Jump to content
Snow?
Local
Radar
Cold?
IGNORED

Worst Winters Of All Time


UV-RAY

Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Wildwood, Stafford 104m asl
  • Weather Preferences: obviously snow!
  • Location: Wildwood, Stafford 104m asl

the crappest winter here for snow was 1999/2000, no snow at all until 3-4 April and that was wet and slushy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Bolton, Lancashire
  • Location: Bolton, Lancashire

Some people have got bloody good memories, that's all i can say. I struggle to rermember what the weather was like 2 months ago, never mind 20+ years. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Sunderland
  • Weather Preferences: cold
  • Location: Sunderland

Hahahah! What a thread!

Anyway, February looks to be dominated by a retrogressing block towards Greenland, and a dominance of cold from the north and north-east likely. Infact the upcoming week looks quite cold in eastern areas. December was quite wintry, especially in the north, and the highlands had a brill month.

February should easily come in below average and quite severely so and for those saying that Feb is unlikely to deliver or the sun is too strong, all I can say is LOL.

88/89 would probably be the worst, 97/98 and 07/08 pretty close in terms of lack of snow i'd think, and 91/92.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Hale, Halton Cheshire
  • Location: Hale, Halton Cheshire

I think there are two many people jumping all over seven of nine here. Seems some people are simply not bothering to read what he actually wrote...he did not say it was the worst winter ever however if you check it again...he states this rivals any mild winters before.

Actually for me and my area it's been absolutely stinking bad this winter for lack of snow..relegated to almost the exact same thing as seven. 1CM of very wet snow that lasted for around 4 hours during the first week of december. It was so wet it barely stuck.

I digress, this winter has without doubt been one of the mildest here, and for christmas day the mildest ever, i thought that would take some beating (11.4C) but it was completely smashed in 2011. The easterly as barely done a single thing over this way...temps in feb are meant to be cold, after all it is the coldest month of the year...and frosts are normal...however you know, to me autumn started and never finished...wild atlantic, lots of rain and wind and practically nothing else, it took until the last week in january for temperatures overnight to drop..this past week for what it's worth we had one pointless day of freezing rain.

We are two thirds of winter done now and well into the final third.

Some one asked who is to say it won't go on to rival winter 2010? Well I am actually. You can offer all the easterlies you want, nice if you live in the east or south east or 25/30 miles from the coast, but i think we are almost at the cut off point here in south of the region. If it's going to happen, its pointless pointing and saying 240 or 144, you know how well that goes...it does not as this winter as already proven...or i should autumn!

What a truly dismal attempt at something called winter.

This is for my area, not for other parts of the country..as i feel it would be pointless to talk about areas i know nothing about, all i know and care about is my immediate area and I am very sad it turned out this way...thats why i am looking forward to spring and summer so we can get them out the way :p

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Dundee
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, thunderstorms, gales. All extremes except humidity.
  • Location: Dundee

Similar here. Maybe not particularly warm but virtually snowless so far. Had 53 snow lying days last Winter. So far none this Winter unless you count a bit of frozen slush. 2007/8 [loads of sleet but no snow] and 2001/2 plus 1987/88 are the only others with as little snow recorded here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Hale, Halton Cheshire
  • Location: Hale, Halton Cheshire

it was either 2007 or 2008 that was a strange winter, we had normal temps for the time of year but all we would get was hail almost non stop at times, and at periods snowflakes floating around, but because it would be so light it would never stick..this went on through the rest of winter, but we had no lying snow of any kind..so probably that year was the worst for me in terms of seeing absolutely nothing sticking on the ground..cant be sure of the year am sure its one of the two without consulting my book of observations

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Stoke Gifford, nr Bristol, SGlos
  • Location: Stoke Gifford, nr Bristol, SGlos

Perhaps people's view of when we can get wintry weather has been skewed by the exceptional early winter cold of the last 2 winters.

Not at all LS - this winter in Bristol is ranking as pretty bad in terms of cold and snow - easily comparable with the mild winters of the late 90s/early noughties.

We've had 2 hours of snow - that's it so far. And one week of cold, below average temps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Glasgow, Scotland (Charing Cross, 40m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: cold and snowy in winter, a good mix of weather the rest of the time
  • Location: Glasgow, Scotland (Charing Cross, 40m asl)

Not at all LS - this winter in Bristol is ranking as pretty bad in terms of cold and snow - easily comparable with the mild winters of the late 90s/early noughties.

We've had 2 hours of snow - that's it so far. And one week of cold, below average temps.

