Mean Snowiest Uk Date?

[jethro]

I've just realised that I began this thread ... in January 2005 In two and half years, 19 replies by others have been posted.

Is this a record?! :lol:

Still rates higher than the one I started on the decline of earth's magnetic field; tumble weed aplenty in there.

[NorthantsSnow]

Here's another question for all those with records and good memories; whereabouts are you most likely wake up and see a snow covered garden? I know there will be a bais for those more Northern areas so if you draw a line at say Birmingham, which is the snowiest area south of that point?

I don't have any records I'm afraid, although you may find some on the Pitsford Hall site. But I would say Northampton is a good place to live if you like snow. We seem to benefit from most snowy setups and usually get a couple of significant snowfalls each year, along with several dustings.

Not as much as I'd like, but I think compared to other places in England we don't do too badly at all.

[saint]

the most snow in my area that i remember was in febuary

[jethro]

I don't have any records I'm afraid, although you may find some on the Pitsford Hall site. But I would say Northampton is a good place to live if you like snow. We seem to benefit from most snowy setups and usually get a couple of significant snowfalls each year, along with several dustings.

Not as much as I'd like, but I think compared to other places in England we don't do too badly at all.

Thanks Dancc, I used to live in Northamptonshire (Eydon, nr Byfield), it was back in the mid 80's, we seemed to do very well for snow then, used to have some pics of a bus driving through the cleared snowdrifts on top ot the hill into the village; drifts were higher than the bus. Those were the days eh.

[mcweather]

I'll tell you where you're least likely to wake up to snow: Swanage in Dorset. I grew up there and have never woken up to snow. We've had at most a cm, but it only lasts half a day. Last sprinkling was back in 1988. We always longed for it to snow, but on the upside we had early and long summers.

Hi there Cheviot. I,m surprised by your remarks about growing up in snowless Swanage bearing in mind that when you were just six years old (Feb 18/19th 1978) the whole of Dorset including Purbeck was hit by the deepest snowfall locally since 1881. Swanage was cut off for several days. I know because I was living just up the road at Worth Matravers. Even Balmy Bournemouth set its snowfall record that weekend with 15 inches of the white stuff.

You,d be hard pushed these days to get that at an upland location let alone a southern coastal one.

[Norrance]

I have seen some data of snow lying days from official Met o sites albeit from the nineties that would indicate that Aberdeen is indeed the snowiest city in the Uk and probably by some distance. In those years Aberdeen [Dyce] was averaging 31 snow lying days using the measure of > 50% open ground being covered at 0900 hours. This was almost twice what the next Scottish city, Dundee had, and more than double Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. The only data I could find in England was for major cities with Manchester showing around 9 on average, Birmingham 11/12 and London 6. I have not seen any data for Sheffield but I would think it unlikely it would come anywhere near Aberdeen's record despite having a bit of altitude.

ps For those in other threads who thought Dundee was snow desert [true last year] the data for here came from a site in the less snowy East of the city and another site to the South West by the river. The Northern and North Western parts of Dundee usually have substantially more snow lying days.

To put Aberdeen's data in perspective in the same years Braemar helped by altitude officially averaged over 60 days snow lying and my own home area in Highland Perthshire averaged 40 at a relatively low level but surrounded by hills in the same years.

Edited August 14, 2007 by Norrance

[Terminal Moraine]

One of the snowiest urban communities in England, if not Britain, is Queensbury near Halifax at an altitude of about 360m. Buxton, just north of me, also does quite well, it's certainly much snowier than Sheffield, apart, perhaps, from some of the highest suburbs.

If you take a line south of Birmingham then Dartmoor must do as well as anywhere. Places like Princetown and Chagford often have a good covering of snow when it's raining in Okehampton or Exeter.

T.M

[Thundery wintry showers]

I didn't know Aberdeen's average was once as high as 31 days per year in the 1990s- that's quite amazing! I actually have the Weather Logs with Dyce data going back to 1993 now but hadn't checked the annual snow cover frequency before 1999.

