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Snow 1981


soggy wales

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Posted
  • Location: Beijing and (sometimes) Dundee
  • Location: Beijing and (sometimes) Dundee
In fact, this place is kind of like the 'cellar' of the net-weather house. Maybe I should lurk in here during the winter months, safe from the inevitable hype and the consequential letdowns.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wasn't one of these snowfalls in 1981/2 the original 'wrong type of snow' event? That made the winter significant for adding a new phrase to the language as well as for its weather.

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Posted
  • Location: Abingdon - 55m ASL - Capital of The Central Southern England Corridor of Winter Convectionlessness
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Snow>Freezing Fog; Summer: Sun>Daytime Storms
  • Location: Abingdon - 55m ASL - Capital of The Central Southern England Corridor of Winter Convectionlessness
Wasn't one of these snowfalls in 1981/2 the original 'wrong type of snow' event? That made the winter significant for adding a new phrase to the language as well as for its weather.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not sure. I remember the Jan 1987 snow being very powdery and difficult to make snowballs out of even though there was tonnes of the stuff.

Edited by The Enforcer
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A great thread and nice to think back too those times. I seem to remember that Nov 1981 was when CB radio was introduced to the UK (legal).

I often remember those cold nights listening to people asking for help whilst stuck in their cars :blink:

It was so cold one night that the brakes and doors on the local buses were frezzing, we must have had about least 140 people on one double decker trying to get home.

Edited by cm2 work
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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
Wasn't one of these snowfalls in 1981/2 the original 'wrong type of snow' event? That made the winter significant for adding a new phrase to the language as well as for its weather.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think that was 1991 Craig...I'm not sure though?? :blink: :)

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Posted
  • Location: cotswolds
  • Location: cotswolds

I remember Dec 1981/Jan 1982 vividly even though I was only 10 yrs old.

The feature of the cold spell that I remember wasn't just the snowfall but the very low temps. Dec 14th 1981 the Max never reached any higher than around -14C in some area of England aswell as Scotland and the following Min temp dropped to -26C in Shawbury Shropshire!

I remember going outside in the freezing fog and my hair used to turn white

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I recorded -23.2C in my back garden in oxfordshire. it was the best weather i can remember. my village became an alpine wonderland. i was only a kid but nothing has surpassed it since

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Posted
  • Location: South Pole
  • Location: South Pole
Yes it was the dry powdery snow of Feb 91 which did for British Rail (as they were called then)  :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Ian, one reason (I'm sure you'll agree) why BR had to privatised.. :blink: :)

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Posted
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine, convective precipitation, snow, thunderstorms, "episodic" months.
  • Location: Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Another example of 'media ignorance when it comes to the weather', perhaps? The people at British Rail had plenty of examples to fall back upon during the period 1978-87, when there were many instances of February 1991 type synoptic setups that also brought dry powdery snow to many parts of Britain.

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Posted
  • Location: Beijing and (sometimes) Dundee
  • Location: Beijing and (sometimes) Dundee
I think that was 1991 Craig...I'm not sure though?? :lol:   :lol:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah, indeed it was - and questions were asked in the House. This from the 'UK parliament' website (11 February 1991):

Mr. David Evennett (Erith and Crayford) : I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise a number of issues concerning transport in south-east London.

Given the dreadful weather that we have experienced in the past few days, I think it appropriate to begin by praising London Regional Transport for its work to keep services running in Greater London, and the local authorities- -particularly my borough of Bexley--for their sterling work in clearing and gritting London's roads. However, British Rail services in south-east London last Friday were mixed, and some were very poor. Many local people spent hours waiting for a train and more hours on the train in their endeavours to travel to work and home. Even today, the service was very poor, and the statement by British Rail's director of operations that the problem was caused by the "wrong type of snow" is quite laughable. The issues that I wish to discuss, however, relate to the local transport network as it affects my constituents--and, of course, those of my colleagues in neighbouring constituencies. I do not intend to criticise the Government or to embarrass my hon. Friend the Minister who, together with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues, is trying to establish an up-to-date and coherent policy for transport in London. Many of my constituents--including me--regret the fact that such a policy is so long overdue.

etc., etc.

OK then, maybe I was thinking of the ill-fated APT (Advanced Passenger Train). Didn't they test-run it during the 1981/2 winter and find the poor thing couldn't cope?

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury,Shropshire
  • Location: Shrewsbury,Shropshire
Ah, indeed it was - and questions were asked in the House. This from the 'UK parliament' website (11 February 1991):

Mr. David Evennett (Erith and Crayford) : I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise a number of issues concerning transport in south-east London.

Given the dreadful weather that we have experienced in the past few days, I think it appropriate to begin by praising London Regional Transport for its work to keep services running in Greater London, and the local authorities- -particularly my borough of Bexley--for their sterling work in clearing and gritting London's roads. However, British Rail services in south-east London last Friday were mixed, and some were very poor. Many local people spent hours waiting for a train and more hours on the train in their endeavours to travel to work and home. Even today, the service was very poor, and the statement by British Rail's director of operations that the problem was caused by the "wrong type of snow" is quite laughable. The issues that I wish to discuss, however, relate to the local transport network as it affects my constituents--and, of course, those of my colleagues in neighbouring constituencies. I do not intend to criticise the Government or to embarrass my hon. Friend the Minister who, together with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues, is trying to establish an up-to-date and coherent policy for transport in London. Many of my constituents--including me--regret the fact that such a policy is so long overdue.

etc., etc.

OK then, maybe I was thinking of the ill-fated APT (Advanced Passenger Train). Didn't they test-run it during the 1981/2 winter and find the poor thing couldn't cope?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think the APT's downfall was the air bags used to make the thing tilt-they kept breaking IIRC..........

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  • 9 months later...
Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

Here is my faviourate chart from December 1981.

Rrea00119811214.gif

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