Just as we were getting used to fine warm springs, with bumblebees and butterflies appearing as early as February, spring 2013 managed to surprise us – a bit like this year!
It had been a cold, dry winter, with bitter easterly winds blowing for much of the time since New Year. But at the point when we expect things to get better – around the spring equinox in late March, followed soon afterwards by the clocks going forward – we were hit by a really cold snap.
A high-pressure system was sitting to the east of Britain, bringing a swirl of bitter winds all the way from Scandinavia and Siberia. Sometimes these weather conditions are accompanied by clear skies, but in 2013 the clouds proved hard to budge. With already low temperatures made worse by wind chill, we shivered, while spring clothes stayed stubbornly on shop shelves or in our wardrobes.
After what turned out to be the coldest March since 1962 (yes, even worse than the Big Freeze of 1963) the cold spell continued for another two weeks, finally ending in the second week of April. Snow lingered in the north, and on any high peaks, well into the spring.
