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Will 2009/2010 Be An Historic Winter?


noggin

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Posted
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire

I wondered, yesterday, if this is becoming an historic Winter. Then I just heard, on the t.v., that some people in Northumberland are saying that they haven't seen it this bad since 1947! :o

So, although we are only a third of the way through this Winter ( :D ) I wondered if it is stacking up to become one of the famous Winters, like 1947 and 1962/3.

What are the requirements for an historic Winter? Is it extremely low temperatures? Widespread snowfall? The longevity of the conditions? The geographical spread of the conditions? The level of disruption? Or does it require a combination of those things? Will the fact that we have been able to monitor it and dissect it in real-time on the internet make it more likely to be historical, in that it is now embedded in our psyches ( :huh: )?

Or, is it a case of only time will tell.

If anyone could spare a moment to post their thoughts on this, it would be very interesting! :good:

Thank you!

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire

Bloody hell, is this winter really going to last til 2101? :good:

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

Bloody hell, is this winter really going to last til 2101? :huh:

lol Must be global cooling! :good:

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds (Roundhay) 135m
  • Location: Leeds (Roundhay) 135m

Bloody hell, is this winter really going to last til 2101? biggrin.gif

I think we would need to buy quite a few snow ploughs then biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

So far this has been the most memorable winter i have witnessed (17 years old) Long may it continue as it may take a good number of years for another one like this, make the most of it while we can!

Edited by mark bayley
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Posted
  • Location: Ellesmere Port, Merseyside.
  • Location: Ellesmere Port, Merseyside.

I think we would need to buy quite a few snow ploughs then biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

So far this has been the most memorable winter i have witnessed (17 years old) Long may it continue as it may take a good number of years for another one like this, make the most of it while we can!

Agreed. drinks.gif

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

All sorted now, noggin...Couldn't resist a wee chortle though... :whistling:

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Posted
  • Location: Liphook
  • Location: Liphook

Well no doubt people will talk about locally and stuff like that...so to start with, here in SE Essex its probably a little snowier then a normal winter but its not a historic here....

HOWEVER in the context of the broader picture, I think at least the first half of the winter will go down as historic, rather in the same vein as 81-82 with two thrust of cold in the south and one prolonged very severe spell in Scotland with some huge falls of snow...

Two main fals of snow thus far, one in December from a frontal system that swept in from the east, generally totals around 5-15cms but some places got high...and obviously the last 24hrs is another one, very hefty falls in quite a large part of the country, certainly is IMO one of the more excepitonal snow storm in the lasr 20 years for the country overall.

As for temps, whilst not as severe yet, it has been a generally cold, at times very cold start to the winter bar the first 10 days....should get a 30 day period close to 0C...

Historic, not yet...memorable, yeah I think so!

Edited by kold weather
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Posted
  • Location: Stourbridge
  • Location: Stourbridge

its been the persistance of cold thats been memorable for me, not really the snowfall as such. we've had one significant fall(yesterday) to date, and a light covering in december, however, ponds around here have been frozen for weeks on end. its been a pretty good winter though, better than last years.

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury,Shropshire
  • Location: Shrewsbury,Shropshire

I wondered, yesterday, if this is becoming an historic Winter. Then I just heard, on the t.v., that some people in Northumberland are saying that they haven't seen it this bad since 1947! :p

So, although we are only a third of the way through this Winter ( :) ) I wondered if it is stacking up to become one of the famous Winters, like 1947 and 1962/3.

What are the requirements for an historic Winter? Is it extremely low temperatures? Widespread snowfall? The longevity of the conditions? The geographical spread of the conditions? The level of disruption? Or does it require a combination of those things? Will the fact that we have been able to monitor it and dissect it in real-time on the internet make it more likely to be historical, in that it is now embedded in our psyches ( :acute: )?

Or, is it a case of only time will tell.

If anyone could spare a moment to post their thoughts on this, it would be very interesting! :whistling:

Thank you!

Arhh, just the man!! Remmeber our talks of a pattern change? I've tyried searching the forum but seems all the really old stuff has gone? I'm sure we said back then from around now on may get interesting? Anyway, back OT, for it to stick in my mind i need huge dumpings of snow. I'll never forget some of the winters we had, power cuts, sledging in blizzards(PROPER blizzards!!), ice on the INSIDE of the glass, toilet FROZEN!!!

