Who was around in the 62/63 winter

[ukmoose]

May bring back some memories for you

What fantastic old photos! thanks for the memory...!

:o Moose

[Verglas]

didn't we have this thread last year too ? ( I remember seeing that van in the snow !)

62/63 was my last year at school, I remember being sent home early and thought the bus was unlikely to make it so went for the steam train which got us home.

On the east coast of the Island we didn't get too much snow, maybe about a foot if I remember correctly, but the west coast got well covered with drifts, some houses were cut off for a good few days and there was still snow banks for quite a while about 5 or 6 ft high where the diggers had cut through.

With coal and log fires, hot water bottles and draughty sash windows it was a lot different to the modern day insulated houses and heating systems, I think a winter like that wouldn't have the same impact today as long as the utilities could cope with the power demand, ... but I am very doubtful if they could if you believe all you read about it in the media. (mind you it only takes a slightest skim of white stuff to make the world grind to a halt these days with gridlock stopping anyone who "can" cope with the conditions)

I wonder how many people have alternative forms of heating available if the electric or gas went off ?, of course it only takes the electric to fail to put CH boilers out of action !

We have gas CH/water combi, electric cooking but no coal fireplace, there is only a gas flue in the lounge fireplace but we got rid of the gas appliance and just have a coal-effect electric for the glow( now replaced with low energy candle lamps).

I do have a generator and big UPS as a backup for a business computer system so that could be pressed into action to activate the gas boiler (as long as there was gas !) if we were going to be off supply for long. There's a paraffin pressure lamp and camping gas stove somewhere too if I can locate the fuel.

If it got really cold I would have to cuddle up with Mrs-V and two warm dogs

What do other people have as emergency supplies ?

... they don't make winters like they used to ... :o

[drgl]

didn't we have this thread last year too ? ( I remember seeing that van in the snow !)

I did post those pics up before-yes We ned these memories to cling on to. at leatrs i was fortunate enough to experience the winters of the late 70's/80's I remember the day we had central heating installed-it had just started to snow! No more frozen toilet!! My wife(much younger ) can't believe me when i say things like that!

[blitzen]

Hello Verglas, we used to have an open fireplace but had that removed a few years back. A lot of people , I suspect, would be in the same boat now with regard to heating during a very cold spell - pretty much everyone is gas-fired but if power went down then no heating! There will probably be people out there who could resort to private generators. It just shows you how 'soft' we have become over the years due to our materialistic values. I have memories of ice on the inside of the bedroom windows, having to rub a hole so that you could see out in the morning. Walking with my mother to the outside shared wash house where she would have to light a coal boiler to heat the water before she could wash the clothes. We always coped though because that was the norm. Nowadays, if the heating or washing machine etc breaks down it's a full blown panic! I would love to have those days back again when pretty much everyone was equal and happy with their lot but, unless there is a catastrophic event, that is unlikely to happen. Then again, being so young, it was the adults that had to worry about things on your behalf which probably makes the past a lot more inviting. In the event of a very cold winter in the future, I don't think we would cope all that well actually. Oh we would be ok for a few days, but a lengthly spell would probably result in utter chaos.

Blitzen.

[Yellowbelly]

I'm sure we have this or similar threads every year. Mr Data will (or maybe has already) be able to provide charts and a description, in his usual thorough and entertaining way.

I just wanted to try and get the 'human interest' angle, perhaps I'm a frustrated journalist. Anyway, the descriptions of what life was like, the ice inside windows, the frozen washing, the open fires, the struggle to heat water are some sort of social document, and a measure of how much things have changed in the last 40 years.

[Rollo]

I'm sure we have this or similar threads every year. Mr Data will (or maybe has already) be able to provide charts and a description, in his usual thorough and entertaining way.

I just wanted to try and get the 'human interest' angle, perhaps I'm a frustrated journalist. Anyway, the descriptions of what life was like, the ice inside windows, the frozen washing, the open fires, the struggle to heat water are some sort of social document, and a measure of how much things have changed in the last 40 years.

