North West England Regional Discussion Thread 15/1/2018 onwards

[northwestsnow]

1 minute ago, Weather-history said:

It quickly went very mild though. There wasn't much of my snowman, Friday morning when I woke up. It felt really mild. 

There was an unexpected lasting snowfall on the first Saturday after the New Year, which was expected to thaw but didn't. the school playground was icy as hell when I went back. Then waiting for the snow to come in on that Tuesday and it took ages to arrive not until later that evening. The thaw finally started on the Thursday. 

Talking of January- Jan 1985 had a very cold episode too- i can recall playing out on my street early 1985 with pretty seep snow in the ground.

Them were the days

[Day 10]

25 minutes ago, northwestsnow said:

Yes we haven't had much luck i agree.

I'd really like to see a decent Easterly before the last third of Feb - your a similar age to me, cold Febs seem to be very rare nowadays (or during this current cycle), there is some deep cold to the east - moscow has had a mild winter but daytime temps are now dropping rapidly , the daytime max on wed will be -9.Its still quite mild as far east as Poland, they too have had a very very mild winter thusfar.- i be keeping an eye on those capitals over the coming week or two to see if there will be a pooling of cold air.without that we will be relying on the north west for colder shots and to be honest, think ive had my fill of cold shots that comes via the Atlantic and irish sea..

I know you like a trip down memory lane Kevin, i can recall starting secondary school in Sept 1985, and i can recall how bitterly cold the Feb of 1986 was, OK it wasn't overly snowy but something like that would be amazing- looking at the wz charts you can see why it was so cold!!

 

I'm 39 so I remember from mid 80's onward. My fave has to be Feb 91, we had about 8" of proper powder snow. I remember walking to school in about 2 inches of the stuff thinking this will do (liitle did I know it was going to get a whole lot better), arrived to the first class of the day on the first floor with a geat view right by the window looking down over the white covered footy pitches. It really wasn't long before the snow really started to pelt down again, within the hour school was closed and it was snowball mayhem outside! If I remember rightly it was a Thurs or Fri too so the weekend was ace. Great times.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Day 10

[shadowfax]

We have snow falling and settling on frozen surfaces

[severe snowstorm]

I was born and bred in the Midlands. The major snowfalls we had in Dec 1990 and Feb 1991 live long in the memory. Must have had a foot and a half on each occasion. 

[northwestsnow]

1 minute ago, Day 10 said:

I'm 39 so I remember from mid 80's onward. My fave has to be Feb 91, we had about 8" of proper powder snow. I remember walking to school in about 2 inches of the stuff thinking this will do, arrived to the first class of the day on the first floor with a geat view right by the window looking down over the white covered footy pitches. It really wasn't long before the snow really started to pelt down again, within the hour school was closed and it was snowball mayhem outside! If I remember rightly it was a Thurs or Fri too so the weekend was ace. Great times.

that sounds brill !!

Got to be honest tho , as posted above, anyone beyond 44 (my age) will recall very well how their fondness of snow began- as a child there was something magical about it, and it was fun, really it does spark good memories for me anyway.

Jan 1987 was a funny one, i was oblivious to the mayhem down south but i do recall waking up one morning for school and noticing the ground was absolutely frozen solid, and then lightest of snow began to fall, and every single flake stuck instantly.

There were many brilliant occasions- i can also vaguely recall jan 1984- one particular night is was heavy snow shower after heavy snow shower, and they were defo from the North west these- by morning the drifts at my house were a good 4 to 5 inches!!

 

[Darren Bown]

There’s an epic rain shadow this morning too lol. Will fill in as the rain comes I assume.

[Interitus]

10 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Thanks for that. Yes the skies to the west look dark and overcast so perhaps the heavy stuff isn't that far away.

Interesting looking at the variation along the length of Windermere, not much in the way of snow at Lakeside on the southern end, but snow falling at Bowness and settling at Ambleside on the northern end (webcams here https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/ambleside-webcam)

[markw2680]

2 minutes ago, Dexter said:

I was born and bred in the Midlands. The major snowfalls we had in Dec 1990 and Feb 1991 live long in the memory. Must have had a foot and a half on each occasion. 

