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BBC Weather: Early May 1997; A Return To Winter


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Posted
  • Location: Broxbourne, Herts
  • Weather Preferences: Snow snow and snow
  • Location: Broxbourne, Herts

I was on my honeymoon during this time so missed it, but heard about it.

Simply astonishing to see a chart which shows a temp of 17 for London show snow over it for less than 12 hours later!

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Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset

Funny how snow was readily shown over the country with temps between 9-12C yet in this most recent spell they couldn't make their minds up with the temps between -1-2C.

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

It is mainly about the airmass stability and temperatures at upper levels. During the recent spell we've had Atlantic systems bring wintry precipitation associated with an inversion, thus even with temperatures close to or below freezing at ground level, some places saw rain, freezing rain and/or ice pellets due to temperatures well above freezing several hundred metres up.

On the 6th May 1997 850hPa temperatures were between -6 and -9C across the country and the reason for the maxima of 9-12C was the strong May sun which generated a very strong thermal contrast between the surface and a few hundred metres up. As a result the snowflakes only had to pass through a very thin layer of the atmosphere with temperatures well in excess of freezing, and temperatures tended to drop rapidly once any showers got underway. Dew points were mostly a little below freezing which also helped.

Of course, trust the May Day Bank Holiday to be the dull wet day during the transition from the heatwave to the snow showers... :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
  • Location: Wimbledon
  • Location: Wimbledon

Remember this vividly. After Blair got in it seemed initially like New Labour had laid on an early summer. I was staying at friends on the south coast and we had a picnic on the beach and went swimming in the channel on the 2nd and 3rd. I was back in Leicester by the 5th and walking across Victoria Park that evening to Uni it snowed quite heavily, although it didn't settle. Certainly a turn-around!

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  • 1 month later...

Have to say i have no recollection of this event, was busy doing other things back then i guess.

Mr data just wondering but do you know the coldest first week of June since records began that you could show us?

I'm guessing that the first week of June has the potential to be the coldest week of the summer season(June 1st to August 31st) due to cool ish seas still and some polar air still to our north

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  • 5 months later...
Posted
  • Location: Wildwood, Stafford 104m asl
  • Weather Preferences: obviously snow!
  • Location: Wildwood, Stafford 104m asl

I remember the wet snow I had, the only snow in May, around the time Ken Doherty won the title! great player

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