Hi Yellowbelly,my memories of that famous winter are fairly distinct as I was 25 at the time, I recall on the BBC 6o'clock news there being an item about food supplies being drooped by plane to Alnwick (about 25 miles north of where I live) as it had been cut off for some time. Snowfalls here in Newcastle were not severe compared to the 79' winter but when the snow fell on Boxing day it remained in varying amounts until the beginning of March. A friend of mind built some kind of ice skating rink in his back yard.

[biddie]

I think its a shame anyone had to critisise this post as not everyone reading was here last year and people have taken their own time to give their accounts !!

I was not here in 63 but i remember my father telling me he arrived on a boat from India never even seen snow before and arrived to biting temperatures and 6ft snowdrifts in essex !!

My main memory was chrismas eve 1970 my dad taking me to the window and showing me that it was snowing heavily- magical !!

Edited November 10, 2006 by biddie

[mushymanrob]

The water pipes being frozen solid every morning and my mother having to spend a couple of hours slowly thawing them out, hoping the pipes wouldn't burst ( they didn't ).

A glass of water I had by my bed having half an inch of ice on it in the morning, obviously this was in the days before central heating, when only the kitchen and the front room were heated. Getting into bed at night was like crawling into the 'fridge', except we didn't have one of those either.

I've lived through it as a child, now I want to repeat the experience as an adult.

T.M

oh yes.... ice in the bowl in the kitchen sink, milk freezing in the bottles and rising up in a coloumn......

we wont experience that as adults as our heating is now far more sophisticated! thank f...lol.

[Polar Continental]

Hi all,

These historic threads are always great to read especially when were talking of cold winters and yet more brilliant accounts from us oldies and some great pictures from ‘dral’, as usual TM has come up with another stunning account, I would love to sit in the pub over a pint or 6 and listen to your stories mate.

Anyway, many of you have probably already read my stories, but for those who haven’t here is a re-post.

and more on my web-site

It was a long time ago and I was just a kid, my memories are still very vivid, but there may be a few errors, mainly to do with precise dates and times.

I have been interested in the weather as long as I can remember.

During that famous winter I was nearly 10, listening to the forecast every day on the BBC home service at 5:55pm in the evenings and on BBC television seemed the most important thing in my life then.

IMO the forecasts in those days were presented much better then today, and the pressure charts were shown with great enthusiasm by Bert Ford, Jack Scot etc. they were also given more airtime back then, I loved watching their presentations, and sure they contributed greatly to my developing interest in the weather; they certainly educated me, that’s a fact.

Here is a little snippet from the MO which I always enjoy reading, reporting the winds of change; the foundations were just being laid for the biggest freeze of the 20th Century.

‘Synoptic Situation at 0600 22/12/1962 next day.

Strong rises of pressure have occurred on a large scale and the main high

over Russia has moved W, 1040mb, over the Baltic States and is expected to

move to Denmark. A smaller high W of Ireland, yesterday, has moved NE to SW

England and will link with the main European high soon. Front lies down

coast of Norway, moving slowly E and its counterpart over Germany and France

is moving W as a cold front.’

The freeze soon got underway and for many days before the significant snow came it indeed turned extremely cold with freezing fog night and day, me and my friends discovered a great way to have fun, by filling buckets with water and throwing them down our garden path, the water froze almost immediately on contact making a huge great slide for me and my friends, we had endless fun. Also the hoar frost and rime had built up to such an extent we were able to go sledging on the nearby fields and this was amazing fun on the solid frozen ground, actually believe it or not, it was faster than on snow. As far as I know this has never been possible since with out snowfall.

By January cold was so intense that the underground water pipes froze under the road and our water was cut off. I remember my dad having to smash ice out of our soft water tub with an axe and melt it in the kettle just to get a drink. God knows what we did for a bath!! We couldn’t flush the outside toilet, as that had been frozen solid for days, we didn’t have a toilet in doors in those days.

Eventually the snow arrived here in Burton, one morning I remember looking out of the window, it was cloudy and a few dry flakes were blowing in the wind, but this soon stopped and I was disappointed, but not for long. During the early evening I looked out in to the street and noticed heavy snow blowing past the lamppost. (my first lamppost lol; I sound like a happy dog)

My wish was coming true, that night I went to bed and each time I woke, all I could here was the sound like sand being blown in to the bedroom windows, I think I must have been out of bed more than a dozen times that night looking out of the window. The snow was coming down so heavy, it looked more like curtains of thick fog; I could barely see the lamppost.

