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Winter so far-comments?


johnholmes

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Posted
  • Location: Bewdley, Worcs; 90m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Snow and sun in winter; warm and bright otherwise; not a big storm fan
  • Location: Bewdley, Worcs; 90m asl

Bad bit out of the way first: for the second winter running we have had some very heavy rainfall (here and upstream on the Severn) leading to some quite severe flooding in Worcestershire the last couple of days, which must be horrendous for people who have to cope with that and the current wider situation. My heart really goes out to them.

As far as sunshine goes, this is subjective as I don't record it accurately and I'm not outside much anyway, but it's felt like a dull winter. The odd day with bright sunshine and cold, crisp air has been very welcome, but there haven't been very many. Dull murk has been around quite a lot, as often seems to be the way.

From a snow perspective, though, it's been a revelation so far compared with last winter. In 2019/20 we had not a single cm of the stuff, just a couple of brief sleety showers. So far this winter: one 9 cm fall (late Dec), one 7 cm one (today), a couple more thin coverings and days when flurries here and there happened on and off more or less at will. No really severe frosts (min about -5 °C) though tonight may be worth watching if the skies clear over full snow cover.

Edited by Arctic Hare
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Posted
  • Location: Stourbridge, 100m asl
  • Location: Stourbridge, 100m asl
1 hour ago, Arctic Hare said:

 

From a snow perspective, though, it's been a revelation so far compared with last winter. In 2019/20 we had not a single cm of the stuff, just a couple of brief sleety showers. So far this winter: one 9 cm fall (late Dec), one 7 cm one (today), a couple more thin coverings and days when flurries here and there happened on and off more or less at will. No really severe frosts (min about -5 °C) though tonight may be worth watching if the skies clear over full snow cover.

Very similar to here on the snow front. Blinking chuffed with what we've had in the last month. Day 8 of full lying snow cover (at least 4cm lying) and been a marvel in the west midlands, we have been spoilt rotten. 

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Posted
  • Location: Horsham
  • Weather Preferences: Anything non-disruptive, and some variety
  • Location: Horsham

Cold, dull and virtually snowless. I don't count one morning with a dusting of snow that isn't enough to give a complete covering thawing in an hour a significant or exciting snow event. At least the daylight hours are noticably increasing now.

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Posted
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset
  • Weather Preferences: Continental winters & summers.
  • Location: Cleeve, North Somerset

Better than many other winters (mainly because so many have been poor), but at face value nothing unusual and rather mediocre overall. Some decent frosts and nice to see winter fog, as well as some transient snow over the weekend. So far it hasn't been a memorable one here and 2018/19 for snow given the deluge we had at the end of Jan / start of Feb. If we can get a decent dumping that lasts for a few days before mid Feb that would help bump up the winter's rating.

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Posted
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm, sunny summers
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland

Better than many I've seen at the least with a fair amount of frosts in Dublin, 6 days of snow falling (1 of which was mainly sleet) and all the other 5 days had snow laying but each of them a dusting at best with the exception of one 4-5cm on Sunday just gone. 

If winters weren't so poor in past decade since 2013 then this winter wouldn't feel in any way special or memorable at all but the fact that it has occurred that way, it has been ok. 

It's been relatively wet but nothing like some of those poor winters such as 2013-14, 2015-16 or 2019-20.

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Posted
  • Location: Morecambe
  • Location: Morecambe

Average here, although we had a good spell of frosty weather with a little snow in January it does feel a little underwhelming. None of the synotopics has been mouth watering, we have not had uppers of below - 8 for any significant amount of time  and most of the snow events have come from slack events so blizzards have not occurred either. 

That said the snow event that affected Yorkshire with a stalling weather front will be memorable for them especially when the Met Office and other models kept indicating it willl head southwards and it didn't and just fizzled and very quickly died out. 

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Posted
  • Location: Brockham, near Dorking, Surrey. 75m ASL.
  • Location: Brockham, near Dorking, Surrey. 75m ASL.

The most noteworthy element here in Surrey (we're at 75m) has been the very rapid snow accumulation on the morning of the 24th January - 12cm in 90 minutes.  The snow lay on the ground for three days, including the 25th being a rare cloudless day with snow lying.   However, I did notice that several rain 'events' were only not snow events becasuse the North Sea has been around 2C warmer than average this winter and a number of NE wind scenarios have therefore been affected.  Also of interest is the fact that there was hardly an air frost at all before Christmas here, despite many clear nights.  

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Posted
  • Location: Brockham, near Dorking, Surrey. 75m ASL.
  • Location: Brockham, near Dorking, Surrey. 75m ASL.
On 26/01/2021 at 14:45, al78 said:

Cold, dull and virtually snowless. I don't count one morning with a dusting of snow that isn't enough to give a complete covering thawing in an hour a significant or exciting snow event. At least the daylight hours are noticably increasing now.

