Weather Forecasts From January 1987

[Crockel]

I remember January 1987 well and just how cold it was in that easterly gale! I can't seem to find any video weather forecasts or the like from that time anywhere though. Can anyone point me in the right direction/ provide a link?

Thank you.

Lee

[Optimus Prime]

There's only one and it can be found there ----> http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/71685-bbc-forecast-12th-january-1987/

[Coast]

The January 1987 snowfall was a very heavy lake-effect type snow event that affected the areas of East Anglia, South-East England and London between the 11th and 14th of January and was the heaviest snowfall to fall in that part of the United Kingdom since the winter of 1981/82. Over 50 cm (20 inches) of snow fell in parts of Kent, Essex, London and Surrey, with the North Downs just east of Maidstone recording 75 cm (30 inches). Parts of West Cornwall also had heavy falls. Several towns were cut off due to the heavy snowfall.

This was due to a high pressure system over Siberia that moved into Scandinavia which in turn dragged a strong Easterly airflow and brought very cold temperatures across Europe and the United Kingdom. A low pressure system over Italy caused the airflow to drag the very cold air from Siberia to Western Europe and picked up further moisture from the North Sea which produced the heavy snowfall. This caused massive disruption of transport in the area including the cancellation of many train services and the closure of many roads and railway lines. Motoring organisations had to deal with more than 4000 car breakdowns and 500 schools were forced to close. The extreme cold even affected the chiming hammer of Big Ben and at Southend-on-Sea the sea froze over.

The cold spell lasted from the 7th to the 20th, and was probably the most intense of the twentieth century. Temperatures stayed well below freezing on many days. On the 12th, maximum temperatures were between -6°C and -8°C over much of England, with -9.1°C (16°F) the daily maximum at Warlingham. The lowest overnight temperature of -14°C (6.8°F) was recorded at Huntingdon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1987_Southeast_England_snowfall

http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/34056-january-1987/

Lake-effect snow

Since the North Sea is relatively warm (around 13C at the beginning of winter, typically 10C to 6C by the end), sufficiently cold air aloft can create significant snowfalls in a relatively short period of time. The best-known example occurred in January 1987, when record-breaking cold air (associated with an upper low) moved across the North Sea towards the UK. The end result was over a foot of snow for coastal areas, leading to communities being cut off for over a week. In recent years, lake-effect snow has been much lighter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake-effect_snow

[Crockel]

Thanks Optimus Prime and Coast- that is great!

Lee