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2018 Beast from the East - Post Mortem


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Posted
  • Location: Cork City(Southern Ireland)
  • Location: Cork City(Southern Ireland)

Well what an event for Ireland

Right on the south coast here near Cork we had the following

Lying snow 6 days

Minimum air temp Wed night of -7 confirmed by Cork airport 

2 ice days with the max on Thursday -2

Here it surpassed anything seen since 1963. Snowdrifts 7 feet deep and in general most places saw 25cm+. When you consider it's March truly memorable 

Edited by January Snowstorm
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Posted
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: severe storms,snow wind and ice
  • Location: Hoyland,barnsley,south yorkshire(134m asl)

It was a good cold spell but more notable with the wind and low temps,here anyway,but did not get much in the way of snow(a few inches) and therefore wasn't the best cold spell i have whitnessed,still,i am glad that a lot of people did rather well out of this and i am sure it will be talked about many a time:)

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Posted
  • Location: Crewe, Cheshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, storms and other extremes
  • Location: Crewe, Cheshire

I must say, I'm left scratching my head as to just what synoptic here will bring more than 2/3/4 inches of snow. I've personally only ever witnessed 10cm once in my lifetime here...Jan 2013 at about 10cm.

I just can't fathom how here is ever going to record more than that.

We had about an inch of snow here in this spell just gone. So talks of 5 foot drifts etc is completely alien to me.

Too far N for snow that affects the Midlands, too far S for snow that affects the NW of England, too far W and sheltered by the peaks from an E'ly. I'm stumped.

Edited by CreweCold
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Posted
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: January 1987 / July 2006
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL

More notable for the depth of cold here rather than the snowfall. We had a couple of inches on the ground - unusually, central London actual had more snow (4 inches). We did record three consecutive ice days though and a minimum of -9.6c late on Tuesday. 

More impressive was a run of 15 consecutive air frosts being recorded - an average minimum of -1.4c for Feb here. 

Edited by Radiating Dendrite
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Posted
  • Location: South Kilkenny, Ireland
  • Location: South Kilkenny, Ireland

Epic spell here in south east Ireland. 

Monday 26th Feb - snow flurries with frost early and late. Max temp + 2 degrees

Tuesday 27th - snow showers from mid morning and light covering by evening. Further snow showers overnight with good covering. Max Temp + 3 degrees by noon but colder later

Wednesday 28th - snow showers all day with accumulation although some thawing at times in sunny spells despite max temperature of - 2 degrees. Heavy prolonged snow showers overnight leaving deep covering

Thursday 01st March - another ice day with max temp  of - 2.5 degrees. Prolonged snow showers all day with deep lying snow and drifts. Dry for an hour later before blizzard moved in. Overnight blizzard leaving 10 foot drifts - crazy....

Friday 02nd  - snowed all day adding to already insane accumulations. Dry for 2 hours towards nightfall then snowed again for the night  Max temp - 1 degeees.

Saturday 03rd - snowed until 9am then rain and drizzle at times - thaw set in but still full deep snow cover. Max temp + 2 degrees

Sunday 04th - rain and drizzle at times with further thawing but still 80% snow cover by nightfall and large drifts. Max temp + 4 degrees

Monday 05th - cloudy with mist and fog until noon with further thawing but with 50% snow cover still in place by nightfall with drifts still lying in many places. Clear by nightfall with frost setting in. Max temp + 4.5 degrees 

Best spell for snow here since 1987 possibly 1982. Proved snow can fall, accumulate and remain on the ground even in late Feb / March in southern parts. However it was cloudy on most days except for Wednesday when there was some decent sunshine for 2 hours or so in the afternoon. On this day we had partial thawing during sunshine despite temps well below freezing and very low dew points. Moral of the story if you want snow this late in the season, hope the higher sun stays blocked by clouds as much as possible... .

Really enjoyed the build up to this spell and the expert anysis and posts in the mod (sometimes mad) thread, regionals and SSW threads. When the beast landed it made worthwhile all the early morning and late nights following models since November (and the previous several years) hoping that one of the Stella FI charts would come to fruition...It was even better to share it all with my fellow weather / snow addicts here on Netweather  

Bottled Snow

 

20180302_152233.jpg

Edited by Bottled Snow
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Posted
  • Location: Nr Chelmsford, Essex
  • Weather Preferences: Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and blizzards please!
  • Location: Nr Chelmsford, Essex
14 minutes ago, Bottled Snow said:

Thursday 01st March - another ice day with max temp  of - 2.5 degrees. Prolonged snow showers all day with deep lying snow and drifts. Dry for an hour later before blizzard moved in. Overnight blizzard leaving 10 foot drifts - crazy....