That makes an interesting comparison to here (Brockham, Dorking), about 15 miles north of you, when we had three days of snow cover from a starting depth of 12cm on 24th January.   A little extra height may have made a difference, too.  I took a Met Office screenshot of the snow cover on the clear day of the 25th - almost all the white areas in southern England were snow cover, and it shows the distribution quite well. 

 

Screenshot 2021-01-25 at 10.20.28.png

Edited by Ian Docwra
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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

GFS6z aside it looks like I'll hit 10 falling snow days this week.

Would be interesting to compare to Newcastle, Nottingham and Manchester.

Edited by summer blizzard
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Posted
  • Location: Manchester
  • Location: Manchester
8 minutes ago, summer blizzard said:

GFS6z aside it looks like I'll hit 10 falling snow days this week.

Would be interesting to compare to Newcastle, Nottingham and Manchester.

Up to 1st Feb, i've had 9 falling snow days, 9 more than last year

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
24 minutes ago, Frigid said:

Up to 1st Feb, i've had 9 falling snow days, 9 more than last year

Lattitude seems to have been the deciding factor Vs the south then rather than marginality.

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Posted
  • Location: Hampstead / Cambridge
  • Location: Hampstead / Cambridge

Negative IMBY comment: So near yet so far. Late December, early and late January (and possibly - based on GFS 06Z alone - early February), were all the wrong side of marginal for me, resulting in tons of rain when just a few tweaks here and there and we'd have been buried multiple times. This resulted in missed frontal events, convective events and showery activity. It's brought home how difficult it is to snow properly here in Cambridge - often slightly too far inland to benefit from North Sea convection, too far East to really benefit from frontal systems and usually too far south to catch Northerly showers. A tight spot. 

Positive IMBY comment: We've seen snow falling and settling 3 times, albeit to a combined maximum of a miserable 2-3cms. That in itself is more noteworthy than almost any winter since 2012/13 with the exception of the 2018 BFTE which gave 4cms here. More could be to come. 

Positive non IMBY comment: We've seen again that the overarching synoptics, even in this age of accelerated global warming, can be incredibly conducive to widespread snow in the UK with some amazing falls in the North of the country. On top of 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2018 that's positive to see and encouraging as we go into solar minimum territory and (hopefully) eQBO etc. We're running at an average December and a below average January. That is a rarity. 

In a nutshell,  deeply frustrating for me and many others in the south so far but that compares with an encouraging picture overall and a high quality return for the North. Latitude and Altitude have won the day so far this winter. 

EDIT: Writing this I also realise that probably about 75% of the (local) UK snow I've seen in my lifetime was recorded between Feb 2009 and March 2013. Basically 4 out of 29 years (Feb 09, Dec 09, Jan 10, Dec 10, Jan 13 and March 13 to be precise). It tells you something about how spoilt we were then and how expectations have been somewhat warped! 

 

Edited by ITSY
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Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)

has been exceptionally dry here..had no real snowfall since November 9th (only winter storm of the season)..December had no snow at all.. January just 3 very light dustings..not been cold either..so overall a 7/10 thus far.

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

Been pretty pour despite some low temperatures just two days with snow lying which says it all really. So 4/10 and that's mainly for air frosts

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

Manchester Winter Index has broken through the 100 theshold for the first time since 2012-13. Depends what happens on the rest of February whether it stays above this but it has been a snowy period in terms of falling snow since and including Christmas Day.

I suspect my area might have done better so far than the NE parts of Greater Manchester in terms of lying snow. 

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

Manchester Winter Index is currently 105. No question, IMO, it has been a pretty good winter around here, certainly since Christmas Day. Not sure what the second half of February will bring, even from today onwards if it were snowless, frostless and 10C everyday until the end, the winter index would be in the mid 80s 

2013-14: 7

1988-89: 20

2006-07: 21

1997-98: 25

1974-75: 26

1989-90: 26

2015-16: 28

2019-20: 29

1973-74: 30

1987-88: 37

2007-08: 37

2016-17: 37

1991-92: 40

1975-76: 41

1999-00: 42

1992-93: 43

2002-03: 44

1994-95: 45

2018-19: 45

1998-99: 47

2004-05: 47

2011-12: 47

2001-02: 50

2003-04: 50

2005-06: 59

1979-80: 66

1996-97: 72

2000-01: 77

1993-94: 78

1983-84: 82

2014-15: 82

1982-83: 85

1977-78: 90

1980-81: 90

2017-18: 93

1986-87: 100

2012-13: 102

2008-09: 105

2020-21: 105 (up to 7th February)

2010-11: 119

1990-91: 126

1995-96: 135

1984-85: 140

1976-77: 141

1981-82: 149

1985-86: 159

2009-10: 197

1978-79: 262

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet
  • Location: Leeds/Bradford border, 185 metres above sea level, around 600 feet

Tracking now at 12 days falling snow, 5 days with settling.