They stick in my mind too I was only about 10 but they was quality, I remember seeing lightening on the night of one of them too. Boy I wish we could have that again

[damianslaw]

Snow has pepped up a little bit, so should have an even cover shortly.

Nice to reminisce about yesteryear - I too remember the mid 80's period being good for cold and snowy weather, but memories a little hazy, remember Jan 85/Feb 85 vaguely recall quite a bit of snow. Remember snowfalls of early Jan 86, but don't remember Feb 86 - we didn't have much snow probably why. Have strong recollections of Jan 87 there was a flu outbreak and lots of kids off school - except me. We were doing a weather project at the time and measured the max temps of -5 degrees for a number of days- don't think we had significant snow.

Unfortunately my more formative years aged 9-11 coincided with a run of poor snowless winters 87/88-89/90. Winter 90/91 therefore came with some relish, the snows of 8 Dec memorable it was a blizzard. Feb 91 was good but nothing special here, snowfall wise, we had a few inches at best, but good timing coinciding with school half term break, I was young enough (12) to still have that child like excitement, also remember the Thurs or Friday 7/8 Feb looking outside and seeing the snow coming down thick and fast and school having to close.

My teenage years were marked by a run of preety rubbish winters snowfall wise, though we did manage a decent winter in 93/94 - Feb 94 was very good for heavy snowfall, my last year at school (sixth form) 95/96 was excellent for snow and cold, the snows of Feb 96 not bettered since, and much better than anything the mid 80's brought.

Good to remember back.

As I've been typing the snow is turning more moderate now - might have to take a walk soon.

[captaincroc]

Snowing here, ground was wet but snow weirdly not as wet as I would have thought. I reckon it will stick when/if it gets heavier.

[dodge]

5 minutes ago, northwestsnow said:

that sounds brill !!

Got to be honest tho , as posted above, anyone beyond 44 (my age) will recall very well how their fondness of snow began- as a child there was something magical about it, and it was fun, really it does spark good memories for me anyway.

Jan 1987 was a funny one

I'm just a few years under your tally, I do have memories of the 80's snowfalls...having to put your mittens and wet socks on the cast iron radiators when you arrived at infant school.  Also had to change out of your wet shoes into plimsolls, it was a requirement that you left a pair of 'indoor' footwear at school to transfer into, when the snowy cold winter months came.  Good old days.  Magic memories.

[damianslaw]

6 minutes ago, Interitus said:

Interesting looking at the variation along the length of Windermere, not much in the way of snow at Lakeside on the southern end, but snow falling at Bowness and settling at Ambleside on the northern end (webcams here https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/ambleside-webcam)

Yes there is often a marked temp gradient as you move north along Lake Windermere, by the time you hit Windermere, there can be a 2 degree drop, we tend to be on the right side of the boundary between sleety wet snow and heavy proper snow. Same when you travel east along A591/A590, snow suddenly disappears once past Staveley, I think the high ground just to our west helps alot - it aids enough cooling to turn precipitation to snow, and we are far enough west to ensure it stays heavy - often Kendal misses out before precipitation tends to be lighter.

 

[severe snowstorm]

1 minute ago, markw2680 said:

They stick in my mind too I was only about 10 but they was quality, I remember seeing lightening on the night of one of them too. Boy I wish we could have that again

Yes, I was a similar age. I would be interested to know if anyone has any actual depth reports from those times? I'm sure we must have had at least 18 inches on both occasions. Happy times!

[Stratocumulus perlucidus]

Gone breezy here

[Weather-history]

5 minutes ago, northwestsnow said:

.

Jan 1987 was a funny one, i was oblivious to the mayhem down south but i do recall waking up one morning for school and noticing the ground was absolutely frozen solid, and then lightest of snow began to fall, and every single flake stuck instantly.

 

 

January 1987, I remember snow flurries falling from a clear sky on the Sunday, further snow showers on the Monday, drier Tuesday after a overnight snow cover. Snowed all Wednesday morning which left a decent covering. 