Having read relevant stats in the Weather magazine, I can confirm that the Hastings area had big snowfalls from showery north-easterly incursions in the mid-1990s. Depths in excess of 10cm were quoted around 6-7 December 1995, while the MetO station reported lying snow on 11 mornings in January 1997, most likely spanning 1-11 January.

I think Sheffield probably is England's snowiest city- the mean annual snow cover frequency is slightly higher than at Durham, which I'd previously thought to be England's snowiest city.

[Norrance]

I didn't know Aberdeen's average was once as high as 31 days per year in the 1990s- that's quite amazing! I actually have the Weather Logs with Dyce data going back to 1993 now but hadn't checked the annual snow cover frequency before 1999.

TWS

Sorry if I mislead.

My figures for Dyce only went up to 1996 so the average for the whole decade may well be somewhat lower.

Nor.

Edited August 14, 2007 by Norrance

[Summer of 95]

I didn't know Aberdeen's average was once as high as 31 days per year in the 1990s- that's quite amazing! I actually have the Weather Logs with Dyce data going back to 1993 now but hadn't checked the annual snow cover frequency before 1999.

Having read relevant stats in the Weather magazine, I can confirm that the Hastings area had big snowfalls from showery north-easterly incursions in the mid-1990s. Depths in excess of 10cm were quoted around 6-7 December 1995, while the MetO station reported lying snow on 11 mornings in January 1997, most likely spanning 1-11 January.

I think Sheffield probably is England's snowiest city- the mean annual snow cover frequency is slightly higher than at Durham, which I'd previously thought to be England's snowiest city.

Stoke on Trent I also think is in with a chance- not least because it can pick up lots of snow from NW'lies and even straight W'lies which places east of the Pennines miss out on. It's also surprisingly high (150-200m over much of the urban area) and regularly seems to get 5-10cm or more when nearby places (including here and most of Staffs and Cheshire) have only 2-3cm or none at all. Also all those substantial urban areas that coalesce to the N and NE of Manchester (is any of them officially a city?) I would imagine are similarly favoured.

As for south of Birmingham, it must surely be the Brecon Beacons/S Wales hills with somewhere like Tredegar (where IIRC the record snowdepth was measured for a built up area in 1963- something like 5 feet) as the snowiest substantial settlement. (Most of Norfolk is actually north of Birmingham, the north coast isn't much further south than Sheffield and Liverpool). Wales' snowiest city is an interesting question- as they are all on the coast it will depend very much on wind direction and other localised effects- generally I'd suspect it's my birthplace of Newport which is far enough east to escape the worst effects of the Atlantic, as well as being far enough south to be favoured from "Channel Lows" and the furthest Welsh city from substantial open sea (despite having a huge tidal range)- anything that brings snow to Bristol/Gloucestershire stands a good chance of making it there. Cardiff is probably second, I suspect it's snowier than Bangor

which is very rain-shadowed by big mountains in an E'ly, and a N'ly or W'ly has to cross lots of sea to get there (and it's sheltered by Anglesey in coastal snow showers scenarios). St Davids is quite possibly the least snowy city in Britain, let alone Wales- I wouldn't be at all surprised if it fared less well than somewhere like Plymouth.

[Sunshine]

Aren't the Isles of Scilly the least snowiest place in the UK?

Edited August 21, 2007 by Sunshine

[Tucco]

I didn't know Aberdeen's average was once as high as 31 days per year in the 1990s- that's quite amazing! I actually have the Weather Logs with Dyce data going back to 1993 now but hadn't checked the annual snow cover frequency before 1999.

Having read relevant stats in the Weather magazine, I can confirm that the Hastings area had big snowfalls from showery north-easterly incursions in the mid-1990s. Depths in excess of 10cm were quoted around 6-7 December 1995, while the MetO station reported lying snow on 11 mornings in January 1997, most likely spanning 1-11 January.

I think Sheffield probably is England's snowiest city- the mean annual snow cover frequency is slightly higher than at Durham, which I'd previously thought to be England's snowiest city.

Don't have any figures for Durham, but 1961-90 averages for Sheffield 131m are snow falling 24.4, lying 20.4.

Durham site at 102m asl is obviously colder than Sheffield even though its lower.

