Midlands Regional Discussion

[Dancerwithwings]

1 hour ago, BleakMidwinter said:

This always raises a wry smile for me... I lived in Edinburgh then, which has its own totally separate climate. Dozens of times a year the entire UK is bathed in sunshine, except Edinburgh which has one day of sun followed by three days of thick white clammy white 'haar', the old sea-mist... and when the rest of the country has rain, Edinburgh is dry, or vice versa...

We didn't have ANY snow in the winter of 2009-10 which saw that famed satellite photo of a white UK - if you look closely, yep, that little green dot was Edinburgh, snowless...! A few flakes fell but landed on sopping wet ground and melted on contact... 

Meanwhile, Nov 2010, yes, the whole of the UK got snow - but Edinburgh kept on having snow. It snowed every single day for about six weeks. I stopped bothering to measure it at 20 inches! the number of mornings I got up and had 4-6 inches again to shovel or sweep out of the front path and off the birdbath (we got clever after a few days and took to sweeping the birdbath empty at twilight - as it was we had to use the kettle to thaw the ice to re-fill it 2-3 times a day). 
That was the year everyone sneered when the Army had to be called in to clear the pavements - but it wasn't a bit of snow: it was 8-10 inches of compacted trodden snow built up over weeks and weeks. The buses stopped for huge swathes of the city. The post-boxes were officially sealed up as the Royal Mail was unable to get to them to collect post (although the brilliant Parcels deport near my folks' house kept on delivering...). Amazon, Sainsbury's, Tesco, all stopped accepting online orders for all of Scotland, before Christmas, thanks for that, guys. 
It genuinely was Snowmageddon - and it had happened my first winter in Edinburgh in 1979-80, aged ten... but the rest of Britain only had the first bit of snow, not the astonishing continuing snow...

By the way - if ever you do get six weeks of snow, be prepared for surprisingly low heating bills. Twenty inches of snow on the roof makes a wonderful layer of extra insulation!

6 weeks of snow WOW!!! ...so so jealous....why the hell did you move down here? Who needs Lapland.....Live in Edinburgh that’s what I say

[Dancerwithwings]

21 minutes ago, DiagonalRedLine said:

Was a brief shower here recently, but otherwise been dry. Did feel pleasant out in the sun. 

There was some interesting cloud structures of the shower when walking through Sheldon Country Park. 

Seen all that myself on the way home from work, I was going to take some pics myself but my battery went.....  

[BlueHedgehog074]

3 hours ago, Dancerwithwings said:

Seen all that myself on the way home from work, I was going to take some pics myself but my battery went.....  

Ar, that’s just typical! Darn phone batteries! 

[Midlands Ice Age]

4 hours ago, DiagonalRedLine said:

Was a brief shower here recently, but otherwise been dry. Did feel pleasant out in the sun. 

There was some interesting cloud structures of the shower when walking through Sheldon Country Park. 

Fantastic DRL... I had my head down trying to get the leaves up, before dusk.

Lovely cloudscapes.

MIA

 

[BlueHedgehog074]

39 minutes ago, Midlands Ice Age said:

Fantastic DRL... I had my head down trying to get the leaves up, before dusk.

Lovely cloudscapes.

MIA

 

Thanks Midlands Ice Age!

Ar man, hopefully another time for you. Was pretty incredible to see such structures. 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

1 hour ago, DiagonalRedLine said:

Ar, that’s just typical! Darn phone batteries! 

my phone battery is cool! 10 days lasts

[BlueHedgehog074]

4 minutes ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

my phone battery is cool! 10 days lasts

Ar lucky! 

If only iPhones, Samsungs etc could last that long, lol.

[Dancerwithwings]

9 hours ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

my phone battery is cool! 10 days lasts

Blimey! Not implying anything but does it get used

[Dancerwithwings]

Morning all,  things are defo looking good for coldies, all the major models are going for northern blocking in 7 days inwhich in time will be bring us winter   Good bye autumn 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

1 hour ago, Dancerwithwings said:

Blimey! Not implying anything but does it get used

Yeah, got a 6310i!!!!!!!!!

[I remember Atlantic 252]

32 minutes ago, Dancerwithwings said:

Morning all,  things are defo looking good for coldies, all the major models are going for northern blocking in 7 days inwhich in time will be bring us winter   Good bye autumn 

too early yet, can tell by the weak cold pool, need to be Jan to March really, 12 weeks too early, it would have been true beast, -15 uppers

 

[Dancerwithwings]

22 minutes ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

too early yet, can tell by the weak cold pool, need to be Jan to March really, 12 weeks too early, it would have been true beast, -15 uppers

 

I never mentioned anything about cool/cold pooling, it’s the northern blocking that interest me.... so much potential can come from this and the models are truly showing some great runs this morning 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

1 hour ago, Dancerwithwings said:

I never mentioned anything about cool/cold pooling, it’s the northern blocking that interest me.... so much potential can come from this and the models are truly showing some great runs this morning 

not you, but the model thread, this dosen't interest me at all, don't like 5 degrees and rain, it's autumn, need to be 8+ weeks further on like this, 

 

 

[BlueHedgehog074]

After the great disappointment of 2012 with the failed ECMWF Easterly, being cautious for now. 