In the morning I went to look out of the window and to my surprise I couldn’t see through them, because my net curtains had frozen solid to the window, when I finally managed to rip them away, the most incredible site was there to behold, the snow looked as though it was laying in waist deep drifts, I went down stairs opened the main curtains to the yard, but no light came in, the snow had drifted so high it had covered the window completely.

This was to be the start of snow on snow, which incredibly didn’t start to melt until early March.

Obviously most people in those days, didn’t have central heating or double-glazing, electric blankets etc, we just had a coal fire in the living room, which had always gone out by the morning.

On waking most mornings during that winter, I would have to scrape ice from the inside of my bedroom window to see outside. Even my fish tank froze in my bedroom on one occasion, I remember my dad saying, because the hot water bottle had gone cold, he chucked out of the bed during the night, on waking the next morning he found it frozen solid on the bedroom floor. (Kids don’t know their born today lol)

I suppose today now with all the home comforts we can enjoy any cold weather rather than dread it, as most older people did in those days, having to go without water because the pipes had frozen, not being able to wash / or not wanting to, because it was to cold, outside toilet frozen solid, with only a candle to try and thaw it. I think most people would wish away a winter like that if they lived in those times.

Like most SACRA members my interest in the weather was probably due to a very notable weather event, my interest only deepened further during 62 / 63, I became totally hooked and I am just as fanatical today.

Regards

Paul

Edited November 10, 2006 by Paul Carfoot

[BARRY]

Hi all,

These historic threads are always great to read especially when were talking of cold winters and yet more brilliant accounts from us oldies and some great pictures from ‘dral’, as usual TM has come up with another stunning account, I would love to sit in the pub over a pint or 6 and listen to your stories mate.

Anyway, many of you have probably already read my stories, but for those who haven’t here is a re-post.

and more on my web-site

It was a long time ago and I was just a kid, my memories are still very vivid, but there may be a few errors, mainly to do with precise dates and times.

I have been interested in the weather as long as I can remember.

During that famous winter I was nearly 10, listening to the forecast every day on the BBC home service at 5:55pm in the evenings and on BBC television seemed the most important thing in my life then.

IMO the forecasts in those days were presented much better then today, and the pressure charts were shown with great enthusiasm by Bert Ford, Jack Scot etc. they were also given more airtime back then, I loved watching their presentations, and sure they contributed greatly to my developing interest in the weather; they certainly educated me, that’s a fact.

Here is a little snippet from the MO which I always enjoy reading, reporting the winds of change; the foundations were just being laid for the biggest freeze of the 20th Century.

‘Synoptic Situation at 0600 22/12/1962 next day.

Strong rises of pressure have occurred on a large scale and the main high

over Russia has moved W, 1040mb, over the Baltic States and is expected to

move to Denmark. A smaller high W of Ireland, yesterday, has moved NE to SW

England and will link with the main European high soon. Front lies down

coast of Norway, moving slowly E and its counterpart over Germany and France

is moving W as a cold front.’

The freeze soon got underway and for many days before the significant snow came it indeed turned extremely cold with freezing fog night and day, me and my friends discovered a great way to have fun, by filling buckets with water and throwing them down our garden path, the water froze almost immediately on contact making a huge great slide for me and my friends, we had endless fun. Also the hoar frost and rime had built up to such an extent we were able to go sledging on the nearby fields and this was amazing fun on the solid frozen ground, actually believe it or not, it was faster than on snow. As far as I know this has never been possible since with out snowfall.

By January cold was so intense that the underground water pipes froze under the road and our water was cut off. I remember my dad having to smash ice out of our soft water tub with an axe and melt it in the kettle just to get a drink. God knows what we did for a bath!! We couldn’t flush the outside toilet, as that had been frozen solid for days, we didn’t have a toilet in doors in those days.