Durham precipitation is nearly 200mm lower than Sheffield, the difference is most marked in the winter months. Perhaps if Sheffield is snowier than Durham City its probably due the fact Durham City is much more sheltered from W and NW airflow due to the high ground to West being much higher and larger than near Sheffield.

Often Sheffield picks up snowfall from NW flows even though it is to the East of Pennines when Durham City will remain dry.

Mark

Teesdale,Co Durham

[Thundery wintry showers]

I remember reading that Durham's average over 1980-1997 was 14 days per year of lying snow, so the 1961-90 average is probably around 17-18 days- less than at Sheffield.

[charlton north-downs]

Hi folks

Snowiest place in Greater London should be Biggin Hill due to altitude of 230m at least 8/10 extra days of lying snow compared with Bromley and Central London. :wub: Westerham Hill at 289m gets a lot -just in Kent . fantastic when a NE blows. Often get snow in April at Biggin Hill usually rain lower down.

[Tucco]

I remember reading that Durham's average over 1980-1997 was 14 days per year of lying snow, so the 1961-90 average is probably around 17-18 days- less than at Sheffield.

G Manley in Climate and British Scene has Durham days snow lying at 23 days. I pressume this for earlier in the 20th century. Figures for Durham City and Sheffield must be very close. Figures for Corbridge are falling 24.5/lying 20.1 very close to Sheffield's figures even though it 50m lower than Sheffield.

Mark

Teesdale,Co Durham

[Terminal Moraine]

G Manley in Climate and British Scene has Durham days snow lying at 23 days.

Manley has the Durham average at 18 days with lying snow at 0900 and 23 days with sleet or snow observed to fall, the period of average is 1912-1949. Harrogate at an altitude of 478 ft has 23.1 and 23.6 days respectivley over the same period.

I would imagine thos figures have fallen quite dramatically over the last 15 years or so.

Just out of interest the average number of days with snow or sleet observed to fall at Westminster between 1669 and 1689 was 18.

T.M

[Tucco]

Manley has the Durham average at 18 days with lying snow at 0900 and 23 days with sleet or snow observed to fall, the period of average is 1912-1949. Harrogate at an altitude of 478 ft has 23.1 and 23.6 days respectivley over the same period.

I would imagine thos figures have fallen quite dramatically over the last 15 years or so.

Just out of interest the average number of days with snow or sleet observed to fall at Westminster between 1669 and 1689 was 18.

T.M

Opps I stand corrected, as you say all these figures must fallen considerably the last few years :huh:

Mark

Teesdale,Co Durham

[Lightning Hunter]

Snow is very rare down here. The last major snowfall probably occurred in the late 70s, with 1981 providing some too I believe.

We've been snow free since 2005, settling at least. The average days with snow falling in a year is probably 1-2, with maybe a 2 inch covering once every 2-3 years.

Our snow tends to come from northerly flows in late Feb/early Mar as the sea is at it's coolest and troughs move south.

[West is Best]

As some of you may know I'm about to start my PGCE course to be a proper secondary school teacher. My first big placement from Jan to March is in Tavistock, which will mean a fantastic drive around the fringes of Dartmoor. It's a stunning road. In bad winters of old it was a road that got blocked by snow frequently. In fact, I think one of the great pictures that has occasionally surfaced on here from 62-63 was taken on that road.

So ... will I or won't I see some real snow this winter on that road? I hope so!!

[weatherterry]

A question that may be near impossible to answer, but anyone know the most snowy date in the UK (OK let's limit it to England to keep some order) say since 1900? In other words, the date on which snow most regularly has fallen in England. I'd love to know! My birthday is Feb 10th and I reckon that would be pretty close - it seemed to snow on it every day when I was a boy.

days 8 jan 1600

Tezz

days 8 jan 1600

Tezz

on another level i remember feb 77 i think 12th/ 15th/ was very snowey.

also dec81 jan 82 was the coldest 12/18 deg /f low the best ever by my records stands and not beaten yet,,

i remember clearin snow off my drive i photographed it too.then....but dont know how i put these on this forum .

TEZZ