Fair February brings the spring
With budding leaves and blossom bright
Fling wide your windows and rejoice
Everything's going to be alright
I hope you got outside yesterday, it was lovely. No cloud, bright blue skies and a Saharan plume pushing warm air up from the south. And yet it's February, this doesn't normally happen in February, it's more like something that first happens in March or April.
The sky clear blue, the mercury high
Nudging eighteen degrees they say
Dusk creeps again past half past five
For February means a fine spring day
The first 17°C of the year(1977-2026)
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
5 times
18 times
25 times
2 times
Over the last 50 years, using data from Hampstead, the first 17°C of the year has come in April exactly half of the time. March is nearly as common, whereas waiting until May is highly uncommon and last happened as long ago as 1986. Meanwhile the majority of those warm February bursts have happened in the last ten years, specifically 2017, 2019 and 2026, so it really does look like spring is nudging earlier.
Sunshine blazing from the sky
How lovely after all that rain
Pink and yellow, green and blue
Nature's waking once again
I've been surprised to see cherry trees already in full blossom across several London suburbs, not just the varieties that winter-bloom but bogstandard cherries bursting forth for their annual blazing fortnight. By the time Londonist gets round to republishing its usual "Generally April is cherry blossom month in London" article, sakura season will be over.
Bright flowers open far and wide
Courting birds begin to sing
Bumblebees zip twixt cherry cups
And butterflies are on the wing
It was proper pleasant out of doors with a lightness to the breeze and a flush of warmth. The last time it was this mild was in the first week of November, almost four months ago. It was easily warm enough for bees, busying themselves collecting pollen from sprays of cherry for extra-early honey. And so many flowers are in bloom you don't expect to see yet, including daisies, speedwell and even marigolds bursting out to face the sun down by Carpenters Lock.
Catkins hanging from the tree
The crocus with its orange throat
The blossom is already bursting
You do not need to wear a coat
Some people got caught out yesterday, leaving the house first thing as if it were still deep winter whereas it was already 10°C when the sun rose. Hello to the lady with her thick buttoned coat and tightly wrapped scarf who passed me mid-afternoon, having dressed for the calendar rather than the weather forecast.
Cast off your coat, roll up your sleeves
Reveal those winter-fresh tattoos
Make haste to parks and daisy lawns
Yes spring is here so share the news
I headed to the Olympic Park to soak in the spring sunshine and I was not alone. Hundreds were out across its sylvan acres, some promenading and others settled on benches and lawns engrossed in conversation or relaxation. Some small babies were discovering outdoor warmth for the first time. One group of students kept growing ever larger, their work for the day done and the diameter of their circle inexorably widening. A couple of them went all the way and took their tops off, perhaps ignorant of the fact it's far too early in the year for the incidence of UV to do much browning.
Bring your sarnies, grab some drinks
Roll out your rug and take the air
A pork pie and a hunk of cheese
The very finest picnic fare
I took a picnic to the highest point in the park and laid out a particularly snazzy 60s towel on the grass. I'd brought a proper plate and proper mug, plus a thermos from which to pour a full cup of tea. I enjoyed jam and cucumber sandwiches, a small Melton Mowbray pie, a slice of Red Leicester and a pack of Mini Cheddars. I had been intending to bring a Mr Kipling apple pie but forgot so had to make do with the healthier fruit instead. Sitting back I surveyed the skyline, savoured my feast and reminded myself I shouldn't yet be able to enjoy this, it's only February.
Top your tan up, wear your shades
Find a dry spot on the grass
Leaves appearing ever earlier
Shorter winters quickly pass
It's not necessarily climate change, these outlier spring bursts do occur from time to time. 1990 had one isolated 17°C day in an otherwise cool February, 1998 managed the same in the first half of the month and 2003 had a rare 16°C in late January. The greatest recent outlier was 2019 with a ridiculously mild 21.2°C at Kew Gardens on 26th February, the previous day now merely London's second warmest February day of all time.
December's daffs already drooping
January's ice no longer a thing
No need to wait for March these days
Fair February brings the spring
There are always weather extremes of one kind or another, but these days they're for warmth far more often than they are for cold.