Wow, brilliant post Bottled Snow.  What I'd give to experience your Thursday 1 March!!!

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Posted
  • Location: South Kilkenny, Ireland
  • Location: South Kilkenny, Ireland
45 minutes ago, Ice Day said:

Wow, brilliant post Bottled Snow.  What I'd give to experience your Thursday 1 March!!!

Thanks Ice Day...

I stated in Ireland regional thread in build up to this freeze, that the charts reminded me of the Jan 1987 spell. That turned out to be the case but with an added blizzard bonus thrown in. The Jan 87 spell also ended here with cloudy skies and rain / drizzle thawing the lying snow over a few days. The blizzard of Jan 82 and the 2010 snowy spells were followed by many days of freezing, frosty and sunny weather. If I was being really greedy I would love a repeat of Jan 87 or this 2018 spell followed by cold frosty weather akin to 1982 or 2010, but I guess that would be really greedy beyond words ha ....

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On 3/4/2018 at 10:35, trickydicky said:

Prior to this recent cold spell the record low maximums for March were -4.6 (UK/Scotland) and -3.3 (England). Were either of these broken? 

 

As previously noted, Tredegar broke the UK record with -4.7°C (the maximum for the 1st was actually lower than this but the official maximum value runs 09-09h into the 2nd)

It is possible that the English record may have been broken, Pennerley in Shropshire for example only reached -3.7°C for the official time period - it was from hourly data but the temperature was well below the -3.3°C with the maximum occurring at the last hour.

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

There were exceptional blizzard like conditions for a short time but in this area the drifting and snowfall were just short of that of 2013.The maximums were definitely low but I am actually surprised that records have been broken.Minimums however are a long way off records although am not sure what the minimum record is for this season.

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

Epic drifts even on low ground seen today,only 1985 was the last time I`ve seen drifts like that down there,but these were bigger still to then.

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On 04/03/2018 at 22:22, January Snowstorm said:

Well what an event for Ireland

Right on the south coast here near Cork we had the following

Lying snow 6 days

Minimum air temp Wed night of -7 confirmed by Cork airport 

2 ice days with the max on Thursday -2

Here it surpassed anything seen since 1963. Snowdrifts 7 feet deep and in general most places saw 25cm+. When you consider it's March truly memorable 

I saw this in my twitter feed, massively heavy snow in Wexford last week.

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Posted
  • Location: Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland. 200m ASL.
  • Weather Preferences: Thundery summers, very snowy winters! Huge Atlantic Storms!
  • Location: Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland. 200m ASL.

Ended up with 15 INCHES! Most I've ever seen at once, and it's still lying now in abundance on the pavements especially. Constant sea effect streamers! It really was an amazing spell of weather, but the fact we ran out of bread and milk wasn't nice! :rofl:

I'll remember that spell for the rest of my life, the best one in terms of snowfall to date. 

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

A review of our long-range outlook for the recent cold snap

Quote

Various media reports have been commenting on our longer-range warnings in the run-up to the recent cold snap.

This period of severe weather was very well predicted and the first signs appeared around one month before the start, when we were able to offer broader advice about the likelihood of a cold signal. Our advice to government and the public ramped up in confidence and detail starting from the early signs in late January as events became clearer in our forecasts:

https://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2018/03/07/a-review-of-our-long-range-outlook-for-the-recent-cold-snap/

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Posted
  • Location: Fleet, Hampshire
  • Location: Fleet, Hampshire
On 04/03/2018 at 10:35, trickydicky said:

Prior to this recent cold spell the record low maximums for March were -4.6 (UK/Scotland) and -3.3 (England). Were either of these broken? 

 

As for here ive had 5 days of falling snow, 6 days lying, 3 ice days, around 8-9 inches total snow and incredibly strong winds. My overall impression of the cold spell is that it wasn’t that extreme in terms of temperatures (low of around -9 on Wednesday morning), indeed there’s already been 2 spells this winter when night time minimums were lower. But the strength of the wind and windchill made it feel much more extreme than a normal cold frosty morning, and stripped a lot of the snow off the ground. Also there has been pretty much no sun here since Tuesday afternoon. I would say it’s been an interesting spell of pretty hostile weather, but it loses out to Dec/Jan 09/10 and December 10 in terms of duration and night time temperature extremes, December 95 in terms of generally extreme low temperatures and February 96 in terms of snow amounts. 

Re the temps; these were real temps under cloudy and windy skies if you know what I mean. Other lows quoted probably under clear calm skies?