Some pretty charts though, despite snow looking marginal. However, charts such as those from the 00Z ECMWF would probably be cold enough for some sleety stuff to this level.

[Dancerwithwings]

59 minutes ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

not you, but the model thread, this dosen't interest me at all, don't like 5 degrees and rain, it's autumn, need to be 8+ weeks further on like this, 

 

 

Yes I can see your point, but the discussion is about here and now or in the next couple of weeks say, not about in the next 8 weeks, my point is, the way things are going it could be another 2010 (back then was clearly special and this could hopefully happen again)

[Methuselah]

Can we have less of the 'front loaded' nonsense, please? This winter is destined to be a four-month-long winter wonderland!

[Polar Maritime]

10 minutes ago, Ed Stone said:

Can we have less of the 'front loaded' nonsense, please? This winter is destined to be a four-month-long winter wonderland!

Let's hope so Pete! ☺

[BleakMidwinter]

19 hours ago, Dancerwithwings said:

6 weeks of snow WOW!!! ...so so jealous....why the hell did you move down here? Who needs Lapland.....Live in Edinburgh that’s what I say

Haha - well no, it only happens every 30-odd years! It was a very infuriating wait - aged ten, I had snow to my thighs as i waded to school ecstatically - back in 1979 before Goretex, people jsut wore ordinary clothing but more of it, and I remember seeing a man in a three-piece pinstriped suit and bowler hat, with his brown leather briefcase strapped to his back with straps crossing over the front of his chest, and a red woollen knitted muffler, on his way to the office in suburban south Edinburgh - ON SKIS...! 

And in both 1979 and 2010-11, once the cold got established, so many men changed to wearing their drinking kilts for any journey. both winters I went out with the little wooden sledge looking for people to help, towing them and shopping home and enjoying myself hugely, and you'd be out for 2-3 hours and never see a moving vehicle, but more and more men in kilts and hiking boots. The women never seemed to get the message, though - I'd be in full skirts and petticoats and warm as toast and dead comfy, and they'd be in trousers shivering... there's a reason the kilt is worn so much in Scottish winters, it's fabulous insulation to have yards and yards of wool pleated round you! 

But Edinburgh really doesn't get much snow. Most winters, out of 35 years I lived there, there'd be an inch or so, two or three times, mostly gone in two days, and most often either none at all while the rest of the region turned white, or else it fell and melted on contact. Sea to North and East, hills to south and west... it's only in a specific ENE convective situation that Edinburgh gets very heavy snow, and that just doesn't happen often! As I say, 2010-11, and 1979-80, and apparently the 1978-79 was even snowier - but then people remembering back skip pretty much to 1963, which was snowy but not outstandingly so for Edinburgh, but mainly the "snow memories" goes straight from 1947 to 1978-80 and then 2010-11, so only a handful of winters out of 60 years...! 

Anyway, Telford last winter - that was completely amazing... on the Friday (7th Dec?) we got a NWerly "Cheshire Gap streamer" which dumped about ten inches in a single day at 35-40mph, so a serious blizzard (which I dragged my poor chap out into, bless him), and then on the Sunday we got the SWerly, totally unrelated weather system, which somehow penetrated this far up and gave us iirc another six inches - sixteen inches of snow in three days! It went by the Tuesday, though - but wow, it was fabulous! 
And we did well with the three Beasterlies later on into 2018 too... days and days of snow, lots of sunshine as well. 

 

[BleakMidwinter]

3 hours ago, I remember Atlantic 252 said:

Yeah, got a 6310i!!!!!!!!!

I've got a Nokia can't-remember-the-number, now 18 years old - but it's the modern one of the household as my chap has a Motorola that turns 20 next year! 

And yeah, battery charging is a weekly-or-so thing  And the phone contract is under £3/month  

 

[I remember Atlantic 252]

2 hours ago, Ed Stone said:

Can we have less of the 'front loaded' nonsense, please? This winter is destined to be a four-month-long winter wonderland!

Ay Ed, not keen on front loaded, perfect setup on models and sleet at best, it's Autumn

[MattStoke]

Absolutely despise mild and unsettled weather at this time of year. It’s a miserable, nuisance bore.

I will gladly grab next week’s chilly and settled conditions with both hands, with a pattern that may lead to more significant cold further down the line.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

deepest FI, but now we're talking! not like next weeks washout (tues)

[Dancerwithwings]

What’s this, first wintry pep for next week 

[MattStoke]

Maybe a little sleet/snow in some of the showers next week. Particularly by night and in places with elevation.

[Snowsie]

Nice to see the familiar names (I would say faces but have no clue what you all look like!) are still here. Here's hoping we get the wintry stuff moving in really soon! Looking forward to riding that 'will it won't it' rollercoaster with you all again this winter