YOUR FAVOURITE ARCHIVED SYNOPTIC CHART

[Tom Quintavalle]

Although I havnt posted a chart from that great wintry spell in late Nov/Dec 2010,Isolated Frost did earlier.

 

The snow didnt arrive down here until the first few days of Dec., here is a favourite snow video of this area, from the hilly, southern part of the Borough, Biggin Hill.

 

 

Tom.

[Thundery wintry showers]

This one springs to my mind, from a long way back- looks pretty epic:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1955/Rrea00119550219.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1955/Rrea00219550219.gif

This was from the "Operation Snowdrop" winter- not an exceptionally cold winter, but certainly an exceptionally snowy one for many, especially in the north.  There were widespread snowfalls at around this time and some date records were subsequently set for low minimum temperatures.

 

Or try this Spanish plume:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1994/Rrea00119940804.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/archive/ra/1994/Rrea00219940804.gif

The real heat may have been largely confined to the SE on that occasion but things went "bang" in a big way in many parts of the country.  It was the last day in a long spell of repeated southerlies and hot thundery outbreaks that started around 23/24 July.

[Tamara]

Tomas - this is a great thread

 

OK - here is a very predictable one and one that I couldn't have enjoyed personally being as far back as it is. However, on the basis that the first flakes started to fall that Boxing day afternoon from a steely grey sky courtesy of the occluded front that sank south into the residing polar continental air over southern england, grind to a halt, and go on to give snow accumulations up to a foot deep in many parts of Kent/Surrey and Sussex to set the scene for a two/three month winter wonderland then it has to be included

 

Just two/three days later a deepening low headed from the south western approaches and resulted in easterly gales, widespread heavy and drifting snow and paralysed many parts of England, Wales and Southern Scotland . The predicted thaw, at the time, only very briefly staggered into Cornwall

 

 

This set the scene for high pressure to rule the roost at high latitudes and for atlantic lows to hit a brick wall and mostly be derailed into France, Spain and the mediteranean. Only very brief and minor less cold days punctuated the freeze as the Greenland and Scandinavian High pressure systems alternated and work together like a well oiled machine.

 

Through January and February the deep cold ground on and onwards. Blizzards in the west country and Ireland after a big push from the atlantic in the first week or so of February..which ultimately failed to make inroads and were again disrupted into France and southern europe. Leading back to freezing dessicating easterlies once more

 

 

It was the eventual break down of the intense HLB to mid latitudes that led to a gentle end to the freeze-up in the first days of March

 

Unlike the 46/47 winter that featured a series of atlantic depressions tracking gradually further north in succession and led to blizzards on the receding edge, and floods and gale force winds on the southern flanks of the lows when combined with the rapid melting of deep snow cover

 

[cheeky_monkey]

This as it bashed many myths about March

Yep. Coldest March day for 27 years. A great birthday present for me! The wind was biting cold.

what myths are they???

[cheeky_monkey]

i woke up to -42c on this morning...Edmonton is close to where to far left -28 upper is...was probably not far off -50c with the windchill

[March Blizzard]

what myths are they???

I didn't say it, so I don't know! I presume he means that at the time many people were dismissive of the idea of ice days and lying snow so far into March, probably as a result of the month's rampant mildness in the UK for so many years and especially after coming off balmy March 2012.

[Tom Quintavalle]

Hi Tams,

 

Thank you and some memorable charts there. I was 7 during the 62/63 Winter and can vaguely remember huge piles of  snow, that had been swept to clear residents pathways. Had great fun on the way to and from school, running up and down these impressive mounds of snow.

We lived in Hayes (Bromley), at the time, Dad worked on the railways and the snowstorm, that you describe so well, descended on our area around 9 p.m on a Saturday evening, coincidentally at the same time, day and date, as another great S.Britain snowstorm, that which occurred some 16 years later, in 1978, I think. (See my post earlier, at the start of the thread). 

Dad had to abandon work with his colleagues, somewhere in S.E.london, get back up to Charing Cross and then get an early morning train back down to Hayes but the train could only get as far as Elmers End, as snow was drifting up to platform level, by this time, 6 a.m. He had to walk the rest of the way home to Hayes, a journey of around 4 miles. The snow was so deep though, remember that this snow came on top of the Boxing Day snowfall, in total about a foot, at this juncture, that the walk took him the best part of 3 hours.

Great memories!

 

Regards,

Tom.