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Posted
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire

All sorted now, noggin...Couldn't resist a wee chortle though... :p

Did I really put 2101 in the title? :o

Blimey.........that'd be some Winter....92 years! :whistling: :lol: :lol:

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Posted
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire

Arhh, just the man!! Remmeber our talks of a pattern change? I've tyried searching the forum but seems all the really old stuff has gone? I'm sure we said back then from around now on may get interesting?

Indeed we did! And didn't we take some flak! :aggressive:

How exciting it all is.....I am already wondering what next Summer and Winter will bring. :aggressive:

OT, though....I think age will have something to do with the "historical or not" aspect. My daughters are 18 and 21, and this has been the snowiest, prolonged coldiest Winter they have ever had. I am sure that they will use it as a benchmark in the future.........

......"I remember the long, long Winter of 2009/2101 (!). Just in the first 5 weeks we had two big dumpings of snow. Old Ma and 1 daughter had to walk to work and other daughter's college was closed. There were no busses and the local shop ran out of bread and milk. Old Ma had to buy 3 bags of sand from B&Q to fling over the path and drive. Bristol Water couldn't repair the leaking water pipe in the front garden because of all the snow, despite the fact that they were supposed to have mended it before the other lot of snow in December. Aaarrrrr, that were what I call a Winter."

:lol:

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

In a way, yes. I do think that this winter may go down as an Historic one.

Speaking as someone who's been in Sneckie for twenty-one years, I can honestly say that this spell of widespead lying snow, even at Sea Level (which looks like stretching to perhaps 25 days or more?) is quite definitely the longest since 1981-82.

What that means is that anyone younger that about 31, has no memory of the like ever having happened before; and, with such conditions being unlikely to be repeated for another 15yrs or so, that memory may well extend to 46yrs old! :D

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

I don't think there is any doubt that the first half-up to mid Jan (with no major change likely before then) must be fairly historic for a good many parts of the country.

here for example the 3rd highest ever snowfall in well over 50 years of records, more snow days already and air frosts than most (not yet checked the actual figures to see if its the most) years since I came here in 1990.

Other parts have had no real break in the cold and for a good many-snow, from mid December-Scotland and also the hilly areas of northern England.

I was at about 1000ft above Sheffield on the very edge of the city limits over a week ago and the snow from prior to Christmas was still there, all the fields covered, piles 2ft+ at the end of drives, and the snow from last week was already settling in again.

So a summary =yes it must go down for fairly large areas of the country as one of the coldest and snowiest FIRST halves of a winter probably for several decades.

Edited by johnholmes
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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

Did I really put 2101 in the title? :o

Blimey.........that'd be some Winter....92 years! :D :lol: :lol:

No mind. Length isn't important! :D

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Posted
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and heatwave
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft

Historic, not yet...memorable, yeah I think so!

We are not yet half way through the winter so agree 'not yet'

Had a foot of snow last 24hrs but that makes the day memorable not maybe the winter in 20 yrs time

For myself I can say (age 44) 79, 81/82, 86 and 87 stand out . Clearly 62/63 47 or 1740 etc etc if you can go back that far.

Others will remember years that have more local themes.

The point for me at least is those years just come of the toungue. Although Feb 09 was cold snowy here first half it wont go down or be 'remembered' in 20yrs by me (assuming I can still remember my name by then)

So duration intensity of cold amount of snow all play apart. Also you have to factor in wide spread UK disruption

Of course if this does become a historic winter , cant say kids today dont know what a real winter was like.

Of course there will always be people who say it was average -20c /50ft snow drifts in 1947 but we have stats now like people would always say Jessie Owens (1930s) was the fastest runner of all time (without time keeping the argument would go on)

Edited by stewfox
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Posted
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire
  • Location: Coalpit Heath, South Gloucestershire

No mind. Length isn't important! :mellow:

Is that what they tell you, Pete? :D

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.

Is that what they tell you, Pete? :D

Nyet. That's what I tell them! :mellow::D:D:rofl:

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Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)

Although Feb 09 was cold snowy here first half it wont go down or be 'remembered' in 20yrs by me (assuming I can still remember my name by then)

I agree this winter has shown up 2008-9 for the winter it really was ..much a do about nothing...so far it is much more like the winters of my childhood..although we have yet to see a severe cold spell..with sub zero maximums and high wind chill and some blowing snow...for me that would seal the deal on 2009-10 winter.

