Weather in the general media (Newspaper features etc)

[Isolated Frost]

SLEET ON BEN NEVIS

Crisis talks in Brussels have been interrupted this Wednesday as reports of sleet falling at Ben Nevis. Temperatures on the plateau are a siberian 2c, while in a valley in the lake district, temperatures fell to a bone-shattering 1c. 'This is all due to solar activity being lower than ever and the gulf stream being attacked by cold hairdryer winds from the arctic', said expert Piers Corbyn. 'It's a chilling reminder to all those warmists'.

Temperatures may fall to 4c in Hammersmith next week, so we have set up a charity fund to help all those effected by the arctic plunge. 'This is what we now must come to expect in the new winters that this nation will face. Perhaps we will fall to 0c, a temperature widely renowned by experts as when 'Swindon freezes over'.

[Team Jo]

Not the Cold Hairdryer winds!!!

[Coast]

You know even the likelihood of a simple scattering of snow in Scotland makes DM headlines!!

After all that fog, here come the gales, ice... and maybe some snow

It has left drivers battling to see the road and air passengers stranded waiting for flights. Now forecasters warn that the fog blanketing most of the country is set to continue – and some areas could even see snow within a matter of days. Frost and gales are also predicted, with a chance of ice on the roads from tomorrow.

Over the weekend visibility on the roads was less than 100 yards in some areas. Forecasters said fog would hit the country again today before making way for icier conditions later in the week. The cold weather, which follows one of the warmest autumns on record, is moving from the Atlantic. The next few days will be mild and cloudy in most of the country, but night temperatures are on course to drop to freezing in some areas. Independent forecasters predicted snow in the mountains of Cumbria and north Wales on Thursday and Friday, but the Met Office said it would mostly be limited to Scotland.

Stronger winds will see gusts of up to 50mph in North-West England and Wales. Met Office spokesman Dan Williams said: ‘We will be seeing colder nights because of the clear skies.’ In a second day of disruption Heathrow cancelled 40 arriving flights and 24 departing ones. Glasgow and Amsterdam were among the destinations affected. London City Airport axed ten flights while Leeds Bradford Airport cancelled one. A Heathrow spokesman said last night: ‘There are currently no delays but we advise passengers to check with their airlines.’

Jonathan Powell, of Positive Weather Solutions, said: ‘There is a rain-bearing front that could bring a covering of snow on Thursday and Friday in the mountainous parts of the north. ‘Roads will be pretty treacherous as any overnight rain will quickly freeze.’

http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1ePymb8pi

[Methuselah]

More bloody tripe!

[stewfox]

Haha! The Daily Mail has done it again!

Now we have fog, cancelled flights and there may even be snow on the way! (to svalbad)

http://www.dailymail...frosts-way.html

and today, its interesting their first reference is at the moment the MET.

[A Winter's Tale]

The Dail Mail love to use the word "snow" at every oppurtunity. Notice how they keep pushing back the date of this "particular Big Freeze" that was "meant to happen in October". lol

[Coast]

The number of deaths linked to cold weather fell slightly last winter despite the big freeze, but London saw a rise, provisional figures show. There were an estimated 25,700 excess deaths in England and Wales in winter 2010/11 - 110 fewer than the winter before. The Office for National Statistics report showed that while deaths for people aged over 75 fell, the figure for those younger increased.

Wales recorded a higher percentage of excess deaths in winter than England. There were 20% more deaths in winter compared with the non-winter period in Wales - higher than the England average of 16%. The number of excess winter deaths rose in some areas of the country. The figure increased by 300 to 1,400 in the North East - an increase in the percentage of winter mortality compared with non-winter deaths of 3.4%. Statisticians said this followed "very low levels" of excess winter mortality in the region in 2009/10.

Other areas - including Wales (2.7%), London (1%), Yorkshire and the Humber (0.9%) and the East Midlands (0.8%) - also saw an increase. But five areas saw the figures fall: the South West (2.7%), the East (2.2%), the South East (1.2%), the West Midlands (0.8%) and the North West (0.7%).