[Stormyking]

Right im only 20 and can only remember as far back as 2003 from what ive experienced, okay here is my list of favourites

 

Has to be this, hottest day recorded in the uk

 

next up

 

26th July into 27th July 2006, this was when I had seen the best thunderstorms I had ever seen, I would of put one from beginning of August this year where the IOW had been hit by the worst storm in 30 years, but I was in GUERNSEY

 

April 6th 2008: We had got blasted by 6 inches of snow, and its one of my favourites due tot he time of year, I thought it was incredible and later on that evening we had a snow shower with a beautiful cg and massive crack of Thunder!

 

6ht January 2010: At this date, it was the most snow and best winter spell I had ever witnessed, we had 34cm of snow recorded on the IOW, however later on that year which everyone would remember November and December 2010, just blew it away! 

 

This gave the IOW 18/19 hours of continuous heavy snow, with a total accumulation of 2 foot in places with over 7ft drifts! I will never ever forget this day and the whole cold spell of that time in general! Top Sutff!

[Weather-history]

Favourite charts for their extremes

This from January 1907, look at how intense the Baltic high is

This from January 1940, look at the northerly blocking here

This from December 1908, a huge atmospheric battle between a Scandi high with a very cold pool against an active Atlantic.

This from January 1884, the deepest depression recorded for the UK

[reef]

It really is amazing when you look in this thread how many impressive charts we have seen in winter/spring since 2008. It certainly shows how the last few years have been completely different to previous ones where the odd 2 day toppler was the highlight of the winter!

[Steve C]

Good topic Tom. In fact your opening post was a real pipe freezer for the family, when I was a kid. We'd been away for Christmas and came back to that type of nightmare...

 

A couple of windstorm ones from me. The first was a very severe gale from my childhood and one which has been mostly forgotten - winds approaching 110 mph on the north Norfolk coast.

 

 

The second was a windstorm that affected the Northern Isles and Norway on New Year's Day 1992. The winds generated then must have been pretty close to the maximum possible for the area - in excess of 145 knot gusts recorded on a North Sea rig. I do remember reports of a couple of birdwatchers being killed in the north of Shetland, but it is lucky that winds of that extremity are vanishingly rare over the populous parts of the UK. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[carinthian]

Polar Low development that produced an exceptional snowfall across Lancashire, Cheshire plain and the Derbyshire/ Staffs Moorlands. Anyone one remember this one ?   February 1969.

c

Edited September 10, 2013 by carinthian

[carinthian]

Some of you will know how cold this was. Still etched in my memory this has the coldest spell  prolonged winter weather i have known in this country. The chart of 30th December 1962 was to remain similar for weeks on end.

The severity of the cold and blizzards would just blow the younger generations away !

 

C

[Tamara]

Some of you will know how cold this was. Still etched in my memory this has the coldest spell  prolonged winter weather i have known in this country. The chart of 30th December 1962 was to remain similar for weeks on end.

The severity of the cold and blizzards would just blow the younger generations away !

 

CRrea00119621230.gif

Great minds think alike  *she refers to the previous page*

[Stormyking]

 

I know that we have had many severe Atlantic Storm systems come, but theres a reason why this is another one of my favourites, because of what it gave the IOW

 

Right I was at bowls, and we could the wind outside roaring like crazy, and then all of a sudden this huge defining roar on our tinned roof under and unbelievable hailstorm, and all of a sudden, one of the loudest cracks of thunder I had ever heard, me and some mates sushed to open the door to see this crazy spell of weather. As soon as we opened the dooor, there was a blinding flash right above us with instant thunder so loud it set off all car alarms, the hail was the size of marbles coming down, and at the same time the wind was probably the strongest i had ever felt! it was was scary. Anyway this passed through all in the space of 30 minutes, and i went to see the back edge of the storm as the wind died down, and too my suprise there was this rather big funnel cloud almost touching. It was one of the most fun and scariest weather experiences i experienced, mainly due to the wind.

 

When I got home, I had found out what just passed actually a supercell, that developed in the English channel not far from the IOW, hit us directly, 90mph winds was recorded from this monster! The same day the needles had recorded 101 mph as it was shown on the bbc later on.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Stormyking

[Captain Shortwave]

Speaking of winds, the Boxing day storm of 1998

 

Winds over 100mph in south west Scotland. I remember it being very windy even here.

[Relativistic]

August 1995 - when temperatures widely reached the low 30s and above across the UK. Reached 34.4C in Leeds, 34.4C in Hull, 34.3C in Sheffield, 33.9C in Southport, 33.1C in Harrogate, 33.1C in Macclesfield and 32.7C in.. Buxton! And of course reached the dizzy heights of 37.1C in Chelmsford. Short but sweet as they say. Far too hot for me, but a very interesting weather event, especially given the unremarkable 850hPa temperatures. A lot of places absolutely demolished and destroyed their previous records.

