Jump to content
Snow?
Local
Radar
Cold?
IGNORED

January 2013 Cold Spell - How's it been for you ?


ScottSnow

Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear - 320ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Cold snowy weather in winter. Dry and warm in summer.
  • Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear - 320ft ASL

With the end in sight of the current cold spell I was wondering how people have rated it. How was it for you in your location ? Did you see much snow ?

I ask these questions as I have seen some people who seem to have been disappointed by this spell of weather.

It certainly could have been better here. If the temperature had been slightly lower yesterday and today we could have seen some huge depths of snow however it has snowed consecutively here for ten days and I have a compacted snowcover of around 20cm. Again I have had ten days consecutively of lying snow which looks like it will continue until at least friday. Although the temperatures haven't been especially low it has certainly been a snowy spell of weather, I would enjoy one cold and clear day as the continual cloudcover has been a little depressing.

Nationwide, I would say most areas have had some snow so it hasn't been restricted to certain area's which does happen in some cold spells. Wales has had a good dump, London has seen snow, the Pennines and Yorkshire have had there share and even Cumbria has seen some.

I personally would rate this cold spell 7.5/10 as it has been particularly snowy here and it has lasted for nearly two weeks. When I joined this forum in 2003 I would have been over the moon with such a spell of weather.

Edited by Snow White
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snowy winters, hot, sunny springs and summers.
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire

Not very cold, lots of snow falling, not a lot lying.

4/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Swansea (Abertawe) , South Wales, 420ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Storms & Snow.
  • Location: Swansea (Abertawe) , South Wales, 420ft ASL

Not too bad but temperatures have not been low enough. Temperatures were 5-6C just before Fridays event, so no frost and the ground is still very wet from all the rain. The winter of 2010 was great because of the severe frosts before the snow and the snow was very dry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Anything but mild south-westeries in winter
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl

6/10

Snow - good. Temps - bad. Got below -7C on one night, which is okay, I guess, but nothing out of the ordinary really, such values are seen at least once in a typical winter I'd assume.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Batley, West Yorkshire
  • Weather Preferences: Heat and Snow
  • Location: Batley, West Yorkshire

Marcus, 5-6C? Thats an average spell for me.

Like Aaron 6/10 good snow, bad temperatures. And I didn't like the all the cloud.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Peterborough N.Cambridgeshire
  • Location: Peterborough N.Cambridgeshire

Excellent overall. These past 7 days the highest my temps have ever reached has been 0.9C. Seen 4 snowfalls with the heaviest and most prolonged being sunday when it snowed for 14hrs giving around 8 inches. My lowest temps was yesterday morning when the temp dropped to -9C and was accompanied by freezing fog.

Still expecting even lower min temps especially tonight, Thurs night when they could drop below -10C.

Despite all of this I still prefer a good old fashioned convective E,ly due to the much colder dewpoints, temps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Fantastic I would say, for the north west midlands, which is the least snowiest area of the UK, started with 3cms on Sunday 13th, snowed nearly all day on 20th and 21st, but my best was Fri 18th, also snowing now with an extra 2cms

but very few clear skies, had slight thaws every day due to no proper cold pool/greenie high

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Evesham, Worcs, Albion
  • Location: Evesham, Worcs, Albion

Disappointing. Much potential, not realised.

Been plenty of snowfall but lack of low temps means much has either failed to settle much or has soon melted. So not seen the sort of grass accumulations that previous good events have produced - though a few places where surfaces have been cold and therefore a lot more has settled show how good this could have been.

Still waiting to see a snow drift in Englandshire .....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Sydenham/Crystal Palace London
  • Location: Sydenham/Crystal Palace London

I had 4" of snow here which for south east london is good so I'm happy. Having lived in SE London since '62 I've seen a lot of winters and as gas is so high now I'm pleased to see just a little snow with out it going on and on these days.

