Gord

Showers are finished here now. Looks like it’s the turn of someone a bit further north now. Good luck. That was a decent little surprise this morning. Pleased with that.

Already the third best snow of this winter. Let’s be honest in the Black Country, even though this winter hasn’t quite been there with some of the more memorable ones. We really can’t complain. We really didn’t deserve this luck today! I think we can head into Spring with our heads held high.

Much better today. A good couple of centimetres of snow here in Gornal, and coming down quite well again.

Back in Birmingham now and light snow falling in the city centre too.

A good dusting I’d say. But everything, including roads are covered and it’s still coming down there.

Quite a good covering of snow in Redditch. Almost sad I have to go back to Birmingham and then home where I know there is nothing. Although to be fair, it’s been a long shift and I’m ready for bed!

Little bit of a wait at Barnt Green, thought I’d do a quick video. IMG_1125.MOV

On my way to Redditch on my last run of the evening. Nice snow shower around the Kings Norton to Longbridge area. Really quite heavy at Longbridge. Settling well it seems.

The forecast is for the easterly wind to die down as the week goes on. So I guess what has been blowing through will disappear leaving us with cold and grey days. So our only hope is some kind of unseen trough not yet on the models or the Atlantic making some kind of inroads...which is risky. I see some models and longer range forecasts are toying with the idea of the latter into next week. But it’s far too early to think about it yet. Good to see certain spots have done well out of this. One noticeable place looks like southern Suffolk into northern Essex. So it will be a memorable easterly for some.

Currently at Rugeley waiting for my return journey to Birmingham. Came through quite a heavy shower at Bloxwich that was settling quite well. Be interesting going back through there in a bit. Nothing at all at Rugeley. Cannock Chase has a dusting but absolutely nothing on the ground here.

Something I’m noticing on my shift so far are the giant icicles under bridges and tunnels. Haven’t seen that yet this winter.

Just got into work. This evening I’m off to Rugeley, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Four Oaks (Sutton Coldfield) and Redditich. Returning here to Birmingham between each one. Finishing after midnight. Don’t think I’ll see anything different to what I’ve seen so far today. But will be interesting to keep an eye out. Problem is I’ll constantly be on the move!

At least when a thunderstorm misses you, you get the majesty of an anvil drifting by. But we’ve got that to look forward to, (hopefully!)

Yep, in future, I’ll be looking for an easterly starting that is sourced from Siberia and starts after a proper frosty night. Transition day on Saturday was far too sloppy! The ground can’t freeze up properly! All good lessons though.

The ground really isn’t freezing up hard enough during this easterly. Another effect of the source of the easterly being less cold? On my dog walk this morning, there was still too much squishy mud and the snow is struggling settling and staying. And during the big event in the southeast yesterday, it took an age for the snow to start settling it seems. In our snow events earlier in the winter, the ground was primed and ready to go. In 2018, we already had some harsh frosts leading up to the easterly proper. The parameters are a little bit Swiss Cheese this time it seems.

You can really tell that the source of the cold air is different to the easterly of 2018. The wind, though still keen, is nowhere near as strong as it was 3 years ago, which is why showers are struggling to get here intact. The temperatures, although still quite cold, aren’t as cold either. It’s a really good example of how important it is to trace an easterly back and see where it’s coming from. However, an Atlantic attack that fails and slides would still have the same effect, so let’s hope for it happening eventually. Probably not for a while yet...if at all.

Yeah I’m at home. In work later. Haven’t a clue where they’re sending me today!

Actually have quite heavy snow here right now, putting a good covering down.

No it’s not. But what about the 10% (going from your figures) who have got a couple of cm...which is what the warning says? You may end up being right, but it’s too early for the post mortem yet. For now, the potential is there for someone to get a good covering of snow.

Warnings are not forecasts. They warn about something that has the potential to happen. The yellow warning area looks almost perfect for what is happening right now.

It’s obvious now this one isn’t for us, at least for today anyway. However, the flurries and quick dustings blowing around do give a nice wintry feel to things. Not too excited about the rest of this week and into the weekend as it stands. But I’ll keep checking in because we know how quickly things can change. Glad to see some Midlanders caught under streamers.

Look at those heavy showers that have made it to Cheshire. They made landfall around Bridlington, tracked across the south Pennines and have still kept going. Our ones that have come through one of the flattest counties in the country and have darted south of the Peak District are really struggling. Just when you think you’ve got to grips with the science behind it all!

Light snow blowing around here now. Some showers to our north and south seem to keep their intensity. But for some reason, the ones heading to Birmingham and the Black Country don’t. Maybe with where they’re coming ashore on the eastern tip of Lincolnshire, it’s just a little bit too much of a land track for them. We really do need just a tiny bit more easterly to the flow.

Yeah, that’s possible. What we really need though is the wind to swing just a little more to the east. Get a nice fast track straight from the Wash like February 2009. This reminds me of the end of November/start of December 2010. The easterly had a bit of a northerly element to it then. Some parts of the East Midlands got buried while we took the leftovers and got a quick cm or two in selected spots.

You can see the showers lose intensity as they cross the M1, which is why the warnings don’t extend any further west. One or two will break through to the West Midlands giving a quick covering I’m sure, but this one isn’t going to be our finest I reckon. Best of luck to the East Midlands today. For some of you, it could be quite a special day.