I take your point, as far as snow's concerned it's been a similar situation here (though temperature wise it will probably come in as around or below average). However, in about half the winters I can recall the biggest snowfall didn't come until after the 10th February. I do understand that late winter is obviously less conduicive to snow at your latitude compared to mine but I'd still wait until the end of the month before writing it off completely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ribble Valley
  • Location: Ribble Valley
I think there are two many people jumping all over seven of nine here. Seems some people are simply not bothering to read what he actually wrote...he did not say it was the worst winter ever however if you check it again...he states this rivals any mild winters before. Actually for me and my area it's been absolutely stinking bad this winter for lack of snow..relegated to almost the exact same thing as seven. 1CM of very wet snow that lasted for around 4 hours during the first week of december. It was so wet it barely stuck. I digress, this winter has without doubt been one of the mildest here, and for christmas day the mildest ever, i thought that would take some beating (11.4C) but it was completely smashed in 2011. The easterly as barely done a single thing over this way...temps in feb are meant to be cold, after all it is the coldest month of the year...and frosts are normal...however you know, to me autumn started and never finished...wild atlantic, lots of rain and wind and practically nothing else, it took until the last week in january for temperatures overnight to drop..this past week for what it's worth we had one pointless day of freezing rain. We are two thirds of winter done now and well into the final third. Some one asked who is to say it won't go on to rival winter 2010? Well I am actually. You can offer all the easterlies you want, nice if you live in the east or south east or 25/30 miles from the coast, but i think we are almost at the cut off point here in south of the region. If it's going to happen, its pointless pointing and saying 240 or 144, you know how well that goes...it does not as this winter as already proven...or i should autumn! What a truly dismal attempt at something called winter. This is for my area, not for other parts of the country..as i feel it would be pointless to talk about areas i know nothing about, all i know and care about is my immediate area and I am very sad it turned out this way...thats why i am looking forward to spring and summer so we can get them out the way :p
Thanks HC, it's a good job I'm pretty thick skinned though. Good too see at least some of you can actually read what I wrote, rather than assume I meant something different. :)

ZoomButt.gif

Edited by Seven of Nine
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Thanks HC, it's a good job I'm pretty thick skinned though. Good too see at least some of you can actually read what I wrote, rather than assume I meant something different. :)

ZoomButt.gif

I actually assumed nothing. Just took the title of the thread on trust. I didn't realise it had a hidden agenda which is bloody stupid on my part knowing the forum. Apologies for being so thick and digressing from your point,

Edited by weather ship
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ashbourne,County Meath,about 6 miles northwest of dublin airport. 74m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold weather - frost or snow
  • Location: Ashbourne,County Meath,about 6 miles northwest of dublin airport. 74m ASL

This winter SO FAR is up there with the worst of them for my location anyway,2 very slight dustings of snow in Dec and 5 air frosts so far here. I think this winter COULD well be joining the likes of 87/88, 88/89, 89/90, 91/92, 98/99, 99/2000, 2006/07 and 2007/08 as winters i would rather forget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago

For the Reading area, 1988/89 and 1989/90 are the winners I reckon. In fact, after the January 1987 freeze, I'm almost certain that we had just about no lying snow until February 1991. We had come to expect snow every year by 1988 after a run of winters containing decent cold snaps/spells, but following 1987 it became a case of desperately watching for any cold air to filter across the south.

After 1991, it was a similar story in terms of snow, but I do remember spells of very frosty weather during 1991/2. Really, it's easier to pick the winters that did have lying snow in Reading over a period, so I'll work through and exclude those years.

From my memory (no written records), winters with no lying snow in Reading since 1987 (which I'm defining as at least a covering on the ground when I leave for work - patches do not count!):

1988/9

1989/90

1991/2

1992/3

1994/5

1996/7

1997/8

1998/9

1999/2000

2001/2

2002/3

2004/5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ribble Valley
  • Location: Ribble Valley

I actually assumed nothing. Just took the title of the thread on trust. I didn't realise it had a hidden agenda which is bloody stupid on my part knowing the forum. Apologies for being so thick and digressing from your point,

Wasn't a dig at your good self WS, just one or two others. There's no hidden agenda by the way, it does what it says on the tin so too speak.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

I hope I wasn't one of the "others" as I gathered what was meant by "best" and "worst" but just pointed out that the terms are heavily subjective (hence Weather Ship's cite of 1962/63 being a legitimate answer to the question).

I'm not sure how I would've fared in 1962/63 myself, though I suspect I would have enjoyed it up until the point when the snow became icy (following a temporary partial thaw and refreeze) and then started hoping for a thaw (albeit probably just a temporary thaw to get rid of the ice, rather than the end of the wintry weather as a whole). I doubt that I would have enjoyed February 1947 as while the shortage of sunshine in NE England wasn't quite as extreme as further south, if February 2012 was to produce a similar sunshine total at Durham (unlikely) then it would make it the dullest February since 1980.

