onemanmows

Not sure if this has been done already but the Pennine ski season has restarted with Weardale running their tows today, planning tomorrow and Yad Moss nr Alston running tomorrow. Safe to say most Pennine skiers want 2009/10 again but even 2008 would be acceptable, OK actually I want late 70's early 80's winters, it's just not a hard winter until they get the tanks in!

Where's my Snaw, seems to have sneeked by here. Although I'm not sure I should do dialect being a trousered one among kilties. Had a bit of a wander up the back of the village - suggestion of a dusting on the Fintry / Gargunock Fells and cover on the Mentieth Hills. Cover down to 100m on the low hills SW of Gartmore but not at the village itself. Close but nae snaw so far. Not what I was hoping for this morning - end of the week looking promising.

Cloud base is lifting (200m ish) and temps going up - switches between rain with some flakes of snow and snow here. Reckon it's snow above about 100m. I'll go grey, damp, raw with lying snow thawing slightly.

Couple of cm and light snow, small flakes here. Lying on grass and roofs but pavements tarmac not accumulating just dusting. Still got mist / low cloud.

Got light rain now, just missing out in altitude judging by the rate the rain is falling. See what some sleep brings.

Radar seems to think I'm getting rain snow but nothing showing by porch or lamp light at the West end of the carse. Must have snuck by to Stirling.

Moving to Radar, Arbroath N on the E and inland as far a Braemar but mosly hill and mountain tonight? N and W of the Trossachs on the W side? Bit of a ski area top up then? Closer to home - I'm 20m above sea level and W of Stirling, can I upgrade to full snaw ramp?

Hopefully we'll get something, I'm down to patches on Ben Ledi and Ben Lomond. It would be really nice to do another winter seeing snow every day (OK clear day) for weeks. Spent years in the Peak District, kind of forgot winter does have snow and snow for remaining on hills for weeks not days or even hours. Don't have to touch it would just be nice to know it's there.

After enduring the model thread again month or so, came to look at me new local regional one. Much more useful, should have looked in from the start. So the thoughts are most of the snow that arrives will be convective but still not making it too far away from the Coast? I presume no posts here about us being half way through winter and it all being over at the end of February?

E4 went for the day after tomorrow. Which is where it always seems to be.

From a Pennine skiing perspective I'd put winters into four broad groups: The Hard Winters - mid to late 70's to mid to late 80's. Most winters good snow cover for long periods, high volume falls. Still Cold where's me snow - late 80's to mid to late 90's. Plenty of cold but high volume snow fall the exception not the norm. Blairite - late 90's to late 00's (2001 and 2005 both delivered a four of five week block of skiable snow but 2001 was Foot and Mouth so the hills were closed) Hardly any high volume snow fall. Prolonged hill snow or ice the exception rather than the norm. New Cold - 08/09 winter onwards This winter so far has felt more like a lean early 90's than 'modern' winters of the 00s - the right conditions where there but it just never quite came through. Hopefully early spring with deliver some snow although I'm expecting cover to last days rather than weeks. I tend to get a feel for winter by looking at the wider environment never been convinced it would be extremely snowy but had hoped it would be snowier than it has been - what really nailed it as a poorer winter was a skein of about 70 geese heading north above Perth in the first week of Januray. That didnt really give me cold and snowy feelings.

Another IMBY one from me, yesterday 19th Feb, was the fourth Saturday in a row where I've seen falling or lying snow. The general view may be so what, my point is this winter has not delivered in terms of snow cover or deep cold. It has though, in the Peak, delivered winter conditions. There have been two blocks of cold this winter and in terms of weekends and winter conditions its been more winter and mild. Continuing a welcome trend in the Pennines. It's the fourth winter in a row where I've had a week or more disruption to the day job due to snow on the hills. This didn't happen in 2006/07 and 07/08. Although the later did deliver snow / froast and ice above 500m regularly during the March of that year. The curious thing for me about this winter and the last one as well is large snow accumulations dont seem to be happening in the Pennines. Ultimately really pear shaped winter is one where you dont get winter conditions where you might expect them - in the hills! If we're going to see parts of the country hit 17degC plus this week - doesnt that mean temps have passed right through mild and are now into warm?

