glosteroldboy

Wow 20 degrees here at 2pm, might of peaked now we shall see, not too far shy of the April record (24 degrees) if it can notch it up another degree or so, didn't expect to be walking around in shorts this early in the year!

I've seen the 50pence piece snow but never dinner plates lol. Here it's been mainly sunny the past week or so, and quite warm some days, sunny and warmer than I seen here the entire of last June. Probably the hottest day of the year so far today, they've forecast 16degrees but is all ready almost that (15.7 degrees) and is only 11:30 so wouldn't expect the temperature to peak till around 3pm with barely a cloud in the sky, perhaps 18/19 maybe even 20 degrees possible and with the UV Index at 6 or high a risk of getting sunburnt if out in it for too long. I'm sure it wont last though, infact looks cooler after Wednesday and still no surprise if we see a bit of snow next week.

I see they've put a warning out for a few areas in SW Alberta, 10-20cm. Rain here today 15-25mm, 10 degrees cooler, what a difference a day makes, foggy too...this is more like the weather I expect here lol

Is around 14/15 degrees and sunny again for 2nd day in a row, warmer than the UK for a change, better weather here than most of last summer. Making the most of it and tidying the garden (why does it seem to collect Tim Hortons cups over winter? lol) Looks like coming to an abrupt halt tomorrow though,ran and turning cooler over the next few days maybe some snow showers about.

Yes although the media do tend to recyle the katla story on a regular basis and the 2 year anniversary of that other one no one can spell seems perfect chance to mention it again. According to the Iceland Met site (these are the guys to follow, if anything is going to erupt they will tell people about it) I can't find any recent mention of increased seismic activity at Katla, the last mention I can find about that is back in October last year (possibly what the journo is refering to but is rather out of date now if nothing has happened since) and even then they state there is no sign an eruption is imminent. It's of course expected to blow sometime but might be 1, 10, 20, 50+ years off

I hear what you're saying, cold snaps and some what must be temporary snow coverings can occur right through May but does that mean Spring has not sprung? This year especially I would say is not a normal year given how mild its been and continues to be so. I was looking at the 14 day trend for Edmonton and it looks very spring like (they'd call those temperatures summer in these parts!) more so than here though it still feels spring like out, those sort of temperatures must kickstart the growing season? All ready here the grass is turning a little green and we haven't really had the mild mild temperatures some places have had.

I noticed that the other week, the sun is getting strong now, even with the air temperature below freezing any sunshine eats into it. We are snow free now (unless you want to count the big piles around the edges of parking lots and some patches in shaded areas), spring has sprung? Looks that way today, though may be cold enough for snow towards the end of the week I don't suppose we can be totally sure yet. I seem some parts around New Brunswick had some snow a few days ago.

I thought it was only us fellas that confused 9 inches with 9cm.

Nice bit of snow, doesn't last long at this time of year and looks a bit warmer over the next week. Winters last attempt? I think we go ours last week, in terms of big snowstorms though never know here. 4 degrees out now and just seen a few flakes falling, dewpoint is below freezing.

Looks quite active to N/NW of Edmonton these past few hours. Finally warming up a bit here over the next week, nothing like the heat experienced last month in some parts but 4-10 degrees certainly feels warmer in any sunshine.

It doesn't look very threatening on the radar yet. I see EC have gone for 10-15cm in their latest warning but have also added "melting could result in reduced accumulations". It's been raining here all day here but just very fine drizzle now, not even showing up on the radar.

We had a bit of freezing rain up to about midnight but nothing like a couple of weeks back when there was an inch thick glaze on all the trees etc. Temperature got above zero sometime after midnight and steadily rising to around 5 degrees and some rain and fog about, a typical grey, foggy, wet Newfoundland day! Saw some amazing scenes last night though, the sea ice is right into the shore now around here, took few pics: (was very foggy,waiting for some sunshine to return to see it all in a better light) .......

Cheers Roger, EC in their latest update seem to be sticking to freezing rain turning to rain in South Avalon and freezing drizzle for us in NE Avalon by morning but the temperature predictions like you say seem a bit high for that. I keep an eye on this local weather station http://www.weatherlink.com/user/vocm/index.php?view=summary&headers=1

Hard job being a forecaster at times like this. Not sure if to expect much freezing rain or not tonight, the updated evening forecasts should shed a bit more light for both our regions.

I'd have thought EC would put a warning up soon if it's looking bad but often is the case it's hard to know for sure until a few hours before what will happen. Last week here from early on in the week TWN had has consistently down for a sizeable amount of snow happening Friday night/Saturday, EC weren't really mentioning anything in their forecasts....then about 24 hours before TWN basically dropped it and just had something like 2-4cm. Then when I woke up the next morning EC had posted snowfall warnings 20-30cm and TWN were back on board going 15-20cm, that afternoon a few hours before the storm it was all upgraded again to 35cm, as it happened we got 31cm so some good calls. Is there much human input into TWN forecasts on their website, it was strange they dropped it the night before as they'd been right all week, I've noticed this has happened a few times this winter with TWN where they pick up on a storm well in advance, drop it then end up being right in the first place.

