I estimate the first day of spring in Central England this year occurred on the 8th of February, that’s 42 days earlier than the accepted date for Spring of around March 21st depending on the exact date and time of the vernal equinox. That made it the joint seventh earliest spring in the CETCET Central England Temperature record back to 1772. I use the average number of degree days from 1773 to 1802 to calculate a baseline to estimate the date with. Not a brilliant method. let me know if you can think of a better one. The last late spring, and the only one to occur in this century was in 2010. The linear trend reveals that springs are now arriving 24 days earlier than they did in 1772. Apologies for the late arrival of this story 😉