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Posted
  • Location: East Lothian
  • Weather Preferences: Not too hot, excitement of snow, a hoolie
  • Location: East Lothian

Within this event (Met Office data)

lowest mins Mickleham Surry -11.8C   S.Farnborough , Hants   -11.7C  Weds 28th Feb

 

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Posted
  • Location: Fleet, Hampshire
  • Location: Fleet, Hampshire

My records for tilehurst, Reading (90 metres asl)

Mon 26th

Mostly Cloudy, snow flurries throughout.

No Lying Snow

Max temp 2.2.

Tues 27th

Sunny morn. Increasingly heavy snow showers throughout afternoon.

Dusting, melting in Sun covering after dusk

Max Temp 1.2 @ 12pm,

-1.5 by 1:30pm

-3.0 by 3pm

-5.4 by 7pm

Low of -6.8 under mainly clear skies

Weds 28th

Dry and sunny till late afternoon then 2 heavy snow showers

Max -1.5

-3.1 by 3pm

-5.2 by 5pm

Remaining between -5 and -6 under cloudy skies overnight and windy

Thurs 1st

Cloudy with heavy snow am, 1 to 2 inches blowing around. Dry till 3pm and then heavy snow and blizzard like conditions till 7pm. 2-4 inches but hard to tell as blowing around all over the place.

Max – 2.4 @12:30pm

-3.8 by 4pm

-5.1 by 7pm and remained so throu most of the night

Fri 2nd

Light snow am. Snow moderate to heavy lasting from lunchtime till around 6pm. Wind dropped and an extra inch or 2. In back garden where level measured at 4.5 inches. Obviously some blowing/sublimation/compacting over the few days. Brief snow beginning again at 8pm, but felling much wetter and relatively warm.

-3 at lunchtime

-1.8 by 8pm

-0.8 by midnight. Overnight game over with waking to drip drip on Saturday morning

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Posted
  • Location: Nr Chelmsford, Essex
  • Weather Preferences: Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and blizzards please!
  • Location: Nr Chelmsford, Essex
9 hours ago, Jo Farrow said:

Within this event (Met Office data)

lowest mins Mickleham Surry -11.8C   S.Farnborough , Hants   -11.7C  Weds 28th Feb

 

Impressive temps for southern England on the eve of March.  It would have been interesting how cold conditions would have been had there been slack winds with the associated cold uppers?

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Posted
  • Location: Hayward’s Heath - home, Brighton/East Grinstead - work.
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and storms
  • Location: Hayward’s Heath - home, Brighton/East Grinstead - work.

As medium range forecasting goes, this cold spell was successful, significant and noteworthy. Firstly to achieve such low 850 temps at the end of winter and start of spring was a rare thing indeed. Not everyone achieved the snow amounts that they would have liked from this cold pool, but significantly a number did, we had the red warnings, and deliverance of snow in areas that it is unusual to see (think Scilly Isles, the far SW and Ireland).

For once a SSW delivered big style, and, with the nature of the split vortex any medium range forecaster could see it coming from a mile away. For me, even though I didn't receive the amount of snow that I wished for, the low temps, strength of the bitter wind and ice days more than made up for that.

So, very notable for me, because it was another time that concentrating on the strat paid dividends in the trop. Normally, we see the VI of the strat verifying well with mild westerlies in a strong jet stream so it was nice to see the reverse occur again.

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Posted
  • Location: Lower Brynamman, nr Ammanford, 160-170m a.s.l.
  • Location: Lower Brynamman, nr Ammanford, 160-170m a.s.l.

Not actually that much of an event in central London (apart from all the burst water mains that haven't yet been fixed) and notable chiefly for being in March. It would be interesting to see if knowledge about sudden stratospheric warming could explain in hindsight more notable cold periods that occurred before SSW was understood, for instance, early 1991 (-15 °C in Sussex overnight for several days) or even the winters of 2010-2013.

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Posted
  • Location: Rotherhithe, 5.8M ASL
  • Location: Rotherhithe, 5.8M ASL
7 minutes ago, Crepuscular Ray said:

Not actually that much of an event in central London (apart from all the burst water mains that haven't yet been fixed) and notable chiefly for being in March. It would be interesting to see if knowledge about sudden stratospheric warming could explain in hindsight more notable cold periods that occurred before SSW was understood, for instance, early 1991 (-15 °C in Sussex overnight for several days) or even the winters of 2010-2013.

Are you having a laugh? I’m pretty central and it was memorable for cold and snow. Unusually central parts of London had most snow over week I had 20cm but much sublimated and early in week it thawed. 

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Posted
  • Location: Ouse Valley, N. Bedfordshire. 48m asl.
  • Location: Ouse Valley, N. Bedfordshire. 48m asl.

Produced 2 interesting days here which is a bit disappointing. Drifts on some country roads were cool to see. I didn’t ever feel that cold, we didn’t get much wind so apart from a few hours on Thursday it was not bad being outside.

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