The Weather Network are prepared to call amounts and the type of precip several days out, Enviro Canada seem to play it safe and just go with things like "rain or snow" or "periods of snow" and wont go with amounts until the day before, which they have put up now in their forecast and they seem to be going with a rain to snow event around 5-10 of each. TWN still going with snow 15-20 so still some disagreement but maybe the latest model runs have toned down the precipitation amount a bit. Not sure whos more accurate, they both get things right and wrong, when they both agree it's pretty much nailed on.EC seem to forecast the marginal situations pretty well though I think is always difficult call amounts and the exact period of changeover in these situations. We have something pretty simular tonight/tomorrow, EC got a freezing rain warning out, TWN seem to going with all normal rain. A fair bit of the weekends snowstorm has melted even though has remained around or below freezing, shows how strong the sun is getting now.

Looks more like mid winter here this morning following yesterdays storm, freezing and forecasters spot on this time, 31cm recorded in st johns. Biggest single fall all season, the previous being 30cm in November, neither huge amounts by Newfoundland standards but shows how lacking the proper winter months were lacking.

Yes fair enough sometimes they get it right, sometimes wrong, how accurate overall are they, we all know even beyond a few days the weather can be pretty unpredictable. Think March is going to go out like a lion here (it certainly came in like a lamb), warning for 20-30cm snow for tonight/tomorrow, that's if the forecasters are right, looks like a good storm track for snow here (no chance of rain).

How accurate are long range forecasts though? I would say here has been below average for snowfall though still somewhere between 2-3 metres, the average around 3.6m so down on that and well below a bad winter (6-7m), up to early Feb we were doing quite well for snow but only I think one storm since early Feb and minor accumulations. Temperature wise the maxs probably around average, the lows above average. So overall be seen as a good winter here though wouldn't say it would be classed as that mild or above average as in some parts of Canada. And we're still not clear of snow yet, white Easter possibly.

Some weather on the way here, low pressure moving in now expected to stay pretty stationary over the island all week, central and western areas in line for a fair bit of snow (25cm) by tomorrow night, looks like going to be more of wintry mix/rain in these parts. Seeing lots of icebergs, most quite a distance out but one drifted right past the harbour entrance yesterday, some good pics here: http://newfoundsander.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/an-iceberg-outside-the-st-johns-narrows/

Great post, was wondering about the sea ice/bergs, todays count in the square around my region is up to 28 icebergs today (was 9 three days ago): http://ice-glaces.ec..._0006355215.gif Hikers have spotted a few off the coasts around here but think the winds are keeping them well out at sea so only really visible with binoculars and not as dramatic as them being blown/washed nearer to shore. Will get out on the weekend and try and spot a few, get some pictures if possible. Did see a few forecasts showing us getting some bigger snowfall next week but too early to know what it will be yet. Amazing the warmth some parts are getting even relatively close like Halifax whilst were still in the freezer. Earlier in the week today and tomorrow was forecast to be a bit milder around 5 degrees but that has all been toned right down and peaked around 1 degrees today which looks about the max over the next 7 days.

Yes great post Roger, also seem to be well away from any mild here still with snow in the forecast most days, all be it only minor accumulations that soon melt away (I'm still holding out for one final big snow storm...I believe they call it Sheilas Brush in these parts). Apart from the odd milder day temperatures are below or around average and look like remaining so for the forseeable, though I have seen reports of an above average spring being forecast it's certainly not the case yet. Wonder if anyone can have a stab at the reasons we are now seeing sea ice and icebergs on the coast around here now, first time since 2009 it's made it this far and earlier than you see it in years gone by.

Barmy weather! I remember when we got mid 70's in the UK last April, that seemed pretty crazy back then though not record breaking, but to get it in March in places when you generally expect snow to still be about...crazy! No sign of any warmth here, bit of a mini snow storm blowing through right now, was expecting a couple of cm's but not so stormy pretty dark colours on the radar, though will pass through quickly.

Wow some crazy heat in parts of Canada, and I thought they was getting it mild in the UK. Bit silly to pin it all on global warming, wasnt it generally a cold winter in most parts of Europe?

Winter hanging on at times here, not really had anymore snow few flurries but looks spring like out, fair bit of freezing rain on Friday made the trees look very pretty glazed in ice though a few branches buckled under the extra weight. Apparently a few icebergs have been spotted around the coast of the North East Avalon, earlier in the year than they would normally expect to see them and around this part of Newfoundland they haven't really seen any icebergs this far South since 2009. Wonder what's the reasons behind this, the daily iceberg chart does indeed show a fair number currently in the vicinity: http://ice-glaces.ec..._0006350072.gif