Kent, Home counties and south London general weather discussion 25/02/2018 onwards

[Lauren]

7 minutes ago, ajkwilson said:

Already had the other half calling in tears... Sheet ice in Tunbridge Wells....Slipped and smashed the back of her head and she was in boots!..... not safe out there at all

If she's hit the back of her head, I'd get it checked by a medical professional just to be on safe side.

[Sidsnake]

Just now, Lauren said:

If she's hit the back of her head, I'd get it checked by a medical professional just to be on safe side.

Absolutely right advice.

[SnowBorder]

Judging by the new snow on the car roof and bonnet, I reckon we had 1-2 cm of snow overnight. Conditions now are a wintry mix of rain and sleet, albeit more rain.

[Memphis snow]

AA traffic website has crashed now the police are closing roads faster then they can get the alerts up.

[EML Network]

another day and the super computers fail...where is all this PPN then ?? lmfao what a joke according to the Met and the BBC is should be under a massive area of PPN by now which should be heading north into the UK. 

All I see is a thin band which is hardly moving. 

disassterous forecasting over the past few days by all agencies really. 

[tomp456]

No snow and no freezing rain. 

Please deliver one or the other, mother nature. 

 

(Maybe the outside chances of snow this afternoon along the coast as the 850 temps are forecast to go below freezing again, and the air temp is still below freezing - at least it is at the end of worthing pier with -1.3)

 

Looking at the radar in France there's nothing coming up! What's going on?!

Edited March 2, 2018 by tomp456

[Neilsouth]

OH DEAR

[ajkwilson]

3 minutes ago, Lauren said:

If she's hit the back of her head, I'd get it checked by a medical professional just to be on safe side.

I've said she needs to go to A&E to be seen to and her work said they would take her. She doesn't want to go but always better being safer than sorry. Cut her hands also.. Feel hopeless as in London 

[CK1981]

9 minutes ago, Come rain snow or shine said:

Tell them this - hot off the press from the latest met office vid this a.m.: in the south [Berks included], snow on and off throughout the day, expecially a bit later,  e.g. after 3 or 4 p.m. when it should be a proper band of snow, moving north. Yes, they might see the wind is an easterly/east north easterly, but the band will be moving north. The snowfall today might be light at times, could be moderate or heavy with that band. Tonight, might turn to rain or freezing rain, briefly, before stopping. Tell them to shove their apps into a snowman  ... oops snow person.  

Oh trust me, they’ve had my thoughts on today ??

[fluid dynamic]

12 minutes ago, Convergence said:

Two mates turned up on foot yesterday having got their cars properly stuck on the school run and were asking for assistance. The problem they have is they live on a lane that's steep, twisty and has virtually no traffic. I just managed to drive the first one out with the help of the two of them pushing but the other one was hopeless. It was interesting for me as my car is fitted with winter tyres and this was a similar car to mine but with "normal" tyres. The difference was absolutely incredible. On "normal" tyres it was almost impossible to do a 3 point turn on the flat and completely impossible to get up the slope on the packed snow and ice. My car in comparison was happily turning and reversing (even into the deep snow at the sides) without even spinning a wheel. Luckily I had a set of chains in the correct size for her car in the shed and set off back home to get them. Once again my car quite happily drove up the hill on the ice and bashed through a few drifts without any drama whatsoever.

We quickly fitted the chains to her car and I drove it back up the hill to her house. She followed in my car and was completely stunned by the difference. An hour of pushing, spinning and getting nowhere in her car, compared with just get in and drive normally in mine.

I've used winter tyres ever since working as a ski instructor in my younger days and even living down South now have enjoyed the extra grip, feel and confidence they give in frosty, icy and generally cold conditions ever since. This recent spell though has given me a chance to see what the latest winter tyres are like in proper icy and snowy conditions and even as a long time convert I've been completely gobsmacked at how good they really are. The lane opposite my house we've been using for sledging so as you can imagine, it's hard packed snow with sheet ice where the wheel tracks are and pretty steep. Not only can I drive up or down it completely without drama I can even stop, have a chat with pedestrian and then set off up the hill again without any issue whatsoever. Can't recommend them enough. 