Those that hark back to times of heavier snow have either not experienced them before or have more money than me to spend heating my home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Paris suburbs
  • Location: Paris suburbs

December's cold spell was almost as good, with much more lying snow then (still not much). Back in the Peak District it's been fantastic though, shame I haven't been there.

Unfortunately I've been spoilt by living almost as far inland as is possible in the UK and at a high altitude, so even months like February and December 2011 saw more snow compared to down in oceanic Glasgow. There's still time for more snow though, and even after winter proper get the feeling there's far more possibility for April snow here compared to sea level further south.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: NE of Kendal 215m asl
  • Location: NE of Kendal 215m asl

Bit disappointed with this cold spell. Yes it's gone on for a decent length of time and only a few days have been above freezing, but then at night it's not fallen much below due to constant cloud cover. Only had a few dustings of snow and then an inch over the past couple of days which is still here. Similar amounts to the second cold spell of December 2010 but at least then it was much sunnier, a lot colder with frozen waterfalls and lakes. Just hasn't been cold enough this time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.
  • Location: Powys Mid Wales borders.

7inches max after 3/4 snowfalls,friday being the best day for the lowest temps at -1.5c and strongest winds and the best winter drifting since 2010.

Since then temps did make 1.5c two days ago but there was very little thawing as the dewpoint was low.

Better than last winter for snow thats for sure,but not for low temps not yet consistent 0.2c on average,and I can`t really see it happening unless cloudcover clears with this high(lowest temp last year was -5.6c in early feb)

There has been freezing fog also,with rime on the trees.

At least theres been a break from all that horrid mild SW-ly wet,and we`ve had a gentle easterly on average with plenty of snow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Burghead, Moray.
  • Location: Burghead, Moray.

Very disappointing. I think it is because I am sheltered from south easterly winds. The temps during the day have been between 2 and 5C. We have had a dusting of snow which has melted/evaporated during the day. Most annoying is that inland areas of Aberdeenshire/ Moray have had lots of snow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury

9/10 for snow, 5/10 for cold here in Shrewsbury. 7 mornings so far with lying snow, two separate falls of 7-8cm, and a max depth of 10 cm is a good return for these parts, only the third time 10 cm has been reached since 1995. Since Friday pretty much all the snow has settled, and has hung on witb a slight thaw on Sat replaced by another snowfall on Sunday.

Yet the lowest temperature this month has been only -3C, which happened during snowfall on Friday evening. Since 8am on Saturday the temp hasnt gone below -1.5, or above +1.0; I can't ever remember such a long period of such consistent temperatures. Crucially it's spent more time on the minus side, helping us keep the snowcover. There really hasn't been that deep-coldy feel we had in Dec 2010, Jan 2010, late Dec 2000, early Jan 97, a few times 95-6, Feb 1991 or Jan 1987; it's felt like a more prolonged version of the Feb 2007 snowy spell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m

this spell has missed many western areas nice to have snow again fo 2 weeks but can only give 4/10 for temps and 4/10 for snow depths.is it me but these last few years of snow have had a distinct lack of winds it just hasnt drifted that much even over the tops.i havnt seen a real blizzard since 1995 that includes 2010

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Ayton, Berwickshire
  • Weather Preferences: Ice and snow, heat and sun!
  • Location: Ayton, Berwickshire

Currently in New Hampshire it is -28F (--32C), but snow is less than average with about a level foot round the house (normally by now we're up to about 2 to 3 feet).

Ballater meanwhile (relying on reports here), there was little to get excited over until this last weekend, 2 to 3 inches but some hard frosts, but since then some pretty massive constant falls, with over 2 feet lying now. Meanwhile, my relatives on the Durham coast have green fields and no frost for about 4 days!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Headington,Oxfordshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snow
  • Location: Headington,Oxfordshire

Very good overall. Had snow on Mon 14th left, 1.5cm. Then on Thurs 17th had 2cm. Friday 18th was amazing got 14cm in 7hrs. Sunday had another 3.5cm thanks to being right on the edge of that system moving up from France. Then yesterday evening saw the biggest flakes of the season yet, followed by 3cm overnight and this morning in total. So snow has been very good here, however not much in the way of cold has to be said, cloudy scenes at night. Perhaps tomorrow night will see -5c widespread, and -9c for snowfields? Overall 8/10, if we had some very cold nights it would be closer to 10!

