Bishop Brennan

In my opinion, part of the problem is that the Technical Model Discussion thread is rather under-utilised. From what I can tell there have only been three new posts there since the start of December, and none since Dec 4th. Hardly a hive of activity. I feel the technical thread should be invite-only (if that is possible) and should be where the likes of GP, Chio, Lorenzo, John Holmes etc should be encouraged to post their latest thoughts regarding the model outputs. Bish

A fairly neat summation of how it felt reading the model outputs throughout Friday: Bish

I had no idea the rain was going to be this strong. Fairly torrenting it down at the moment, and very windy as well. I think it's safe to say you've been very unlucky. Recent winters have been pretty decent for snow round my area, by and large. Bish

MMW = Major Mid-winter Warming I believe it is simply another way of describing a SSW, I stand corrected if not. Bish

18Z = party time!

Wow, that is truly amazing - my hometown was literally the #1 place to be for snow depth! It's funny, over the years I'd started to convince myself that my memory was exaggerating things, that this event couldn't possibly have been quite so severe as I recalled. And then I discovered this wonderful little thread, & realized I was right all along Bish

Now that is one magnificent photo! Fizz, when you have a spare minute (or ten), would you perhaps consider sharing that photo and your recollections of the day in the thread especially dedicated to the event? It's under the Historic Weather part of the forum (http://forum.netweat...-december-1990/). Bish PS this was taken in Knowle on the same date:

Because it gives you the perfect excuse to don your favourite winter bodywear? Bish

Well personally I'm happy our south east brethren gobbled up our snow for once - after all they hardly ever get see any of the white stuff. It's about time they cashed in at our expense. In fact I'd happily foresake the next forecasted Midlands snow event for them to benefit instead. [hurriedly runs for cover] Bish

Nope, I was catching up on my beauty sleep by then. When I opened the blinds this morning I simply assumed we'd narrowly missed any of the white stuff - bloomin' typical lol. Bish I believe that's it for today, although there is still a reasonable risk for later in the week. Bish

I'm not holding my breath. Radar looks a bit underwhelming, although I gather the main risk is for early tomorrow morning. Current temp is 1.0c, DP 0.1c Bish

Wow, looks like it's really coming down. Thanks for sharing that link with us Bish

December 18th 2010 was an absolute stonker here in Solihull, the best snow event since Feb 1991. Very localized however; I seem to remember some very grumpy posts from places like Rubgy and Bedworth complaining of seeing next to nothing. Bish

That may very well turn out to be the case, although it wouldn't necessarily represent a poor outcome IMO. The CET for the first ten days of Feb 2012 was barely above zero from what I recall, and most places had at least one or more significant falls of snow. Bish

Well that's jinxed things good & proper - thanks for that AJ! (ps only kidding bud) Bish

Agreed, surprisingly quiet the past couple of days given the overall outlook. Maybe Chio is still recovering from the NW christmas party! Temps at 30-hPa have finally, for the first time since early October, climbed above average..........encouraging sign. Bish

From what I can gather, it's not until the second half of the month (and especially the latter stages of December) that things might turn significantly colder for much of the country, Midlands included. Until then, the pattern will very broadly be chilly & frosty with the occasional, and very brief, milder interlude. Bish

One bad ECM run, and the usual doomsayers are screaming "GAME OVER!" on the model discussion thread........ Bish

Regarding the ugly swirl of heavy rain currently over the South West - is that likely to be heading our way? Bish

I think you ought to consider changing your username in that case - ihatetherainbutdontreallyminditatnight has a certain ring to it Bish

Fairly belting it down right now, must be that heavier band of rain making its presence felt. Also, I can hear the rain lashing against the window, which also probably means the wind is getting up. Bish

The best advice I can give you is simply to drive very carefully. Are your journeys going to be during daylight hours? Driving in heavy rain after dark is absolutely horrid. Bish

We had to be evacuated from our office building (near Solihull Hospital) yesterday afternoon, because the strong winds had dislodged a huge chunk of masonry on the roof and left it dangling precariously over the edge. It also meant that many of us weren't allowed to get to our cars, and had to leave them overnight - if the masonry had fallen, it would have hit the ground right in front of the exit to our underground car-park, which the fire service quickly cordoned off. With the local bus services badly delayed because of fallen trees, I ended up having to yomp it all the way back to Knowle in the dark. Thankfully I got back about thirty minutes before the dreaded squall line hit us, a very lucky escape! Great to see you back on the forum, buddy. I guess winter must nearly be here! Bish

Lol that is absolutely fantastic - great find Isolated Frost Now then, I wonder if we can persuade Chio, GP etc to word all of their future musings in a similar style....... Bish

Great blog post by Mr Hudson. I found the Pinterest link particularly revealing (and damning)...... http://pinterest.com...s-cold-weather/ Bish