Although I was alive during 1988/89 and 1989/90 I was too young to be recording the weather diligently back then so I can't really rate those two winters. 1989/90 had a lot of potent Atlantic activity which for windstorm lovers would have helped to offset the lack of cold and snow, though the winds also caused a lot of problems for some with the storm on the 25/26 January 1990 causing more problems overall than the October 1987 one, due to slightly lower intensity being offset by a greater area of coverage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ribble Valley
  • Location: Ribble Valley

I hope I wasn't one of the "others" as I gathered what was meant by "best" and "worst" but just pointed out that the terms are heavily subjective (hence Weather Ship's cite of 1962/63 being a legitimate answer to the question).

I'm not sure how I would've fared in 1962/63 myself, though I suspect I would have enjoyed it up until the point when the snow became icy (following a temporary partial thaw and refreeze) and then started hoping for a thaw (albeit probably just a temporary thaw to get rid of the ice, rather than the end of the wintry weather as a whole). I doubt that I would have enjoyed February 1947 as while the shortage of sunshine in NE England wasn't quite as extreme as further south, if February 2012 was to produce a similar sunshine total at Durham (unlikely) then it would make it the dullest February since 1980.

Although I was alive during 1988/89 and 1989/90 I was too young to be recording the weather diligently back then so I can't really rate those two winters. 1989/90 had a lot of potent Atlantic activity which for windstorm lovers would have helped to offset the lack of cold and snow, though the winds also caused a lot of problems for some with the storm on the 25/26 January 1990 causing more problems overall than the October 1987 one, due to slightly lower intensity being offset by a greater area of coverage.

Off course not TWS, yours was as ever a very constructive post.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Llanwnnen, Lampeter, Ceredigion, 126m asl (exotic holidays in Rugby/ Coventry)
  • Location: Llanwnnen, Lampeter, Ceredigion, 126m asl (exotic holidays in Rugby/ Coventry)

Most memorable Winter's for me:

Whilst in Coventry:

The run of mild Winters between about 1973 and 1975: Little in the way of snow or hard frosts, boring for a teenager wanting snow!

1978/9: Cold and snowy almost throughout. Heavy falls at times

1981/82: Two of the most amazing cold and snowy spells experienced; heavy snow and -16c in December, and then repeat in January (still the coldest in Coventry since then).

1987: If only for the experience of Winter at it's most fierce- heavy drifting snow, maximum of -6c!

Think it was 1988/89? For mildness, no snow, and dryness, and walking the footpaths across fields which were not muddy, not because they were frozen, rather because it was so dry

December 1990: The deepest snow I have experienced, 31cm in Coventry, the people getting together to clear the roads. Nearly all gone a few days later!

February 1998: The warmest ever experienced in Winter. Walking the countryside sporting a T-shirt as it was a sunny 18c.

And in west Wales. Most Winter's have seen at least one snow fall, although not always very much:

January 2010: An outstanding Winter month of cold and snow, very severe frosts, down to -16.7c. Made better after somewhat having given up on such spells returning to this land!

November to December 2010: Three such severe cold episodes in one calender year! Very unusual for a freeze up in November and for the snow not to thaw. Then remarkable cold, and 20cm snow in December, beautiful scenes. The lowest temperature I have recorded of -17.7c on Christmas morning (I was not there to experience it though). A truly snowy and freezing Christmas Day spent in the Midlands.

Edited by TonyH
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago
  • Location: Reading/New York/Chicago

Actually, you're right Tony; we did have one day in December 1990 (a Saturday I believe - the next day brought rain) when we had about two inches on the ground in Reading, so I should remove 1989/90 from my list. It was so transient I'd forgotten about it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • UK Storm and Severe Convective Forecast

    UK Severe Convective & Storm Forecast - Issued 2024-03-29 07:13:16 Valid: 29/03/2024 0600 - 30/03/2024 0600 THUNDERSTORM WATCH - FRI 29 MARCH 2024 Click here for the full forecast

    Nick F
    Nick F
    Latest weather updates from Netweather

    Difficult travel conditions as the Easter break begins

    Low Nelson is throwing wind and rain at the UK before it impacts mainland Spain at Easter. Wild condtions in the English Channel, and more rain and lightning here on Thursday. Read the full update here

    Netweather forecasts
    Netweather forecasts
    Latest weather updates from Netweather

    UK Storm and Severe Convective Forecast

    UK Severe Convective & Storm Forecast - Issued 2024-03-28 09:16:06 Valid: 28/03/2024 0800 - 29/03/2024 0600 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH - THURS 28 MARCH 2024 Click here for the full forecast

    Nick F
    Nick F
    Latest weather updates from Netweather
×
×
  • Create New...