A rare snow event in the south: 18th December 1999

[Weather-history]

Winter 1999-2000 was largely devoid of snow for many parts but on the 18th December 1999, a low tracked across the southwest of the UK and engaged the cold Arctic air in place. As a result, along the northern flank, there were heavy snowfalls across South Wales and the south Midlands, where as much as 8 inches of snow was recorded in the Brecon Beacons and 5 inches of snow for parts of the Salisbury Plains. After the snow, it became very icy.

Forecast from evening of 18th December 1999

[ANYWEATHER]

Yep, remember this well as me and my wife then, since divorced and sister and boyfriend went to an xmas party at a football club! Had several inches of snow here in Evesham, and then was locked outside in the snow, because we had an argument with the wife! All in all not a good night!! Thanks for posting that.

[Eskimo]

Why has Peter Gibbs not aged one bit? :o

[damianslaw]

Yes it came during quite a snow cold spell in the north with plenty of snow showers thanks to the polar airstream. I remember a couple of inches on the ground on the 18th and 19th in Newcastle with temps struggling to get above freezing. The 20th was a very cold day before milder air encroached from the west resulting in another mild wet christmas.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Cleadon in Tyne and Wear somehow contrived to see out December 1999 without a single morning with <50% snow cover, despite most other parts of the region seeing at least one such morning. The snowfalls of the 14th/15th failed to produce significant accumulations within a couple of miles of the coast in South Tyneside, while the snowfalls on the 18th were only light near the coast and heavier further north and inland within the region. In fairness it probably evened things out as Cleadon was one of the snowiest spots in the region during the winter of 1998/99.

It's also worth noting that December 1999 was an exceptionally sunny month in the Tyne and Wear area (over 90 hours of sunshine at Sunderland) and also that many parts of the UK had a lot of wet snow that never stuck around on the ground for long (a stark example being the 11 days of sleet/snow falling at Manchester Airport but none with >50% snow cover at 0900).

I'm enjoying browsing through these old forecasts- will be interested to see what they made of the snow event on the 16th February 2000, as I seem to remember that one not being very well forecast for the Tyne and Wear area.

Edited January 8, 2013 by Thundery wintry showers

[Weather-history]

Yes it ca The 20th was a very cold day before milder air encroached from the west resulting in another mild wet christmas.

Did you not see anything wintry over Christmas period? I'm surprised if you didn't. Christmas Eve was very mild but a lot of people were surprised to see on Christmas Day to see something wintry, I remember seeing sleet in the showers.

David Braine said unlucky to those who put bets on a white Christmas on the last Countryfile forecast before Christmas but infact you would have collected on some stations.

The breakdown was disappointing, less snow than expected.

[Thundery wintry showers]

At Cleadon on Christmas Day 1999, following a morning of sunshine and rain showers, the last of the fairly heavy showers (at around 1:30pm) unexpectedly turned to snow. Normally I see one snow shower that doesn't lie as a disappointment on a Christmas Day, but in the case of 1999 it was a bonus as I was only expecting rain throughout.

[mcweather]

I remember this event very well . My wife and I had been invited to a graduation celebration for a friend who had just qualified as a chiropractor. The event

took place some where a few miles north of Newbury where we stopped off for a wander round and were delighted when it started to snow lightly about 3 pm. Once we were at the venue it then started to snow in earnest leaving about 6 inches of snow on the ground by morning.

[cheeky_monkey]

yes i remember this event we had a spell of heavy rain and sleet which cleared overnight and as the temperature plummeted the next morning the roads became like a skating rink as everything froze solid...almost crashed my car that morning.

[damianslaw]

I don't recall seeing any snow showers on the 25th, but do remember there being some heavy snow showers on higher ground on Boxing Day and the 27th with a wintry sleety mix on lower ground thanks to a polar maritime airstream.

[polarlow2]

I got a white Christmas in 1999. On holiday in Sligo in the north-west of Ireland, we had heavy hail and sleet showers on Christmas morning. It then cleared up, but late in the evening we had one heavy, prolonged snow shower that dropped about an inch and a half. Gone by the next morning but wonderfully seasonal.