Hypothermia was not the main cause of the additional deaths - although they were linked to low temperatures. Instead circulatory diseases and respiratory diseases accounted for many of the deaths. There were more excess deaths among women than men. In 2010-11, 11,200 men and 14,400 women died. Despite the figures, campaign groups said there was more work to be done. A spokesman for the National Pensioners Convention said: "The situation is scandalous whether it was one person or 100,000 dying." He said the group expected to see the figures rise again next year.

"Pensioners are going to have to deal with a cut in winter fuel allowance, which they didn't have before, and rising bills. People need the confidence to put the heating on when they need it - we don't want them to think twice. The problem is poor housing and pensioners on low incomes - the Government must act or next year's figures will be higher and the year after and the year after."

Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: "Despite the harsh conditions during December 2010, excess winter deaths in England and Wales remained virtually unchanged from the previous winter but there is no room for complacency. We want to ensure that the NHS and the public are as well prepared this year and that we reduce this figure further."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h0pprhTFeqv2AtKVhQyHB2kPjfjw?docId=B736521321955499A0000002

[Summer Sun]

DROUGHT ALERT AFTER DRIEST YEAR SINCE 1976

BRITAIN is on drought alert today with reservoirs drying up and rivers running at worryingly low levels.

Some parts of the country have had the driest 12 months since 1976 when crops failed and water was rationed.

And with mild, arid weather set to continue for weeks, utility firms warned that families could face restrictions on their water consumption by the spring.

http://www.express.c...year-since-1976

Edited November 23, 2011 by Gavin D

[Mark Neal.]

It seems like the newspapers are getting carried away again! But the one Gavin has posted indidcates that there is a bit of truth out there, because believe it or not some places have been on drought alert for a long time by now...

[gottolovethisweather]

And just how many tens of thousands of houses are they wanting to build in the overcrowded south and southeast, not forgetting if Boris gets his way, another airport. Incidentally, I'm pretty sure these same areas are facing annual rainfall deficits, going back many years. I may be wong here, but I'm sure Mr.Data could provide the CET data.

I have an idea, the UK government should buy an island somewhere, build on it and send half of our population over to it.

Do I want to be on that list?, let me think, I'll get back to you on that. http://hw.nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ph34r.png

Cheers

gottolovethisweather

[Summer Sun]

AUTUMN BLOWS OUT WITH GALES AND FIRST ICY BLAST OF WINTER

WINTER will blow into Britain after a week of devastating gales, forecasters warned yesterday.

Severe gale-force winds capable of structural damage will sweep across the UK from today, experts said.

Then the mild autumn Britain has enjoyed for two months is set to give way to near freezing temperatures, bringing frost and a chance of snow.

The worst of today’s winds will hit the North, with possible storm-force gusts set to last into next week.

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: “We expect gusts of up to 75 mph in localised areas, but the whole of the country is going to be windy.

“The worst looks like settling down at the beginning of next week although it will still stay windy.â€

By the middle of next week temperatures will struggle to get above 6C (43F) during the day and nudge freezing overnight.

http://www.express.c...blast-of-winter

[Methuselah]

Oh no, it's the Express!

[Cyclone Bill]

They really need to fill their papers with any 'old pap' they can - big chill temps of 44.6f (strange) in the north and 50f in the south which will be fractionally above average for the time of year - well done Daily Express for trying to justify your previous headlines!!

You should use DayBreak as your trusty reliable source for weather, it never fails!!!

[Chris K]

Just some bits of an article in the Telegraph i read earlier today, most will have probably already read it. Hearing the BBQ summer criticism in headlines is getting a bit old now haha.

No new Big Freeze, says Met Office

After the embarrassment of the "barbecue summer" that never was, the Met Office has once again predicted unseasonable weather and claimed there will no repeat of last year's "big freeze" this Christmas.

Forecasters have put their necks on the line and said they expect average temperatures in the weeks leading up to the festive period with this month likely to be the warmest November on record.

The recent mild weather, with warm air sweeping the UK from Europe, has meant some parts of the UK have reached 18C (64.4F). The warmest November was in 1994 when temperatures were an average of 8.8C (48F).

Across the UK, temperatures were due to fall to 3C to 5C (37F to 41F) tonight and flurries were forecast for northern England.

Independent forecasters anticipated a “Siberian December†with temperatures dropping as low as -15C (5F).

But the Met Office said it expected only occasional cold snaps for the rest of the year and said a repeat of last year's extreme weather was not expected.

