moffatross

A few snowy pictures from a wee scoot through part of the Clyde wind farm today. There's probably 8 inches level snow in the hills above Crawford ... https://www.flickr.com/photos/88898381@N02/sets/72157650346947962/

Fun on the snow with the Lowther Hills Ski Club at Leadhills golf course today.

Thanks for that excellent analysis, LS. Some of the most exciting potential for wintry weather we've seen for a while. From the skiing perspective, the main resorts are already sorted, but for the interestingly niche skiing that comes into season not too often, it could be game on soon.

Looking at the sequence of showers in the WRF model, moving north and east as the wind shifts NW from SW, I'd guess that's probably the activity that the latest of the Met Office snow warnings is focussed on. The 12Z run is just coming out but under 850 hpa's @ -6C, there's definitely some potential. http://www.meteociel.fr/modeles/wrfnmm.php?ech=16&mode=16&map=330 http://www.meteociel.fr/modeles/wrfnmm.php?ech=16&mode=1&map=330

Horrendous here in Moffat with the wind channelling straight up from the SW. Noticed that Lough Fea in Norn Ireland now reporting heavy snow.

Yes, I saw that one. I have to be at Glencoe ski centre by 9.00 am Friday for a training course so if it's still modelled in the morning, I'll probably travel tomorrow night and sleep in the car.

WRF 2km link at meteociel Running the sequence above, for anywhere much south of Dunbartonshire/Stirling/Fife, the WRF suggests that our jam will have to wait for tomorrow. The radar returns are showing showers encroaching towards Glasgow now though ...

I'm sure I've heard people saying that the Met Office are both damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

Yep, The mesoscale modelling that I've seen shows very, very narrow strips of prolonged and quite intense ppn. Their track is literally up in the air just now for that warning to include Moffat to Milngavie but whoever gets hit will really know about it. I'm curious to know what model guidance the Met Office is using, as the Euro4 and WRF aren't telling the story, and I can't see what the GFS parallel 0.25 degree is saying as its feed on meteociel is currently broken.

Haha !! I tried to hit a delete button (pity there isn't one on the forum software) when I saw how many other folk had replied the same time as I did. Personally, I have little interest in low-level snow, because it's actually a PITA and the only snow I'm interested in is above 500 metres ;-) It's the wind warnings that I was interested in (and don't want to see) and would much rather the train of gales steered clear of Scotland for a while .

Updated. Plenty of snow/wind warnings out now for tomorrow through Thursday.

The earlier rain which had been eating away at last night's whiteness turned to heavy snow in Moffat about 1/2 hour ago and has re-plastered everything with some fresh. I can hear regular rolls of thunder from the Moffat Hills too.

Been working up on Lowther Hill 3 days this week, installing bits for our ski tows, strengthening the engine building, digging holes etc, and it's snowed each day. Today was super-wild though, proper blizzard conditions mostly on rather than off, and drifts getting bigger all the time. It's chucking it down in Moffat too now, and a few cm's have accumulated already. Shame it'll get washed away tomorrow.

Wee 10 mile ski tour in the Southern Uplands today. Very nice powder stashes, but poor visibility most of the time. Big full depth avalanche discovered en route, recently self-triggered. Cool descent to the M74 by headtorch light. https://www.flickr.com/photos/88898381@N02/sets/72157649336482618/ A 2 metre probe fully submerged at about 250 metres along the run-out Powdery fun. On the headtorch descent to the motorway

Great photos

The Euro 4 / WRF models are pretty encouraging for this afternoon and evening. Snow showers on and off so far today, but this was the view over Moffat this morning ...

Lightning and snow is funky stuff. Everything is white again outside, but there's less than an inch on the ground so far ... there was far more settled snow here in Moffat by this time on Sunday. The next few hours might deliver more though.

Good stuff, it's getting colder. Each passing squall is bringing the snow line lower on the hills, with fresh white now lying above about 400 metres ASL and there's dry (but not settling) snow now mixed in with the hail and sleet down here in Moffat.

With all the damage Piers Corbyn has done to the credibility of serious meteorology over the years with only his own interests at stake, I wouldn't care for him to start lucking in now. And yep, the GFS ensembles are screaming that out too ... http://modeles.meteociel.fr/modeles/gens/runs/2014121006/graphe3_1000___-4.056603773584904_55.991902834008094_.gif

Moffat was transformed into a winter wonderland on Sunday, and I even skied local hills on Monday, but yesterday and last night's wind and rain has taken our snow cover back to strips on just the highest slopes.

Hey, it's winter and time to start posting ski photos. The 2-3 inches of snow that were still lying in Moffat this morning have mostly been washed away now but there'll be a base left in the hills for the new snow from tonight. Made a few turns on the slopes above Wanlockhead that we're going to be using for the Lowther Hills Ski Club tow yesterday. https://www.flickr.com/photos/88898381@N02/sets/72157649659082211/ Front of hill near Lowther Hills Ski Club's new lift line Skiing over the back towards the Dalveen Pass

Amber warning, yeah, right. After 18 hours of snizzle and icy easterlies winds with slate grey skies, on a day like today, Moffat doesn't feel like it's part of 'Dumfries & Galloway'.

The snow has actually arrived in Moffat now and the ground is nicely dusted. Whether there's anything worthwhile to come though, who knows ?

^ You're going to want any cloud 10 miles inland with the strength of that surface easterly wind blasting the snow.

Something good may be developing for us I guess as its driving force is indeed the SSW'lies @ 500 hPa and they're definitely ahead of themselves according to what the NAE had progged ...