Earth Wind and Snow

There was heavy snowfall on Paddy's Day in 1979 with some parades cancelled - in fact the synoptic set up was very similar to the predicted pattern for later this week / early next week. My own view in that the coldest air won't arrive until Monday when snow would be a big possibility if current charts verify although I wouldn't rule out some wintry type showers on Paddy's Day with hail and sleet in the mix with outside chance of some snow..... EWS

A big thanks for that S C - you learn something new everyday as they say I made several attempts to go to bed last night as there was nothing showing o the 'radar' close to me - each time I looked out the door it was chucking it down with big large flakes.............really tired today from lamp post watching last night.................. EWS

Thanks Ronan - yes I noticed this in Jan 2010 too - it snowed all day on the 10th with a deep covering but everytime I checked the rader it showed there was no snow in my area..................just goes to show if you want to know what the weather is going to do - look out the window There has been a slow thaw here since mid morning but snow and ice still laying in shaded areas. From experience going back to the eighties we always do well in these east / north-easterly set ups once the breeze is not too light, however yesterdays showers were very light and short lived and I had resigned mself by yesterday evening that we were not going to get much this time round..........then at 6.15pm it started snowing and basically didn't stop until 8.30am this morning with some really heavy periods of snow mixed in with occasional lighter spells when it appeared it was stopping before the next heavy fall.............after months of model watching and dissapointments, it ws these unexpected ones that makes it all worth while........ EWS

Epic snowfall last night - heavy stream of snow showers fro 6.15pm yesterday evening that kept going through the night with blizzard conditions at times in temperature of - 2.0 degrees - still snowing here as I type with everything covered in a white blanket - a good 10 cm's. The odd thing is that a lot of the time the Met Eireann radar showed nothing overhead while it was chucking it down............ I expect a slow thaw from late morning onwards as the - 10 uppers leave our area..............the best March snowfall I have seen and almost on a par with Nov 2010 EWS

Well after a dissapointing day in which we had only light snow showers - we have had a stunning evening here in south Kilkenny with heavy snow chucking it down from 6.15pm in white out conditions - obviously a streamer passing over my area that just keeps coming - a good 5-6 cm's here now with everything covered in a white blanket in temperature of - 2.0 degrees - totally unexpected after the pathetic showers we had all day - have been out with the kids all evening enjoying it - best snowfall here since nov / dec 2010 EWS

light snow blowing around with the last hour - starting to get heavier now...............night night folks.............hope tomorrow is a white one where ever you are......... EWS

Hopefully you will get the goods Born From the void - I think Cork did well in the Jan 2010 easterly EWS

Up to last night Met Eireann were forecasting scattered wintry showers for this period with some snow possible on high ground - quite an upgrade there then and in fairness ties in with the modeled charts............glad to see my county included in the warning and from experience we usually do well in this type of set up, however best of luck to all snow lovers that we all get a covering of the white stuff over the next few days EWS

I am excited now - all models have upgraded the potential today and the east and south are definately in with a shout of some heavy snow in my opinion.........I am following the weather since the bitter winters of the early to mid eighties got me excited and believe me the synoptics being modeleld from Sunday night through to Tuesday are the best I have seen in many years even allowing for the time of year - with bitter cold upper air and gale force unstable easterlies................based on current output, the potential is there for frequent snow showers and possibly continuous snow for up 24-36 hours in some areas and day time temps on monday could struggle to get above freezing in a gale or strong gale force easterly..............high potential for a snow day on Monday with little or no thawing unless the modeled charts are downgraded...........expected with a slow recovery in temperatures during Tuesday....................not bad for mid March all IMHO of course EWS EWS

Models are certainly looking good for very cold conditions and snow showers from sunday night through monday....... Eastern areas most at risk of possibly the wintriest spell this winter and spring EWS

Cheers CC Yes that was the one

I remember Steve murr posted charts of a screaming March easterly from the early 1950's which was exceptionally cold and snowy - can't remember which year but snow lay around longer than a few hours by all accounts.................shows it is possible EWS

