What is the longest time you`ve been cut off from snowdrifts.

[Snowyowl9]

How many times have you been unable to drive because of snowdrifts blocking your roads,depending where you live of course,if you live by a main A road you won`t have hardly any.

A rating system here of past classic snow events and blocked lanes,longest we`ve been blocked in is close to 7 days and that was recently March 2018 times have changed as in the council can`t tackle big snowdrifts like in the past.

1978 ??? how far north that reached would like to know TM`s data for that but your slighly further north and much more east of here.

1979 January and february the roads were drifted in higher up usual place 8/10...a NEly is sheltered here,not east/SEly catches.

March 1979....

April 1981 can`t remember that event,regional locations vary so much in these setup.

January 1982 a 9/10 deepest snow blizzards not lasting too long.

January 1984 I was in school so roads were clear enough.

January 1985 Remember the powdery drifting later in the day from the NE on a sunny day as the wind picked up during the day,can`t remember anything else.

February 1985 a definate 10/10 number 1 blocked everywhere,we were blocked in the longest during the golden era about 5 days,made a comeback in recent years.

February 1986 a 6/10 lanes were usually passable.

April 1986 was passable

January 1987 wasn`t too much of an issue either 7/10

March 1987 same as april.

December 1990.. 6/10.

February 1991.. 6/10.

February 1994.. 4/10

March 1995.. 2/10

December 1995.. 3/10.

January 1996.  3/10

February 1996.. 3/10

November 1996.. 5/10

January 1997.. 2/10

April 1998.. 7/10

April 2000.. 6/10

March 2001.. 5/10

Big gap.

February 2006.. 4/10

March 2006.. 2/10

February 2007.. 3/10

February 2009.. 2/10

December 2009.. 2/10

January 2010.. 6/10

February 2010.. 1/10

November/december 2010 2/10

April 2012.. 3/10

January 2013.. 5/10

March 2013.. 9/10  five days the lane was blocked.

December 2017.. 4/10

February 2018.. 2/10

March 2018.. 10/10

 

Edited February 11, 2019 by Snowyowl9

[danm]

Living in suburban London my entire life - never! 

[BruenSryan]

March 2018 - 2 to 4 March. Drifts from Storm Emma were huge and made my place impassable for the days named. The roads were cleared to allow driving on Monday 5th for the new working week but large snow depths remained for a good week on the side of roads.

[Don]

1 day in February 2009 and 3 days in January 2010.

[Isle of Harry]

The week ending November and beginning of December 2010. 

[cheese]

Never.

[philglossop]

Even in surburban Plymstock, as my parents lived on a hill it’s only happened 3 times in my life to my knowledge and that’s In December 1978, January 1986 and February 1985.

 

February 85 was the big one - no cars came up the road for nearly a week and as a result the road got a grit bin from the council hence why I think it’s not happened since majorly since- bar that pasting in Jan 86

Edited February 16, 2019 by philglossop

[Essan]

I know in winter 81/82 I had to walk across the fields to get to the nearest village from whence we caught the bus to school each day, because the mile long lane to where we lived on the Essex coast was blacked by snowdrifts.

These days the school would have been closed for 2 months so we wouldn't have had to!


Only time snowdrifts have blocked me in.  Mind, apart from last March (which, as I was in bed with 'flu, I have only vague recollection of actually happening) I haven't even seen a proper snowdrift since I left Suffolk in the early 1990s and moved to Glos and then Worcs.

 

[hillbilly]

Where do I start?

From my memory being a kid in the 70s,1979 was in a league of its own.We lived on a farm at 340m and our lane was 1/3rd of a mile long.Dad fortunately as was common left the car almost 2 miles down in the valley so he could get about.It took us a week to dig the lane out by hand but had to wait for a second week for the council to clear the roads to our lane.Back then they used 2wd jcbs which couldn't tturn to tip the snow over walls on these narrow lanes.The farms further along had to wait much longer for a snowblower to arrive which the council had just bought from Sweden. Since the 80s however snow is cleared much more effectively as every farmer has a huge 4x4 tractor and many have blowers so that will never happen again.Many winters I remember since such as 1981/82,,1984,1986,1990 and 1995 we used to drive through the fields and clear the roads later as we did also in 1979 when it filled the road in again.Dad used to say that in winters of his youth that was the only way they got about and winters such as 1963 and 1947 the roads were inpassable for many weeks.