Eventually the snow arrived here in Burton, one morning I remember looking out of the window, it was cloudy and a few dry flakes were blowing in the wind, but this soon stopped and I was disappointed, but not for long. During the early evening I looked out in to the street and noticed heavy snow blowing past the lamppost. (my first lamppost lol; I sound like a happy dog)

My wish was coming true, that night I went to bed and each time I woke, all I could here was the sound like sand being blown in to the bedroom windows, I think I must have been out of bed more than a dozen times that night looking out of the window. The snow was coming down so heavy, it looked more like curtains of thick fog; I could barely see the lamppost.

In the morning I went to look out of the window and to my surprise I couldn’t see through them, because my net curtains had frozen solid to the window, when I finally managed to rip them away, the most incredible site was there to behold, the snow looked as though it was laying in waist deep drifts, I went down stairs opened the main curtains to the yard, but no light came in, the snow had drifted so high it had covered the window completely.

This was to be the start of snow on snow, which incredibly didn’t start to melt until early March.

Obviously most people in those days, didn’t have central heating or double-glazing, electric blankets etc, we just had a coal fire in the living room, which had always gone out by the morning.

On waking most mornings during that winter, I would have to scrape ice from the inside of my bedroom window to see outside. Even my fish tank froze in my bedroom on one occasion, I remember my dad saying, because the hot water bottle had gone cold, he chucked out of the bed during the night, on waking the next morning he found it frozen solid on the bedroom floor. (Kids don’t know their born today lol)

I suppose today now with all the home comforts we can enjoy any cold weather rather than dread it, as most older people did in those days, having to go without water because the pipes had frozen, not being able to wash / or not wanting to, because it was to cold, outside toilet frozen solid, with only a candle to try and thaw it. I think most people would wish away a winter like that if they lived in those times.

Like most SACRA members my interest in the weather was probably due to a very notable weather event, my interest only deepened further during 62 / 63, I became totally hooked and I am just as fanatical today.

Regards

Paul

[/quote

god that brings back memories as i lived in stoke on trent at the time

[Terminal Moraine]

I wonder how many people have alternative forms of heating available if the electric or gas went off ?, of course it only takes the electric to fail to put CH boilers out of action !

We have gas CH/water combi, electric cooking but no coal fireplace, there is only a gas flue in the lounge fireplace but we got rid of the gas appliance and just have a coal-effect electric for the glow( now replaced with low energy candle lamps).

I do have a generator and big UPS as a backup for a business computer system so that could be pressed into action to activate the gas boiler (as long as there was gas !) if we were going to be off supply for long. There's a paraffin pressure lamp and camping gas stove somewhere too if I can locate the fuel.

If it got really cold I would have to cuddle up with Mrs-V and two warm dogs

What do other people have as emergency supplies ?

... they don't make winters like they used to ...

Our emergency supplies consist of a huge stock of food, this is present at all times of the year but is particularly large during the winter; probably enough to last two of us for about six weeks, even longer than that for some things.

We used to have an open fire in the sitting room but had to replace it with a gas fire as, during west or south west gales, the wind blew down the chimmney from the moor and filled the house with smoke and ash; I've seen whole burning embers blow out onto the hearth in severe gales.

Providing the gas and electricity supply wasn't cut off simultaneously we'd be o.k for cooking and heating although I don't have anything like a back up generator.

Shovels and digging implements are always kept in the workshop on the first floor, nothing worse than opening the door to find a wall of snow and all the shovels are in the garage.

If all else failed I would cook on camping equipment and wear lots of clothes whilst snuggling up to the delightful Mrs Terminal.

T.M

[Terminal Moraine]

I have been interested in the weather as long as I can remember.

During that famous winter I was nearly 10, listening to the forecast every day on the BBC home service at 5:55pm in the evenings and on BBC television seemed the most important thing in my life then.

IMO the forecasts in those days were presented much better then today, and the pressure charts were shown with great enthusiasm by Bert Ford, Jack Scot etc. they were also given more airtime back then, I loved watching their presentations, and sure they contributed greatly to my developing interest in the weather; they certainly educated me, that’s a fact.

Spot on with that observation, Paul. I was reading through this thread and dragging up a few more memories, one of which was almost identical to yours.