Woooo, Chelmsford!! If only I was ten years older to experience that, would have been 9 at the time if that was the case. I prefer cold weather to hot weather but I wouldn't have missed that given the opportunity. I remember August 2003 but that "only" got to 36.5C I think on that one day. Edited September 10, 2013 by 22nov10blast

[Anvils in the Sky]

Oh, and this day of course. (And a pic of what the end of my back garden looked like that afternoon.)

 

[feb1991blizzard]

Two thunder-snow events now.

 

28th JAN.2004.

 

 

 

An active cold front arrived from the north in time for the early evening rush hour. Started off as a brief period of cold rain, then rapid changeover to snow and incredible to view, as a wall of snow advanced from the north. Snow soon settled and was accompanied by 4 flashes of pink lightning and booming thunder. Chaos on the roads, soon ensued.

 

2nd FEB.2009.

 

 

 

 

Over 6" of snow from this Thames streamer event and some gun-shot thunder in the early hours of the morning, places slightly further west had around 9", including my work location of Croydon, a substantial fall for that locale.

 

Have posted it before but well worth seeing the lightning/thunder captured on a BBC News24 report again, filmed near Dartford.

 

 

Tom.

 

 

I remember that 2004 event, around that time there was absolute chaos on the roads similar to feb 1991 believe it or not in Birmingham, only this time it was only an inch and a bit of snow, it turned to rain and back to snow washing the grit away before refreezing, gridlock until midnight!!

[Tom Quintavalle]

Have to post this chart from February 2005.

 

22nd FEB.2005.

 

 

Posting these charts not for the severity of the weather we experienced but more for what they signified, in finally dispelling the myth that High Latitude Blocking was no longer possible in a Winter month. The charts above depict the synoptic situation a few days into this amazing spell, indeed the weather stayed wintry well into the 2nd week of Feb. It also shows the perfect angle of flow for a Thames snow streamer, which indeed was occurring at the time.

Had soil temps not been so anomalously high, due to a very mild Winter up to that time, depths would probably have accumulated a bit more than 2 to 3 inches that fell, in this 6 hour event. My area went on to record snow falling on consecutive days for nearly 2 weeks, albeit mostly in flurry form, apart from the 2 streamer events we experienced, incredible for this locale. The chart below, shows the situation during the 2nd streamer event.

 

 

The situation just an hour or two before the end of the 2nd streamer, another 2 to 3 inch fall. I'd waited years to experience this type of snowfall, brought about by an ENE flow, lo and behold two occur, within four days, amazing! Again strong blocking in an area that had been an Achilles Heel, for cold weather fans.

The GIN corridor looks so much nicer in Orange/Yellow, dont you think? Blues and purples, so 90's and so passe! 

 

Joking aside, a fantastic spell of synoptics and I, for one, began to believe again. 

 

Tom.

Edited September 10, 2013 by TomBR7

[chionomaniac]

I think these charts deserve an honourable mention, Tom.

 

 

 

'Twas an ordinary Sunday in early April when it started to rain, and, after a few spots this quickly turned to snow and dropped 6 inches worth.

 

'Significant?' I hear you ask - Well yes, because as far as I am concerned it was the beginning of the end of a certain era - You know the one!

 

 

[damianslaw]

Don't have the chart but 6th Feb 1996 was a classic battleground synoptical situation -we ended up with 18 inches of snow..not bettered such high totals from a single fall since.

[Tom Quintavalle]

Don't have the chart but 6th Feb 1996 was a classic battleground synoptical situation -we ended up with 18 inches of snow..not bettered such high totals from a single fall since.

 

There you go Damian.

 

 

Tom.

[feb1991blizzard]

Don't have the chart but 6th Feb 1996 was a classic battleground synoptical situation -we ended up with 18 inches of snow..not bettered such high totals from a single fall since.

 

 

I think these charts deserve an honourable mention, Tom.

 

Rrea00120080406.gif

 

Rrea00220080406.gif

 

'Twas an ordinary Sunday in early April when it started to rain, and, after a few spots this quickly turned to snow and dropped 6 inches worth.

 

'Significant?' I hear you ask - Well yes, because as far as I am concerned it was the beginning of the end of a certain era - You know the one!

 

 

Large teapot era are you talking about?

[SNOW-MAN2006]

See if anyone can establish why ive posted this chart ...

Regards

SM06