According
to long-term predictions issued in autumn 2015 by several forecasting bureaus,
winter 2015/16 was supposed to be one the mildest ever in Poland… It turned out
to be one of milder…
1 October
2015
First
ground frost.
9 October
2015 – 11 October 2015
First whiff
of winter – wave of Arctic air is blown in over Poland. Mornings bring regular
sub-zero temperatures, down to –2C. Hard to believe just a few days earlier
temperature topped at +22C.
12 October
2015
Wet, heavy
snow covers south-east Poland for a few hours, yet flurry does not reach
Warsaw.
Thereafter
autumn returns.
First two
decades of November 2015 were more than balmy, yet there were followed by
rather chilly third one. All in all, the temperature over the whole month
averaged out +5.3C, vs. long-term mean of +3.2, so November 2015 was
categorised as warm. Stats:
-
month-time high: +15.8C on 8 November 2015 (more than 3 degrees short of the
record from 2001),
-
month-time low: –5.9C on 27 November 2015 (could have been much worse),
- the
warmest day: 11 November 2015 (daily average of +13.8C, as warm as in
September),
- the
coldest day: 27 November 2015 (daily average of –2.8C, as cold as in January).
1 December
2015
First snow
in the morning. Temperature positive, +2C, but precipitation is dense enough
for the thick, wet white powder to linger for a while. By midday it melts…
2 December
2015 – 14 December 2015
Late autumn
lasts. Temperatures oscillate in single-digit positive territory, with frosts
haunting only when it’s dawning. At times sunny, at times rainy. At times
windy, at times foggy.
15 December
2015
Flurry
comes out in the afternoon, +1C. After sunset temperature drops below zero,
snow begins to linger on the warm ground. Its layer is thin and it will soon
perish… By the next morning it disappears…
16 December 2015 – 28 December 2015
Extraordinarily
warm late autumn, with temperatures ranging from 0C to +15C. All spells of
weather are witnessed, except for signs of winter.
29 December
2015
One day it
has to begin. –2C in the morning and light dusting of snow which melts only
where sunbeams reach (daytime high of 0.0C, cloudless skies). Farewell to
temperatures above freezing for a while.
30 December
2015 – 31 December 2015
A snow-free
winter. Single-digit frost, moderate wind and sunshine from dawn to dusk.
December
2015 was anomalously warm, the warmest since records began. Average temperature
in Warsaw was +4.7C (vs. long-term average of –0.7C and breaking the previous
record of +4.0C set in 2006) Stats:
-
month-time high: +14.4C on 23 December 2015 (warmer than on 19 December 1989
when temperature soared to +14.2C, yet still cooler than on 5 December 1961,
when post-WW2 record for December of +15.0C was set; it needs to be emphasised
there were 11 days in December 2015 when temperature peaked at double-digit
Celsius degrees),
-
month-time low: –8.3C on 31 December 2015 (the balmy month had a chilly
ending),
- the
warmest day: 23 December 2015 (daily average of +11.6C, as warm as in early
October),
- the
coldest day: 31 December 2015 (daily average of –5.6C).
Sunny and
chilly. Slightly below –10C at dawn, near –8C in the early afternoon. Looking
outside, seems spring is in the offing. Going outside, wind chill of –18C makes
you change your mind. Few folks dare to venture outside.
3 January
2016
The coldest
morning this winter so far, –16C . By midday skies get overcast and little
snowflakes begin to fly around. Over the day unpleasant feeling of chill absent
in earlier days… And no warmer than –13C in the afternoon.
Again –16C
while the dawn is breaking. This time sunnier and temperature goes up to –11C
in the second half of the day to drop to –14C in the evening.
5 January
2016
Was
supposed to get warmer… Outturn: –17C just before sunrise, not above –10C in
the afternoon, –13C in the evening.
6 January
2016
How lovely.
Temperature rises overnight to –7C and light dusting of snow covers the frozen
ground. The missing piece of winter gently falls into place.
7 January
2016
Noticeably
warmer, around –6C and gloomy.
8 January
2016
Another
snow shower, yet the one which does not play havoc with those in need to get
about. Two centimetres do not impress Warsaw. From –6C in the morning into +2C
in the evening.
9 January
2016 – 10 January 2016
Gloomy
thaw, or actually temperatures hovering around 0C. No sun, no rain, no new
supply of snow, but the ground is frozen up, so the old snow melts really
slowly.
11 January
2016 – 12 January 2016
Light thaw
continues. Dark, rainy, foggy days. Depressing weather.
13 January
2016
Overnight
flurry melts quickly over the day. Rain in the evening. Last hours with
positive temperatures before veritable winter commences for more than a week
(unless forecasters get it wrong).
14 January
2016
Bleak,
winter day. Just below freezing…
Has anyone
warned of intense snow showers? It begins to snow around 2 p.m. and does not
cease into the night. Upshot – more than 10 centimetres of thick, wet white
powder. Winter brings road clearance services to their knees in afternoon rush
hours. Precipitation is quite heavy and for many is a nuisance, but for the
first time since late January 2014 winter wonderland impresses with its
timeless beauty.
It ceased
to snow late in the evening yesterday. Skies clear up and bear testimony to
winter’s magnificence. Only those in need to move about are worse off.
Thoroughfares have been cleared off snow overnight, but many other roads are
full of slush, or simply icy… Shame! Around –5C.
17 January 2016 – 21 January 2016
Generally
speaking the same weather pattern: single-digit frost regardless of time of a
day, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy, sometimes foggy, sometimes a light
dusting of snow. Boring winter.
Light, yet
intense snow shower leaves two centimetres of fresh white powder and then gives
way to sunshine for the whole day. –2C in the afternoon. A chilly night ahead
and thaw in the offing.