Well based on ECM charts etc the upper air even over Ireland is going to be very cold so day time maxes for a few days not much above 0 with very low minima - what a pity there is not heavy snow showers also in the mix as the whole set up is just a little too south for us by just 100 odd miles - however GFS has been showing some snow showers in eastern areas on Saturday for a few runs now so something to keep an eye on - these if they occur not likely to amount to much with pressure rather high. What I have noticed is that models are pushing the set up slightly further north today and if this continues maybe a few more snow showers will be in the mix come the weekend EWS

What a brilliant analysis Steve - it is a pleasure to visit this forum to view brilliant posts like this thanks from the likes of SM, GP, Chino, TEITS, John Holmes etc. - keep up the good work all EWS

Well yesterday the models showed some easterly promise and this continues today with most models showing it getting quite chilly by Monday and then colder still by midweek with some wintry showers developing as highlighted on RTE weather at 7pm - it is after this that things could get more interesting however I will wait until Sunday to get too excited - if models are still showing cold easterlies by midweek at that point I will sit up and take notice For those who think easterlies cannot deliver for their neck of the woods - there have been many times in the past when easterlies have brought more widespread snowfalls than to just eastern areas - I had decent snow last week off a north-westerly and I live in the south-east - lets see where we stand come Sunday Finally for those who think it is now too late for proper snow - I will not be willing in Spring just yet............plenty of time for snow to fall up to early April - but especially up to mid March when it can still pack a punch............just ask those who lived through a blizzard in late Feb 1947 and saw it last on the ground up to mid March......... it has happened before and will happen again............ EWS

Another posible cold easterly showing now on UKMO and ECM - how many is that this winter and most have little or nothing to show for it The only proper snow I saw this winter was last week..........on a westerly wind I hope that after so many dissapointments we can have at least one or two days of proper snow before winter is out...................however I must stress the word hope................... EWS

Good charts from ECM this morning regarding potential for snow in parts of Ireland from late Sunday through to Tuesday morning with the east probably most at risk with a stronger easterly / northeasterly flow showing compared to yesterdays output..................potential for further upgrades or downgrades over coming days - met Eireann also mention heavy wintry showers many of sleet or snow on Monday Will be interesting model watching again over next few days EWS

Actually we in Ireland (especailly the east) have done very well out of easterlies in the past as long as they advect westwards enough - the eaterly in Jan gone did not..................many others have EWS

Lovely covering of snow here this morning and we had further heavy snow showers up until 10am - sun has been out now for past hour or more and snow is slowly melting - was nice while it lasted...............lets hope that the weekend brings another chance for more snow as the ECM and UKMO charts suggest EWS

Had a heavy snow shower here for about 30 minutes - has left a light covering which is now freezing - another shower now approaching on the radar.........gonna be hard to get myself away from the lamp post tonight

Yeah I noticed that too - the first time GFS has hinted at this and within T120 so well worth seeing if other models latch on to this later - either way I feel that next Monday night / Tuesday morning has the potential to give favoured spots a good covering of snow based on current charts - the north-west obviously being best placed for this but winds are expected to be quite strong so showers could get carried well inland..............keep watching for updates to see if this can become a longer spell or if it will be a brief toppler...........could go either way I feel EWS

Excellent stuff - we had sereral bright flashes of lightening and loud thunder for about 20 minutes around 12.30am this morning at my location Beautiful bright sunny if rather breezy day here today though EWS

Top Post - great minds think alike Tom I was actually looking at the ECM rolling out earlir and 2005 immediately came to mind - I even went back in to the archives to see how that easterly of 8 years ago came about..............the charts are not a million miles as you say from what is being currently modeled.............of course it could also go the way of the many failed topplers looking forward to the next few days model watching to see how this pans out EWS

Yes looks nice and in a nearer timeframe than GFS

Slowly, slowly - for the last few days the charts are getting slightly more wintry with each set...........ECM is better tonight than last night, same with GFS and the GEFS ensembles and even in the shorter range UKMO / FAX. That's good enough for me. I will leave you with this lovely chart - heres hoping for further upgrades tomorrow EWS