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

Too early to call, winter 1981-82 was very notable but the second half of that winter was milder than the second half of winter 1974-75.

Another point about the winter 1981-82, there was a very mild spell just after the New Year, there hasn't been this time round. It did get somewhat milder around Boxing Day but not on the scale as New Year 1982, where Manchester recorded double digit maxima on 3 consecutive days, thre hasn't been a double digit maximum since 9th December and even the milder interlude recorded a maximum of just 6C.

Edited by Mr_Data
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Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

I agree this winter has shown up 2008-9 for the winter it really was ..much a do about nothing...so far it is much more like the winters of my childhood..although we have yet to see a severe cold spell..with sub zero maximums and high wind chill and some blowing snow...for me that would seal the deal on 2009-10 winter.

Have to totally disagree with that,just had our heaviest

snowfall since January 1982(18inches then...) 13 inches now!!!!!

And theres no thaw in site this is going to last longer,and the coldest temps are still to come.

Edited by Snowyowl9
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Posted
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and heatwave
  • Location: Napton on the Hill Warwickshire 500ft

Too early to call, winter 1981-82 was very notable but the second half of that winter was milder than the second half of winter 1974-75.

Another point about the winter 1981-82, there was a very mild spell just after the New Year, there hasn't been this time round. It did get somewhat milder around Boxing Day but not on the scale as New Year 1982, where Manchester recorded double digit maxima on 3 consecutive days, thre hasn't been a double digit maximum since 9th December and even the milder interlude recorded a maximum of just 6C.

Yes I was wondering when was the last time we got a max of 10c in the UK.

Maybe a record there to be broken ? you can discount 81/82 and 87 and I think 79, 86 was feb so not sure. Did 47 have the odd mild day far south west ? 63 not so sure. Im sure someone will know what the longest period UK mainland has there been without a max of 10c (mainland removes some of those anoying islands) ph34r.gif

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

On my Winter Snow Events analysis, the 2009/10 season has produced about as much snow as the 2008/09 season despite the fact that we're barely into January. I also think the event of yesterday/today provisionally classifies as our first category 5 (near-countrywide, large scale snowfalls) since February 1991.

Does it measure up to the likes of 1947, 1963 and 1979? Not yet. Indeed we've still got a way to go before we reach the level of 1981/82- remember December 1981 was particularly severe and snow cover was particularly widespread. But on the other hand, most of the severe winters did not have as much snow up to 6 January as this one has done- it's been exceptional for how early in the season the prolonged cold and snow has commenced.

I haven't kept track of winter scores up to 6 January for past years, but I wouldn't be surprised if 2009/10 ended up in the top five in an analysis going back to 1946/47. Even if we get no snow between now and the end of the season (extremely unlikely!) then the 2009/10 season will end up with snow amounts close to the long-term average.

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Posted
  • Location: G.Manchester
  • Location: G.Manchester

Does it measure up to the likes of 1947, 1963 and 1979?

Well TWS I think so. More snow than 1963 I would say. Just over 31cm now and the snows moderately coming down. I'd be surprised if we got THAT much more in 1947.

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Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)

Have to totally disagree with that,just had our heaviest

snowfall since January 1982(18inches then...) 13 inches now!!!!!

And theres no thaw in site this is going to last longer,and the coldest temps are still to come.

you cant base a winter on one heavy snowfall and things that havnt actually happened yet

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Posted
  • Location: Ayr
  • Location: Ayr

I think it's difficult to measure a winter on snow as it can vary so much from place to place. Some posters here have had more snow than the 80's, some less. Is depth or longevity the most important factor? December 2000 had greater depth of snow here but it only lasted from Boxing Day til Hogmanay. We've had snow on the ground in some form since 19 December, although never more than a couple of inches. December 2000 was certainly more fun as it was deeper, wetter snow, but this spell I would say is more noteworthy for its longevity. My dad certainly can't remember anything like it from the 70s or 80s.

For much of Scotland and Northern England this has certainly been exceptional and the temperature averages for the first half of January (maybe the whole month?) could be very low indeed. That is probably the best measure of a winter.

Edited by Duncan McAlister
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