I remember tuning in to every weather forecast and will never forget the forecaster, I think it was Bert Foord, mentioning 'exceptionally severe frost overnight with temperatures down to 5f ( -13.0c ) quite widely in central areas and remaining well below freezing tomorrow, the outlook, more of the same'. Wonderful!

I can remember my dad 'banking up the fire' with slack before bedtime to keep it in all night, at least one room would be tolerably warm in the morning.

It was a tough time for wildlife. Birds such as Crows and Jays which would normally stay well away from houses would be so desperate for food they lost all fear and would sit at the bird table just outside the kitchen window.

As well as putting out kitchen scraps, and despite being on a very tight budget, my parents used to buy 'Swoop' bird food; it must have kept dozens of them alive that winter.

My dad was keen on football and horse racing and I remember the long lists of match and race cancellations each weekend. Some weekends in January and February there were barely a dozen football matches played in the whole football league and the only race meetings seemed to be in south west Ireland.

Blitzen was right in stating that today's society could only cope with such conditions for a very short time.

We are now so reliant on transport and appliances requiring either gas or electricity that a repeat would bring logistical, social and economic chaos. So few people have to 'rough it' these days that a 'very steep learning curve' would be required to adapt successfully.

T.M

[Polar Continental]

I can remember my dad 'banking up the fire' with slack before bedtime to keep it in all night, at least one room would be tolerably warm in the morning.

T.M

Hi TM,

Lol, ‘slack’ core blimey I forgot, that really brings back memories, thinking back my dad also used to pile that on the fire back then as well, all it seemed to do though was douse the fire which then produced thick black billowing smoke, image if everyone used it today! Reading your accounts reminds me so much how we lived back then, fantastic, bring back those cold winters and slack on the fire, oh and swoop for the birds.

Paul

Edited November 11, 2006 by Paul Carfoot

[Blackie]

This post is bringing memories flooding back for me, too.

I was only 8 at the time and we lived in my uncle's guesthouse right on the seafront at Southend. I remember it was so cold the sea (well, the Thames Estuary) froze on the foreshore. We had huge lumps of ice pile up on the beach an when the tide came in it was just like a scene from the Arctic.

My dad was a freelance news cameraman for the local and national press, and he was also a cine news cameraman for the BBC. So he got me and my two brothers to go out onto the snow and ice on the beach while he filmed and photographed us throwing snowballs, making snowmen and generally larking about. It made the news on TV that night and all the newspapers next day. We were stars - even thought you couldn't have recognised us because we were togged up so much aganst the cold. I remember my mum made us put balaclavas and mitts on with our duffelcoats, and huge knitted scarves round our necks and tucked into the coats. We must have looked like real plonkers. But we loved it.

I also remember the lake in the park just behind where we lived was frozen solid and people were walking on the ice, so we did too - and my young brother fell in. I helped to pull him out and didn't think any more of it, until my mum and dad started saying how dangerous it was and how he could have died. So instead of being feted as a hero I was a villain for taking him onto the ice! Actually in hindsight they were dead right, too.

I remember it going on for weeks and weeks. My mum was expecting my sister at the time, and my dad was looking for our first house to buy. We ended up in the country and visited it while it was still very snowy. I just remember it being so bleak and snowy and cold. I visited Nunavut (the Inuit province which comprises most of Arctic Canada) in mid-winter about six years ago, and it suddenly brought back memories of the 62/63 winter at home. The same numbing cold (although at -25-30C it was much colder than then, of course), the frozen sea and the dry snow blowing across the roads and fields like ghostly white snakes.

I feel sorry for kids these days. They have all the electronic games, mobile phones to keep in touch with each other all the time, the latest clothes and digital cameras. But they are missing the innoent excitement and fun we used to have, especially when we lashings of snow and ice.

Yes, a similar winter episode now would have this board in meltdown, but the trouble would be that no sooner would it arrive than people would already be rubbishing it or talking about when it would end. We used to just live for the day and go out and have fun in it!