Cloudless
night followed by a frosty morning. Temperature drops to –14C shortly after
sunrise. The chill is compensated by beautiful sunshine and diamond dust
falling. Probably the last day (before thaw comes over) to cherish the
magnificence of winter.
24 January
2016
Gently
falling tiny snowflakes are probably the last seen during this January. Sky is
overcast. Freezing drizzle in the afternoon, temperature rises above zero in
the evening and will not drop below freezing by the end of the month.
Exactly ten
years ago was the coldest morning in Warsaw in my lifetime – temperature fell
to ghastly –27.1C.
25 January
2016
Thaw
commences for good. Not more than +2C and drizzle.
26 January
2016
Temperature
goes up to +5C. Drizzle at times turns into downpour. Snows melt quickly.
Ghastly greyness takes over.
27 January
2016
Temperature
increases to +8C. Snow, except for heaps, disappears, greyness is overwhelming.
No winter on the horizon!
28 January
2016 – 31 January 2016
If the
spell of warmth in the third decade of December 2015 was the lat gasp of
autumn, these days bring the first whiff of spring. Temperatures above
freezing, yet not hitting double-digits, sunny intervals each days. Long-term
forecasts do not foresee winter by mid-February.
January
2016 was normal, although mean was featured by large positive and negative
deviations. Average temperature in Warsaw was –2.9C (vs. long-term average of
–1.9C) Stats:
-
month-time high: +11.2C on 28 January 2016 (double-digit highs have not been so
unusual during recent Januaries),
-
month-time low: –17.1C on 5 January 2016 (a typical winter-time low),
- the
warmest day: 28 January 2016 (daily average of +7.5C, as warm as in late
October),
- the
coldest day: 3 January 2016 (daily average of –15.0C).
1 February
2016 – 9 February 2016
Gentle
pre-spring with no signs of winter, except for short hail shower on 4 February…
10 February
2016
After a
rainy day in the evening it gets cold and rain turns into wet, dense snow. By
midnight it covers the ground despite temperature above freezing.
11 February
2016
It snowed
all night… Had it not been for the above-zero temperature, layer of snow would
have reached even ten centimetres. But as the air and the ground were warmer,
most of the snow melted. Result? Slush, a mixture of water, snow and ice all
around, pedestrians have to wade in it. By the evening only big puddles remind
of heavy snowfall.
12 February
2016 – 19 February 2016
Continuation
of dull pre-spring. Not much above zero, usually cloudy with intermittent
moments of sunshine and rain showers. Days are visibly longer…
20 February
2016
Little snow
in the morning. Some one centimetre, precipitation which brings London or Paris
to standstill and does not impress Warsaw at all. By early afternoon the white
powder is gone…
21 February
2016 – 23 February 2016
Dull
pre-spring goes on and on… I bet one month before first signs of proper spring
come into sight (time proved me right!)
24 February
2016
An intense
blizzard hits southern districts of Warsaw just after sunset. Temperature
suddenly drops to –1C, but the heavy snowfall lasts no longer than twenty
minutes and soon all traces of it are gone.
25 February
2016
Balancing
between winter and pre-spring. A frosty morning gives way to a sunny, yet not
really balmy day.
26 February
2016
Another
morning with sub-zero temperatures, followed a cloudy day with intense, yet
short snow showers. The fallen snow does not linger for long.
27 February
2016
Same
pattern as two days earlier. By midday temperatures rises above zero, remnants
of snow melt, sun breaks through the clouds…
28 February
2016
This time
not a trace of winter… For a while only.
29 February
2016
The day
sets off with a little blizzard. Snow melts quickly, but then comes another
snow shower… Near zero.
February
2016 was very warm. Average temperature in Warsaw was +3.6C (vs. long-term
average of –1.0C). It was the fourth warmest February since records began,
after February 1990 (+4.6C), February 1991 (+4.1C) and February 1989 (+3.9C)
and equally warm as February 2002. Stats:
-
month-time high: +12.5C on 22 February 2016 (not extraordinarily warm),
-
month-time low: –5.6C on 27 February 2016 (a similarly high low as in 2015),
- the
warmest day: 2 February 2016 (daily average of +9.5C, as warm as in late
April),
- the
coldest day: 27 February 2016 (daily average of –1.7C, one of two days in
February 2016 when mean temperature was negative).
1 March
2016 – 2 March 2016
Ghastly
clash of winter and spring continues. Sleet and snow (melting quickly) keep
being obtrusive. The recent abundant precipitation is a step towards solving
the problem of long-term drought in Poland.
3 March
2016 – 12 March 2016
Dreary
pre-spring with temperatures above freezing, infrequent rainfalls and not a
single sunbeam reaching Warsaw. Depressing
13 March
2016
Sunshine!
Clear blue skies. Slightly below +10C, but the gusty wind makes it still
pre-spring.
14 March
2016
Yesterday’s
weather turned out to be misleading for those hoping one sunny day was the
first intimation of spring. Cloudless sky send temperature falling and before
sunrise it dropped to –4C. A sunny morning followed by dull afternoon and in
the evening it begins to snow heavily. Temperature hovers around zero so the
snow lingers...
15 March
2016
By sunrise
much of the snow fallen overnight melted; remnants disappear by midday. Dull
and barely above zero.
16 March
2016 – 17 March 2016
Two sunny,
yet definitely not balmy days. Some time will have to pass before spring takes
over.
18 March
2016 – 20 March 2016
The last of
the dull pre-spring. Unpleasant weather with little sunshine, chilly wind and
intermittent showers.
21 March
2016 – today
The weather
takes a turn for the better. Except for rainy Tuesday and Saturday, days are
full of sunshine and getting warmer. Clear skies bring a price to pay, night-time
frost! But since forecasts do not foresee even a short-lasting relapse of
winter, time to sign off the timeline.
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