Just been reading the model thread - one of the posts suggests everything has been there for winter this winter but increased solar activity was one of the factors that stopped it. Double whammy - missed the snow and because I'm not back north too much this season missed the northern lights as well.

Just been checking back through the Weardale Ski Club web cam pictures for the season. It shows a hill called Chapel Fell in upper weardale - http://www.skiweardale.com/ski/current.aspx For the third year in a row there has been snow or snow patches showing on the webcam for months rather than days or weeks. Last Autmun was a bit of a curve ball. I still think - no science here just feeling - we are in the same broad patern as the last few years. Coming further down the coutry a bit to the Peak District - I'm not expecting to see conditions that favour prolonged hill snow, the last few years March - April - May has felt generally drier and warmer. If we go through another wet summer and dry autumn I'm going to be looking the continued broad winter pattern of a cold and snow in December. Hopefully without all the factors this year that prevented sustained snow cover. Things still feel like they are going in the right direction overall. Although disapointed with this weekend - start of the weekend thought we might be on for a couple of days of snow cover. Wasn't there snow cover over most of the North at Easter 2008. I recall flying into Leeds in a blizzard and then having three days - thin - skiing in the Pennine

Funny have everyone has different views of winter - I'd always thought widespread December snow, escpecially early December snow of any volume was relatively rare. Some always seemed to turn up in the hills around the time of the RAC rally but generally not a lot. For me winter has always been a Jan through to March event with the most common times for falling snow being Feb through to mid March. We always had a couple of two or three week blocks when we had to feed the sheep extra rations because of the snow cover. That just didnt seem to happend in the 90's and early 00's. At the moment from IMBY watch or more correctly OMH (on my hills) there have been more periods of 7day plus snow coverage in the last few years than during the mid 90's to mid 00's. Still not seen a big multi day storm but winters seem to be trending towards more snow and cold. One winter is it a myth question - heavy snow on the east coast of the States turns up here about a week later. Can't remember this happening that much in the last 20 plus years. Be interested to see if this spring, in the Peak, follows the trend towards dry with rain coming in again early June and giving a wet summer then dry Autumn again. Maybe next winter we'll finally make it back to high volume snow falls and stable air. Not as fussed about deep cold but more snow would be good.

From the world of pennine skiing.

A 2005 type snow event would be quite acceptable, did well for the Pennines with 4wks of skiable snow. This ones been a funny one - very mild but at the same time I've seen falling snow or signs of falling snow every week since December's cold patch. It be nice to see a high volume snow event followed by stable cool to cold but that's not really mentioned anywhere. Beasterly easterly would be fine if people werent warning it could be a dry one, that would be just beastly.

How about this for a lot of snow - Lake District Ski Club on Raise nr Helvellyn http://www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/page24.html Tow is in a good snow holding part of the hill, to put the depth into context the pylons are 5m high. The building in the second picture is the engine house for the tow. Burried at the end of the building nearest the camera is the powder room - recently built loo. Rumoured to be 2nd highest in England! Highest is Great Dun Fell.

Snowing away nicely here, been slush and sleet in Edale for most of the day - seems to have been snow all day above 400m nearly didnt make it back through Mam Nick.

Approx 14:30 sleet at around 350m - Wormhill, Peak District Derbyshire, simillar time at Doveholes its was snow but no lying. Rushup Edge and Eldon hill - 400m and above had lying snow on the grass, road's had clear slush so snow must have just started sticking on them.

Its always good to see snow on the Yad - start of the Pennine Ski Season shouldn't be too far away. Just got to sort me ski boots and fit the winter tyres. http://www.yadmoss.co.uk/snow-and-weather-report Bottom web cam is at 600m and looks NE. Summit one is about 720m and looks broadly west to cross fell.