-
temperature did not drop below 0C (except for five hours between 3:00 a.m. and 8:00
a.m. on 2 January 2014, when temperature hovered between –2C and 0C),
- not a
single snowflake fell,
hence
no winter.
12 January
2014,
above zero,
yet windy and sleet making any outing unpleasant. A gentle spell of winter sets
in.
13 January
2013 – 14 January 2014
Temperature
fluctuating around zero, yet without falling snow. Wind chill makes it a few
degrees below zero.
15 January
2014
In the
morning – ugly autumn, +1C and drizzle. Over the day rain turns into snow and
temperature drops. In the evening it’s –3C and some three centimetres of snow
linger on the ground. Not really ghastly. Roads are properly salted and traffic
is no worse than usual, but pavements are a different story – most resemble ice
rinks… One more time pedestrians are second category citizens, inferior to
motorists.
16 January
2014
Yesterday’s
snow has settled, not a single snowflake drops from the sky. Below zero.
Winter, mild. Flurry in the evening.
17 January
2014
Three
centimetres of white powder have accumulated overnight. Roads are anything but
clear. Over the day temperature rises from –3C to slightly above zero around
midday. Snow turns into icy rain, then regular downpour. Fortunately, the
ground has not frozen up and fallen water does not freeze as well.
18 January
2014
Another
snowfall-free, foggy day with subzero temperatures.
19 January
2014
How I wish
abundant flurry could come over only during weekend. First little snow blizzard
hits on Sunday morning and despite –5C turns into freezing rain. This rare
phenomenon happens when a warm mass of air comes over the colder one. Ghastly,
roads and pavements are damn slippery.
-6C and
freezing drizzle. Infrequent spell of weather wreaks havoc with transport –
roads and pavements covered with black ice, cars users who keeps their vehicles
in the open air have to scrape a thick layer of ice off windows, some have
problems getting into cars. Some trains are stationary due to iced wires.
21 January
2014
-8C all the
time, wind chill of –20C. Grisly, but at least nothing precipitates from the
sky. A cold snap is in the offing.
22 January
2014
Double-digit
sub-zero temperature for the first time this winter, -11C in the morning, three
degrees warmer during the day. No snow, less gusty wind.
23 January
2014
Chill
getting serious. –15C at the crack of down, temperature peaking in single-digit
frost in the sunny afternoon, plummets after sunset, back to –15C at 10 p.m.
24 January
2014
Day-time
low of –17C, but around 4 a.m. By the time most people set off from their warm
dwellings, temperature goes up to –16C. In the afternoon it fails to creep up
above –10C. Glorious sunshine all the time, but chilly wind persists.
This might
be the coldest morning this winter. –18C in Warsaw, one degree colder in the
suburbs. Still five degrees warmer than in early February 2012. Sunny all day.
Snow showers to come on the next day, while frost should turn single-digit. Two
major scenario for early February. Either balancing between thaw and mild
winter or record-low temperatures blown in by powerful Siberian high pressure
system.
26 January
2014
Flurry
began yesterday in the evening and continues for the while day. Slightly warmer
– around –10C. In such temperature snow is light and crisp so clearing is easy.
27 January
2014
Flurry in
the morning. Flurry in the evening. Between –10C and –7C, wind chill below
–20C.
Weather
pattern stays the same – between –15C and –10C at night, day-time highs between
–10C and –5C, gusty wind intensifying the perception of chill (even below –30C,
the cold is piercing). Intermittent light or not snow showers add to misery…
I’ve had enough… On the last day of the month, snow depth reaches 21
centimetres.
January 2014 was normal. Average temperature in Warsaw was –2.6C (vs.
long-term average of –1.9C). Mean temperature fails to exhibit contract between
first 10 days of the month when temperature was abnormally high (average
temperature +4.1C) and last 11 days of the month of the other extreme (average
temperature: -10.3C) Stats:
- month-time high: +9.9C on 7 January 2014
- month-time low: –17.5C on 25 January 2014
- the warmest day: 10 January 2014 (daily
average of +7.1C)
- the coldest day: 25 January 2014 (daily
average of –14.8C)
Getting
better. Single-digit frost at sunrise and howling wind is fading. Over the day
sunny and temperature climbs towards –2C. Feels balmy.
2 February
2014
Relapse of
freezing drizzle. –3C from dawn to dusk. Roads and pavements are again covered
with thin layer of ice.
3 February
2014 – 7 February 2014
Thaw comes
over. Over the whole week nights bring single-digit frosts, days are sunny and with temperatures above freezing. Getting warmer day by day. A few centimetres
of snow linger by the end of the week.
8 February
2014
First
frost-free night since four weeks. In the gloriously sunny, spring-like
afternoon temperature peaks almost double-digits. No winter on the horizon, at
least within the fortnight. And then? Last year in mid-February I thought any
recurrence of winter would be short-lasting and fussy weather proved me wrong.
9 February
2014
Skies clear
up before midday and day-time high reaches +8C. Pre-spring in the air…
10 February
2014 - 28 February 2014
Winter has
fallen back for good. Over that period temperature does not drop below –5C, not
a single snowflake is witnessed over the capital of Poland. The biggest mounds
of frozen, dirty snow disappear after a week of thaw. Mornings of 23 February
2014 and 24 February 2014 bring picturesque freezing fog confining visibility
to less than 100 metres. Bad weather for holidaymakers during the winter break
in Warsaw (falling this year in the second half in July). Futile is the search
of snow in Poland.
February
2014 was (only) slightly warm. Average temperature in Warsaw was +1.8C (vs.
long-term average of –1.0C), higher than over recent 5 Februarys, but far from
+3.6C reported in 2002 or +3.1C in 2008, not to mention record-high +4.6C
measured in 1990. Stats:
-
month-time high: +10.8C on 18 February 2014
-
month-time low: –10.1C on 4 February 2014
- the
warmest day: 20 February 2014 (daily average of +5.3C)
- the
coldest day: 1 February 2014 (daily average of –5.8C)
First half
of March 2014 fetched not a single scene of winter. Five mornings, precedent by
cloud-free nights, greeted Warsaw with little frost (was no colder than –4C),
but in the second decade, when warm mass of air from south-west drew in,
temperatures in the afternoon reached +14C several times. The current weekend
is blustery in chilly, but out of line with forecasters’ warnings, sleet was
not witnessed in Warsaw. The coming weeks might still bring night-time frost or
maybe even short-lasting snow showers, but the last gasp of winter was actually
breathed over a month ago. Roll on spring and may such mild winters occur more
often!
1 comment:
Magisterial! Thank you once again Bartek for your summing up... That Was The Winter That Was :)
Future generations of Varsovians will have something to look back on.
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