Our younger days - Winter memories......

[Weather-history]

One element that has been missing from the recent cold winters are blizzards.

You could argue just as well. Seen the chaos and the running out of grit from winter 2009-10, if we added in the equation of blizzards...

[Terminal Moraine]

I'd rather have had several of the 70/80's winters than the last few. Esp 1978/79 the depth of snow far exceeded recent winters in this area. One element that has been missing from the recent cold winters are blizzards.

I'd agree with that, blizzards have been is very short supply in recent winters. The last true blizzard I can remember here was in December 1990 although there have been numerous days with blowing snow to one degree or another.

In the last 20 years or so there's been nothing to remotely compare with the blizzards of 1979 or late April 1981.

[Aaron]

I'd rather have had several of the 70/80's winters than the last few. Esp 1978/79 the depth of snow far exceeded recent winters in this area. One element that has been missing from the recent cold winters are blizzards.

Agreed. The past few winters have been cold but the snow depths in this area haven't been all that amazing. I haven't exceeded 1 foot of snow since January 1995.. still waiting for that big one to return.

[Weather-history]

Ahhh... closure.

Look at this one by Stratos Ferric in 2007

http://forum.netweat...s-have-changed/

I can't believe that we won't see snow in either April or November again, but I think October and May are off the radar.

Only a year later, October 2008 snow and a few places saw wintry preciptation during May 2010

My instinct is increasingly that we may well have a long and very warm / hot dry summer. That would mean three excessive and unprecedented runs of summer heat in five, on top of three or four very mild winters in five.

Summer 2007 was a washout

I cannot imagine another period cold record falling in the UK in my lifetime, and I'm not planning on dying any time soon.

The coldest pre-Christmas on record for the CET

The lesson here is never rule anything out when it comes to the weather.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Mr_Data

[Styx]

July 25 1986 was the first time snow settled where I live since 1951 ( Hobart is at sealevel ).

It began at dusk very heavily, and persisted off and on until around 9am the next morning.

And it wasn't just a dusting either - 8cm - closing schools and businesses.

There was sooo much excitement..so many people in the streets building snowmen and having snowfights!

Every adult became a kid for the day!

I was I was 12 at the time, but I remember it being a really warm morning ( didnt take a jumper to school ). By the afternoon, the wind shifted into the south ( cold Antarctic wind here ) and there was a bit of rain.

8cm settled on that day, compared to 2cm in 1951, and previous to that there was 14cm in 1921.

The 19th century ( according to newspaper reports ) snow settling at sealevel was a frequent barring a couple of decades. It looks as if there was about 20 sealevel snow events in that century.

The best we have managed since 1986 is brief light snow flurries ( mostly at night or close to dusk or dawn ).

Snow settling to 200 metres or thereabouts has become a rarity ( once every 5 years or so ).

When it comes to Climate Change, Hobart's snow record tells the story.