And there's always the fall back of a set of chains in the boot should I encounter some really tricky conditions.

It's important to note also that I'm not talking about studded snow tyres (which are illegal to use in the UK), these are simply winter tyres with a tread pattern and rubber compound optimised for snow and ice.

For reference I'm driving a bog standard front wheel drive 15 year old Renault Scenic. The tyres are Continental WinterContact TS860 and I can't recommend them enough. I run the winter set on a spare set of alloys from a breakers yard but the other half (who simply commutes a few miles a day) has hers on all year around.

Completely agree, what an excellent post.

People out there blaming the authorities about getting stuck in ice and snow need to take a good look at themselves - Winter tyres really work. I got a set too and can drive around on snowy roads, ungritted, as does the rest of the world that gets snow.

[Lauren]

4 minutes ago, ajkwilson said:

I've said she needs to go to A&E to be seen to and her work said they would take her. She doesn't want to go but always better being safer than sorry. Cut her hands also.. Feel hopeless as in London 

Glad to hear it. Head injuries can be deceptive and often a lot of damage can 've there without realising. 

[stainesbloke]

Some light snow falling here.

[ajkwilson]

1 minute ago, Lauren said:

Glad to hear it. Head injuries can be deceptive and often a lot of damage can 've there without realising. 

Had one myself from Rugby and thought i was fine until later that night and had probably the worst headache ive ever had and turned out i had concussion. 

[Come rain snow or shine]

AA M25 etc map has yet to crash...  http://www.theaa.com/traffic-news/m25    Use the zoom out ["-"] bit to see the full map. 

[paget]

The Freezing rain sounds horrendous!

we have very light snow falling in Farnham, it looks a bit wet but definitely snow as I went and caught a bit!! 

Very windy here! 

Stay safe everything x 

[Come rain snow or shine]

1 minute ago, ajkwilson said:

Had one myself from Rugby and thought i was fine until later that night and had probably the worst headache ive ever had and turned out i had concussion. 

Yes, A&E visit is a MUST. Or a visit to her GP.

[snowblizzard]

Looking at the radar echoes, it still looks to me like any precipitation (which isn't anything significant at the moment) coming up from France is being deflected NW by the strong Easterly flow!

The beast really doesn't want to release it's grip! 

Edited March 2, 2018 by snowblizzard

[Neilsouth]

27 minutes ago, Memphis snow said:

Totally agree this is getting serious now. Nobody should be driving in this.

Agreed, i've pmd both the BBC Weather and the Met Office! A Red warning needs to be issued! - There's people falling over, cars crashing in to each other and worse! - Happening across kent right now

[Nick F]

25 minutes ago, Great Plum said:

Looks like it’s drizzling in Reigate - hoping it’s not freezing rain!

Been drizzle here near Croydon since I walked my son to school earlier, I suspect it's freezing drizzle, as temperatures are widely below freezing still in the SE. At least it's just drizzle, if turns to rain / heavy rain, then there will be problems as has been happening in Kent.

[paget]

Do we think this lot off France will make it to us?

i realise that’s an impossible question to answer! More retorical really!  

[NO LONGER POSTING]

Snow here now 

[Come rain snow or shine]

1 minute ago, paget said:

Do we think this lot off France will make it to us?

i realise that’s an impossible question to answer! More retorical really!  

It's expected to build and move north/north west, with, later this afternoon, a band of snow affecting all the south, surrey included. Tonight it might turn to freezing rain.

[Thinon]

2 minutes ago, snowblizzard said:

Looking at the radar echoes, it still looks to me like any precipitation (which isn't anything significant at the moment) coming up from France is being deflected NW by the strong Easterly flow!

The beast really doesn't want to release it's grip! 

Wasn't the precipitation supposed to hit us around 2-3pm? Let see how the radar develops in the next 2 hours. Hoping for one final flourish but not expecting.

[mulzy]

Drizzle here

-1.5C

[CK1981]

The radar still looks very uninspiring.

Hopefully things will pep up soon!