My dad kept some of the photos he took, I think. He died nearly 10 years ago but my mum still has boxes of his photos and she is moving soon. So if I find any good ones I will dig them out and post them on here. I hope the mods pin this thread as it would be a shame to lose all these memories. They should be archived. It's just like when old relatives pass away. They take all their memories with them and future generations are left poorer for the lack of knowledge or understanding about how life was.

Think I'd better stop now. I'm sounding like an old fart!

[Rustynailer]

I hope the mods pin this thread as it would be a shame to lose all these memories. They should be archived. It's just like when old relatives pass away. They take all their memories with them and future generations are left poorer for the lack of knowledge or understanding about how life was.

Its like reading a good book to me, i agree Blackie

Although i have only seen the winters 1965 onwards, i have seen some good hard ones. This thread brings back my memories of those

I would love to see something on the 62/3 scale, but i am reminded of the hardships and wouldn't want anybody to suffer.

I am inclined to think, it is inevitable that we will have some hard winter weather periods at some stage in the next few years.

Thanks for the tales of propper winter everybody.

Russ

[Weather-history]

The winter of 1962-63 is the third coldest winter ever recorded.

December began with an anticyclone near the UK and this gave cold frosty, foggy conditions. There was a fear of a repeat of what happened during early December 1952 when thick smog was believed to have killed thousands but fortunately it was not on the same scale

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621205.gif

The weather became more unsettled and milder mid month as lows moved in from the Atlantic

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621209.gif

Although, there was a short cold blast on the 13th

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621213.gif

It wasn't until the 23rd that the real intense cold started

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621223.gif

Christmas Day 1962 was a white Christmas across Scotland largely and this spread to northern England later in the day.

A frontal system moved into Scotland during Christmas Day and this brought rain to places but with snow over higher ground.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621225.gif

The rain increasingly turned to snow over lower ground as it pushed through Scotland and there was a covering.

The snow had set in across northern England by the end of the day. Further south it was bitterly cold with sub zero maxima, it wasn't until Boxing Day that the snow arrived here but when it did it,it snowed for many hours. Depths of snow approached two and a half feet in places

A new low pushed into the Bay of Biscay and this gave strong easterly winds and heavy drifting snow to the south adding to the depths of snow that had already fallen. Conditions were very severe with blizzards, whiteout conditions and numerous roads became impassable because of huge drifts

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621230.gif

Into the start of January, the cold easterly flow continued with low pressures to the south bringing further snowfalls to the south although the intensity of the cold was lost somewhat by the 4th in the south and the snow turned to rain in places

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630104.gif

A fresh pool of very cold air poured into NE parts on the 7th and the intensity of the cold increased

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630107.gif

The intensity of the cold waxed and waned as fresh pools of cold Arctic air was directed by the greenland block, the 12th was a particularly cold as a blast of Arctic poured in from Scandinavia

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630112.gif

Frosts were severe with -16C being recorded at Gatwick and Shawbury recording a maximum of just -7C in

freezing fog. Snow showers fell in places exposed to the wind flow.

The block pulled out of Greenland and moved into Scandinavia with clear skies and calm conditions across Scotland, the night of the 18th was an especially cold night with -22.2C at Braemar.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630118.gif

Further south, the gradient intensified on the 19th and it was a bitterly cold with sub zero maxima and heavy snow showers.

The high pressure bacme centred over the south of the UK and with a snow cover and calm conditions, nighttime minima were very low. -20.6C at Stanstead Abbots on the 23rd, the record minimum for that date.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630123.gif

The mildest day of January 1963 widely was the 26th as less cold air moved around the high centred near Ireland

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630126.gif

The less cold interlude was shortlived as the high pulled towards Greenland and a new Arctic blast poured down from the north

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630130.gif

February continued the very cold theme with fresh pools of Arctic air pulled around the block around Iceland and Greenland.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630202.gif

A low pressure moved down on the flow and intensified to the west of the UK bringing strong southerly winds, heavy snow and blizzards to a number of western areas. Some areas had a huge snowfall with as much as 5 feet in parts of Gwent and 1.6ft at Belfast

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630206.gif

Milder air was attempting to come into the south and this gave occasional thaws but the cold continued unabated further north

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630214.gif

There were further snowfalls as Atlantic systems try to push in but the cold manitained its grip