Edited by Mark Neal.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

I'd agree with Snow White's rating for this one- 7.5/10.

There has been more than 50% snow cover here since the 14th January, a remarkably persistent spell. The snow depth reached a maximum of 4cm here over the weekend, and reached 8-10cm around nearby Sutton Bank, which was enough to build a snowman, have snowball fights and go sledging in. Due to being a fair way inland from the North Sea, the snowfalls haven't been marginal enough to create many problems with slush and ice.

On the downside, many of the snowfalls have been marginal enough to seriously limit the aggregate snow depth. I felt cheated on the night of the 20th/21st when moderate to heavy snow fell for several hours but the snow depth remained the same. The only day of sunshine and snow showers that I had was on last Tuesday, and since Friday, the weather has been persistently grey thanks to relatively stable south-easterlies bringing stratocumulus in off the North Sea, and temperatures have been stuck within the range of -1 to +2C- I have to admit that I'm starting to tire of the current weather regime, not because of the cold or snow, but because of the grey monotony.

It's been a pretty good cold spell for snow lovers in this area but it could have been better- for instance around mid-January many model runs were showing colder and unstable north-easterlies rather than stable south-easterlies, which would have brought more sunshine and greater aggregate snow depths to this area of N Yorkshire. However it's worth noting that for the areas of the UK that tend to miss out on North Sea convection, a north-easterly type, despite being colder, may well have given less snow due to fewer shots at frontal snowfall, especially on high ground.

Edited by Thundery wintry showers
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Longlevens, 16m ASL (H)/Bradley Stoke, 75m ASL (W)
  • Weather Preferences: Hot sunny summers, cold snowy winters
  • Location: Longlevens, 16m ASL (H)/Bradley Stoke, 75m ASL (W)

I would probably go with 6/10, yes lots of falling snow but much of it was wet and so depths were very limited. Not a particularly cold spell either with no notable overnight lows, but in its favour snow cover has been 50% or greater at 9am since last friday which is good going for the low lying nature of Gloucester.

Would rate this winter in 4th place currently though out of the last 5 years.

Edited by windswept
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Dunoon, Argyll Scotland
  • Location: Dunoon, Argyll Scotland

Not great for me got cold temps down to 2c at times and for one day a very light dusting of snow on the hills apart from that nothing else, just way to far West in this cold spell for anything good it was at times cold enough to snow just it was too dry.

Edited by weathermaster
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: South East Cambridgeshire 57m ASL
  • Location: South East Cambridgeshire 57m ASL

I'd go for 7/10. 5 days with snow falling and 7 lying snow far. Had some low overnight minima (down to -10C yesterday morning) as well as some decent frosts when the cold spell started nearly two weeks back. Had a decent fall of snow on Sunday and infact currently snowing pretty heavy here now. Could get below -10C again over the next couple of nights and the possibility of one final spell of snow before the cold spell is over for here at the weekend.

Edited by Ben_Cambs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Coventry
  • Weather Preferences: anticyclonic unless a snow storm
  • Location: Coventry

I would rate it 8/10

The last 10 days have produced the most snow in Coventry for over 20 years. We seemed to miss out on most of the snow during the recent cold winters.

It started with heavy snow on Monday 14th. Then snowed continually for about 18 hours on Friday 18th producing about 4 inches . Snowed a lot on Sunday 20th producing another 3 inches. Had another bout of snow for a time yesterday and more today as I type!

If if doesn't snow again, I will be happy with what we have had this winter.

I would rate this in the top 10 snowiest winters of my life - (born in the mid 70s!)

Edited by BlueSkies_do_I_see
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...