[Snowyowl9]

Of course in winters 1947 and 63 people use to dig out by hand.

February 1996 I rated a bit low more like 5/10.

Bigger tractors these days can plough through,but powdery snow is always way more difficult for grip up a hill no grip at all and ice underneath.

The thing about February 1985 feb 86 late march 2013 and last years beast it was severe drifting blizzards for days on end filling the roads faster than they could cleared out,pointless clearing roads when its like that.  

 

Edited February 17, 2019 by Snowyowl9

[cheeky_monkey]

On 12/02/2019 at 13:39, BruenSryan said:

March 2018 - 2 to 4 March. Drifts from Storm Emma were huge and made my place impassable for the days named. The roads were cleared to allow driving on Monday 5th for the new working week but large snow depths remained for a good week on the side of roads.

when you say huge?...can only see a couple inches here..

[lassie23]

We had half an hour of sleet once which made the pathway slippy, so we were unable to leave the house for 45 minutes

[MATTWOLVES 3]

2 minutes ago, lassie23 said:

We had half an hour of sleet once which made the pathway slippy, so we were unable to leave the house for 45 minutes

Lol, and I bet it made the 6 o'clock news!

[Wimbledon88]

15 minutes ago, lassie23 said:

We had half an hour of sleet once which made the pathway slippy, so we were unable to leave the house for 45 minutes

Is that the great sleet storm of January 31st just gone? Oh the chaos.  

In fairness, even in the tropics of SW London I was unable to get my motor out of the side road for the first week in February 2009.Got 2/3 foot drifts then. 

 

[Snowyowl9]

1991-92 really was in a league of its own only year I didn`t see any drifting of any kind even off a roof.

Edit:yes it did.

0

I make that a zero then,I do remember some drifting from a SEly 1987-88 but 1988-89 could be a contender but then april came to the rescue.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Snowyowl9

[Dunstable Snow]

1st January 1979 following a severe blizzard on New Years Eve 1978. I was growing up in Folkestone at the time. The snow started on Saturday 30th December and became heavy overnight into new years eve. It snowed on and off for much of new years eve but from evening onwards the snow was blizzard like and the heaviest I have seen. The depth was up to my knees ( I was 14 at the time) on new years day and nothing moved. Happy days !

[BruenSryan]

4 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

when you say huge?...can only see a couple inches here..

That was the road near me on the Friday night and the best quality pic I took of it. The pics I took don't give justification to the amount of snow on the road though, was difficult to take one. 

Kildare was a different matter however.....

Edited February 20, 2019 by BruenSryan

[Snowyowl9]

On ‎12‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 20:39, BruenSryan said:

March 2018 - 2 to 4 March. Drifts from Storm Emma were huge and made my place impassable for the days named. The roads were cleared to allow driving on Monday 5th for the new working week but large snow depths remained for a good week on the side of roads.

 

I thought when I saw March 2013 that was the biggest drifts and drifting since February 1985,but last march topped even that.

March 2013 a one in a 50 year event well it happened 5 years later,1 in 100 in event.

The charts speak for themselves.

[cheeky_monkey]

2 hours ago, BruenSryan said:

That was the road near me on the Friday night and the best quality pic I took of it. The pics I took don't give justification to the amount of snow on the road though, was difficult to take one. 

Kildare was a different matter however.....

Looks like a typical Sunday morning for Edmonton in June 

[BruenSryan]

1 hour ago, cheeky_monkey said:

Looks like a typical Sunday morning for Edmonton in June 

Very different world in Canada to Ireland 

[Snowyowl9]

Coldest maxes with biting easterly winds and snow drifting January 1982 and January 1987 without a doubt.

 

[Chesil View]

7days Feb1978 worth Matravers not bad for a village right on the channel coast

[Dorsetbred]

Even in '63 we weren't cut-off down here, in fact I've never been cut-off by snow drifts, but I guess there's always a first time for everything..

[Wold Topper]

48hrs here on the wolds, i was 13, so i think it would be 89' if memory serves? You could get through to our nearest village/ town in a big tractor tho, i remember getting sent home from Filey school at lunch time to ensure we got home,

[Coopsy]

In Canada - about 6 hours after 70cm fell in 2008 but then the snow plows came through. 

In England - I think it was a fair few days on the north downs during jan 1987 after about 70/75cm fell. (Was just a kid but remember locals trying to dig out of our road)