Forecaster Dan Williams said: "There’s no signal for a repeat of last year’s December cold spell.

“Last December saw a very prolonged period with wave after wave of cold spells and snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures.

“But rather than that, it looks like we’re in for a mixed, unsettled December this year, with some cold spells but also milder spells.â€

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8914255/No-new-Big-Freeze-says-Met-Office.html

[Buzz]

And more bilge-water from the Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2065787/Britain-course-warmest-November-record-cold-snap-refuses-start.html

[Beasterly]

Have fun reading this:

**WARNING** - This article contains the words James Madden. Please read with caution.

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/prepare-for-record-snow-and-cold

[Methuselah]

Tripe!

[chionomaniac]

I wonder if could I set up as a long range forecaster and peddle my thoughts to the papers. I would have got the last month or two right and suspect that I won't do any worse than them this winter!!!

[Summer Sun]

Have fun reading this:

**WARNING** - This article contains the words James Madden. Please read with caution.

http://news.uk.msn.c...d-snow-and-cold

Utter rubbish and desperation. After what he's said in the papers so far this Autumn i'm not suprised by this.

"The remainder of December as a whole is likely to feature largely below-average temperatures, with deep widespread snow accumulations across many parts of the UK and Ireland."

Wrong!

Edited November 25, 2011 by Gavin D

[Isolated Frost]

Utter rubbish and desperation. After what he's said in the papers so far this Autumn i'm not suprised by this.

Wrong!

I disagree with Corbyn and he probably will be wrong, but in late November how can you warrant that with a met office update? We're not in December yet, you can say 'wrong' come January when he probably will be. Sometimes..

[PMPhotography]

FORECASTS of the worst winter since records began are greatly exaggerated, according to one local weatherman.

Paul Hudson, who regularly presents Look North’s daily weather reports, was at the Evening News offices yesterday to sign copies of his latest book – Frozen Britain.

He said: “There’s been an awful lot of hype in the newspapers saying that it could be the worst on record but it’s not going to happen. It’s likely to be colder than average and I think there will be a few snow events but very unlikely to be as bad as last winter.â€

His visit to Scarborough was the first signing event for the new book which is an updated version of Frozen In Time – which was first published in 2006 and co-written with Ian McCaskill.

He said: “We wanted to include the last three bad winters. December was the coldest since 1890 and that’s why we wanted to rewrite it.â€

He added that since the last book certain things had happened which had caused people to look at the reasons why winters had become much colder. He said: “It’s likely to be unusual solar activity. And if that’s the impact over the last three years it could become more common.â€

The weather expert said that terms such as global warming caused confusion, when the weather was colder than normal, and climate change was a more accurate description.

He also mentioned in the forecast tonight that it would be turning much colder from Wednesday next week. I see no mention of this in the model thread - I wonder what he's basing this on?

Edited November 25, 2011 by PMPhotography

[NickyB]

Oh dear :-(. http://www.prweb.com/releases/winterweatherEurope/Euroweather/prweb8979624.htm

[liam300]

Oh dear :-(. http://www.prweb.com...rweb8979624.htm

Thats an easy prediction to make, plus its four days out in comparison to current forecast.

[Summer Sun]

The Daily Express get worse,

BLIZZARDS ON THE WAY AS WINTER KICKS OFF WITH A HURRICANE ALERT

Daily Express

http://www.express.c...hurricane-alert

75MPH BLIZZARDS SET TO BATTER BRITAIN

BRITAIN will go from mild to wild this weekend as 75mph winds and snowstorms strike.

Blizzards will bring the first real burst of winter as temperatures dive.

Northerners will need to batten down the hatches as more than a foot of snow is predicted.

http://www.dailystar...batter-Britain/

[NickyB]

The Daily Express get worse,

BLIZZARDS ON THE WAY AS WINTER KICKS OFF WITH A HURRICANE ALERT

Daily Express

http://www.express.c...hurricane-alert

75MPH BLIZZARDS SET TO BATTER BRITAIN

BRITAIN will go from mild to wild this weekend as 75mph winds and snowstorms strike.

Blizzards will bring the first real burst of winter as temperatures dive.

Northerners will need to batten down the hatches as more than a foot of snow is predicted.

http://www.dailystar...batter-Britain/

OMG ! LOL