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630219.gif

During the last few days of February, high pressure started to assert itself and although frosts remained sharp the intensity of the cold was losing

its grip during the day and a slow thaw occurred.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630227.gif

By the 6th of March, the frosts ended and the great winter of 1962-63 finally ended. By this stage a number of places have had

continous snow cover since December 26th

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630306.gif

Data for Winter 1962-63

December 1962: 1.8 (-2.9)

January 1963: -2.1 (-5.5)

February 1963: -0.7 (-4.7)

January 1963 is the 5th January coldest on record

February 1963 is 7th coldest February on record

The first half of December: 3.1

The second half of December: 0.6

The first half of January: -1.6

The second half of January: -2.6

The first half of February: -0.8

The second half of February: -0.6

The mean CET max for winter: 2.5

The mean CET min for winter: -3.1

23rd December-19th February: -1.6

Coldest spells of the winter

2nd-6th Dec 1962: -1.1

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621203.gif

23rd Dec 1962-3rd Jan 1963: -2.4

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630101.gif

7th-26th Jan 1963: -3.6

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630120.gif

1st-7th Feb 1963: -2.1

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630204.gif

16th-20th Feb 1963: -0.7

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630217.gif

The coldest CET maximum day: -3.6C 23rd/24th January

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630124.gif

The coldest CET minimum night: -13.2C 23rd January

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119630123.gif

The mildest CET maximum day: 12.6C 15th December

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119621215.gif

Data for January 1963

STORNOWAY

Mean Max: 4.5 (-2.1)

Mean Min: 0.4 (-2.2)

Highest Max: 7.3 (25th)

Lowest Min: -7.2 (12th)

Days with lying snow: 3

Days with falling sleet/snow: 12

RENFREW

Mean Max: 2.6 (-3.2)

Mean Min: -2.7 (-4.0)

Highest Max: 8.8 (26th)

Lowest Min: -13.8 (13th)

Days with lying snow: 1

Days with falling sleet/snow: 12

TYNEMOUTH

Mean Max: 2.6 (-3.6)

Mean Min: 0.1 (-2.5)

Highest Max: 5.9 (26th)

Lowest Min: -6.2 (23rd)

Days with lying snow: 8

Days with falling sleet/snow: 18

MANCHESTER

Mean Max: 0.8 (-5.3)

Mean Min: -3.6 (-4.9)

Highest Max: 5.0 (26th)

Lowest Min: -10.2 (13th, 24th)

Days with lying snow: 22

Days with falling sleet/snow: 14

ELMDON

Mean Max: -0.1 (-6.3)

Mean Min: -5.5 (-7.1)

Highest Max: 4.3 (26th)

Lowest Min: -16.0 (23rd)

Days with lying snow: 31

Days with falling sleet/snow: 16

KEW

Mean Max: 0.6 (-6.1)

Mean Min: -2.7 (-5.5)

Highest Max: 5.5 (26th)

Lowest Min: -9.7 (25th)

Days with lying snow: 27

Fays with falling sleet snow: 21

BELFAST

Mean Max: 1.9 (-4.5)

Mean Min: -2.9 (-5.0)

Highest Max: 5.0 (26th)

Lowest Min: -10.6 (23rd)

Days with lying snow: 8

Days with falling sleet/snow: 19

Photos

December 1962

http://tonywray.supanet.com/pics/snow3.jpg

http://tonywray.supanet.com/pics/snow2.jpg

http://www.icons.org.uk/library/stock-imag...ter/0761956.jpg

January 1963

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/weath...ow_1963_320.jpg

http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/images/winter/s32.jpg

http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/images/winter/s6.jpg

http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/images/Oxnead%20Jan1963.jpg

http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsor...es/isis63_2.jpg

http://lancingvillage.co.uk/History/portsl...s/village-7.jpg

February 1963

http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/images/winter/s20.jpg

http://www.mkheritage.co.uk/cv/images/winter/s10.jpg

http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Images4-A-H/Cw..._DerekEvans.JPG

http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw/pics/nkcp1962.jpg

http://www.hemelhempsteadtoday.co.uk/mk4cu...px?imageID=3617