As for January 1985, I remember the two  breakdowns both on consecutive Sundays. The first one gave a covering but by that evening, it had all thawed away. The following Sunday, I could see the sleet odd wet snowflake falling.

February 1985 stands out in my mind. I went to school with rain falling and you could see it getting sleetier and sleetier at each break time. The ground was wet but when I went home, it was snowing and everywhere was covered and the wind had got up. 

The winter that will always stand out for me is 2009-10. 

[SP1986]

Rain has a sleety element to it now it's heavier. It couldn't be could it?

[markw2680]

4 minutes ago, Dexter said:

Yes, I was a similar age. I would be interested to know if anyone has any actual depth reports from those times? I'm sure we must have had at least 18 inches on both occasions. Happy times!

I remember one occasion had really deep drifts I just seem to remember it was about a foot both times

[Interitus]

2 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Yes there is often a marked temp gradient as you move north along Lake Windermere, by the time you hit Windermere, there can be a 2 degree drop, we tend to be on the right side of the boundary between sleety wet snow and heavy proper snow. Same when you travel east along A591/A590, snow suddenly disappears once past Staveley, I think the high ground just to our west helps alot - it aids enough cooling to turn precipitation to snow, and we are far enough west to ensure it stays heavy - often Kendal misses out before precipitation tends to be lighter.

 

That's the thing as seen on the Little Langdale webcam, they often have snow when other locations at a similar altitude don't with frontal systems from the west because the hills help trap a cold boundary layer, at least to start with.

[severe snowstorm]

1 minute ago, Weather-history said:

January 1987, I remember snow flurries falling from a clear sky on the Sunday, further snow showers on the Monday, drier Tuesday after a overnight snow cover. Snowed all Wednesday morning which left a decent covering. 

As for January 1985, I remember the two  breakdowns both on consecutive Sundays. The first one gave a covering but by that evening, it had all thawed away. The following Sunday, I could see the sleet odd wet snowflake falling.

February 1985 stands out in my mind. I went to school with rain falling and you could see it getting sleetier and sleetier at each break time. The ground was wet but when I went home, it was snowing and everywhere was covered and the wind had got up. 

The winter that will always stand out for me is 2009-10. 

2009-10 was great here. I remember we had a couple of falls in December, giving us 5 inches, then the amazing Jan snowfall, when we got nearly a foot of snow. Then it was all repeated in November, when we got 8 inches. Oh to have another year like that again! Probably won't happen again like that in my lifetime.

[SP1986]

Snowing now after a quick transition.. not going to settle at this rate though. Like dandruff floating around.

Edit there is still rain mixed in but it's getting heavier

Edited January 21, 2018 by SP1986

[severe snowstorm]

4 minutes ago, markw2680 said:

I remember one occasion had really deep drifts I just seem to remember it was about a foot both times

The other thing I remember is everyone out shovelling snow off the road each time. Great community spirit. Just don't think it would be like that nowadays, sadly.

[Chris.R]

6 minutes ago, SP1986 said:

Snowing now after a quick transition.. not going to settle at this rate though. Like dandruff floating around.

Edit there is still rain mixed in but it's getting heavier

Wow nothing here yet. Well done 

Edited January 21, 2018 by Chris.R

[chris78]

Rain here, very light. A look at the NW precipitation type radar, must be a familiar site to us west coasters.  Many of the snow memories described above have looked exactly today's radar here, snow within touching distance but not quite.   I think if you live here you shouldn't be looking for snow in the models or forecasts but deep cold ice day type weather, that's the only way we can get sticking snow isn't it?

[karyo]

7 minutes ago, SP1986 said:

Snowing now after a quick transition.. not going to settle at this rate though. Like dandruff floating around.

Edit there is still rain mixed in but it's getting heavier

Surprising that it is wintry where you are. 

[markw2680]

6 minutes ago, Dexter said:

The other thing I remember is everyone out shovelling snow off the road each time. Great community spirit. Just don't think it would be like that nowadays, sadly.

Would more likely be clearing flood water than snow these days unfortunately