A Channel low brings snow.....

[Weather-history]

Here's something that southern snow lovers long for, a Channel low. On the 24th of January 1939, an Atlantic system tracked towards and up the English Channel. The system became slow moving around the eastern part of the Channel on the 25th and 26th, and this gave areas as much as 24hrs of rain/sleet and snow. It was largely rain and sleet towards the coast of southern/southeastern England but inland there were large accumulations of snow as much as two feet in places.

Here is the 26th of January 1939 edition of the Times

[Terminal Moraine]

The amount of factual, synoptic and statistical detail contained in these old newpaper reports never ceases to amaze me, it seems to be something we lost somewhere around the late 1960s. I very rarely buy a newspaper ( although I do occasionally flick through one if it's lying around ) but I'm sure that even in the Daily Telegraph or the Times there isn't the amount of detail in weather related stories there used to be in earlier decades.

It seems the media now reduces everything to small, easily assimilable, bite size chunks and perish the thought that a 'technical' word might creep in to spoil things.

Surely we haven't all been reduced to the level of Harry Hill's t.v brother, Alan. 'If it's too hard, I can't understand it'

[J07]

The amount of factual, synoptic and statistical detail contained in these old newpaper reports never ceases to amaze me, it seems to be something we lost somewhere around the late 1960s. I very rarely buy a newspaper ( although I do occasionally flick through one if it's lying around ) but I'm sure that even in the Daily Telegraph or the Times there isn't the amount of detail in weather related stories there used to be in earlier decades.

It seems the media now reduces everything to small, easily assimilable, bite size chunks and perish the thought that a 'technical' word might creep in to spoil things.

Surely we haven't all been reduced to the level of Harry Hill's t.v brother, Alan. 'If it's too hard, I can't understand it'

Honestly, I'm not sure those articles were all that technical. The weather forecast itself, yes. But the reports, not really. Yes, they go into more detail than we would expect now on the likes of time and quantity of snowfall, but there's nothing too brain taxing in there.

Weather still commands a lot of space in papers now. Frequently a double page spread. We still get detail on temperatures and rainfall, but not in for so many localities. The reports tend to nowadays look at how it has affected people. Sadly, this does mean that space is given to nonsense that some may spout, often along the lines of "we've never had it like this before", without any evidence, other than anecdotal, to back up the claim.

[CHANNEL LOW]

Here's something that southern snow lovers long for, a Channel low. On the 24th of January 1939, an Atlantic system tracked towards and up the English Channel. The system became slow moving around the eastern part of the Channel on the 25th and 26th, and this gave areas as much as 24hrs of rain/sleet and snow. It was largely rain and sleet towards the coast of southern/southeastern England but inland there were large accumulations of snow as much as two feet in places.

Very interesting article

Signed up today, have lived on the South Coast for many years.

Remembered small vigorous Channel Lows in the 70's

Live in the Worthing area

No snow plenty of wood

My 1st posting

[tornadomanuk]

Very interesting article

Signed up today, have lived on the South Coast for many years.

Remembered small vigorous Channel Lows in the 70's

Live in the Worthing area

No snow plenty of wood

My 1st posting

Hello and Welcome to the forum, nice to have you on board Interesting article....love the part that says the road from Ilminster to Honiton was completely blocked by three lorries. -0.01% that happening again on the A303!! (although you never know) and drivers were being advised to carry snow chains with them...wtf!!!! haven't seen snow chains before, then again Im only 27 Thanks Mr Data for the article

Edited January 25, 2008 by tornadomanuk

[MAF]

brilliant Kev, great reading.

a channel low would not go amiss this year, but hey ho its only weather after all.

thanks for the good read

[CHANNEL LOW]

i stay optimistic, some wood blew into my garden, ready for my sledge build,

Have to commute to Ditchling Beacon.

Last time it snowed on the South Downs tops i shovelled some up and took it to a Brighton Chef who was doing a special 10 course menu 'commerative launch of the Titanic'. We built an end of pier iceberg.

brilliant Kev, great reading.

a channel low would not go amiss this year, but hey ho its only weather after all.

thanks for the good read