It does not have the depth or duration for snow of the better winters yet but for shear number of events it is plodding along at pace.

 

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Posted
  • Location: London
  • Location: London
14 hours ago, Weather-history said:

Manchester Winter Index is currently 105. No question, IMO, it has been a pretty good winter around here, certainly since Christmas Day. Not sure what the second half of February will bring, even from today onwards if it were snowless, frostless and 10C everyday until the end, the winter index would be in the mid 80s 

2013-14: 7

1988-89: 20

2006-07: 21

1997-98: 25

1974-75: 26

1989-90: 26

2015-16: 28

2019-20: 29

1973-74: 30

1987-88: 37

2007-08: 37

2016-17: 37

1991-92: 40

1975-76: 41

1999-00: 42

1992-93: 43

2002-03: 44

1994-95: 45

2018-19: 45

1998-99: 47

2004-05: 47

2011-12: 47

2001-02: 50

2003-04: 50

2005-06: 59

1979-80: 66

1996-97: 72

2000-01: 77

1993-94: 78

1983-84: 82

2014-15: 82

1982-83: 85

1977-78: 90

1980-81: 90

2017-18: 93

1986-87: 100

2012-13: 102

2008-09: 105

2020-21: 105 (up to 7th February)

2010-11: 119

1990-91: 126

1995-96: 135

1984-85: 140

1976-77: 141

1981-82: 149

1985-86: 159

2009-10: 197

1978-79: 262

Wow, it doesn’t surprise me how far up the list winter 2020/21 is in terms of cold. It’s been slightly underwhelming for the snow, but there’s been a more frequency of colder days in the 0c-5/6c range, as opposed to the milder 9-12c variety of the last two winters.

Its been very cold at times, and we’ve had a fair few cold crisp sunny days. Christmas 2020 was the coldest I think since 2017, but the overall Christmas Day period itself was the coldest since 2010. 
 

As someone else said, it’s been quite dull and we’ve had quite a bit of rain, but never too much. It has felt like a colder winter this year. Perhaps this is the start of a colder trend for the early 2020s. 
 

I hope this doesn’t mean we flip to cooler summers, which could be a trade off for the colder winters.

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Posted
  • Location: South Gloucestershire BS35
  • Weather Preferences: Severe weather enthusiast
  • Location: South Gloucestershire BS35

Very unsettled start, gradually calming and quite cold since then. A brief couple of cm of snow that melted quickly the day after in Jan. Not expecting much from this current cold spell to be honest as any snow moving in from the SW is showing to either fizzle out and barely touch the UK or push through and sweep milder air in more quickly.

Maybe a chance of battleground snow, but models seem to be reducing that risk at the moment with a more boring goodbye to the cold for this part of the country. We'll see! 

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Posted
  • Location: East London
  • Location: East London

This winter has been an absolute tease! For about 6 weeks now the weather has been mostly chilly, and always with the promise of something special just around the corner!

This isn't just a promise at day 10 thing either. Boxing day, new years Day and 2 of the last 4 weekends have all dangled the prospect of something memorable almost up to the day itself. Given we've been in lockdown this whole spell, at least chasing phantom snowfall has given me a pastime.

Right now we are in the coldest spell of the winter so far, but snow locally is something you're reminded of by a few flakes at the window, rather than something to go and enjoy. Given that snow is my winter vibe, and I can take or leave the cold, if it stays like this I'll probably not rate it too highly.

That said, if any one event hits from the chances in the next few days, I'll probably remember it for years to come.

 

 

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Posted
  • Location: Glenlivet, Banffshire, 205m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Extremes!
  • Location: Glenlivet, Banffshire, 205m asl

So far...outstanding! Today is day 48 with snow lying. Frequent snowfall - often not falling when forecast, but wake up to a few cms when they dont.....Many ice days- today’s max was -3C. Total days with snow laying since 1stvof December is 54. Early December we had a massive fall of 38cm - brought a lot of trees and branches down as it was heavy, wet stuff- I know , as a tree knocked out the phone line! Huge drifts now- this ten minutes walk up the road! 

994807D1-EFFB-4D9C-951C-49404FFF734B.jpeg

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Posted
  • Location: Manchester
  • Location: Manchester

Up to the 8th Feb, winter 2020/21 has been great and it’s not over yet with the coldest weather yet to come. January was very good in terms of snow and cold here. December also decent with 2 good snowfalls and a frosty Christmas period.

I forget how much of a contrast it is to last winter, which we all remember was one of the worst. This time last year we were all under the grips of Storm Ciara. One year later, an easterly
 

 

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Posted
  • Location: Woodchurch, Kent.
  • Weather Preferences: Storm, drizzle
  • Location: Woodchurch, Kent.

This last week so far has produced the most snow since 2018, nearly 5 inches in places. 

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