RachN

Can I ask a question about the current model outputs and the approaching change, which pretty much everyone agrees is coming, but the disagreements seem to be around, how big a change and how long it stays basically. What did the models show in the run up to Dec 2010, did they show it coming at least 10 days out, and did they stay on track all the way through, or did they do as they are doing now, and shift/realign/downgrade/upgrade/all agree/all disagree. I'm just interested as a very very amateur weather watcher, if the models are behaving as you would expect them too?

No I can confirm the South West is sick of rain - the fields are not even muddy anymore it's just standing water!!! No sign of spring anytime soon and if the longer term forecast is to believed - Aoril and May don't look that great either!

Pregnant Ewes don't look too impressed with the 'Spring' weather this morning. We had just over an inch of snow in the Blackmore Vale from around 7am to 10am!

Been snowing here in the Blackmore Vale for about 20 mins now, light then heavy, light now back to heavy again, starting to just lay in a few places, but its very wet, so it wont last long.

Sorry if this is already on here, but just picked this up on the MetCheck website.......... There is growing confidence that an intense pulse of heavy snow could affect North Devon, South Wales, Bristol area, Dorset as well as Salisbury Plain, Mendips and Cotswold Hills later tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning. There is a potential for an additional 10cm of snow falling within a 3hr period which will lead to rapid accumulations on already fallen snow. The area of snow is tied in with a rather fragmented and messy upper air picture to the South-west of the UK and as this upper vortex drifts East there is the potential for more intense small scale snow events along the South of England during Tuesday and Wednesday. We will be watching developments to the South-west this afternoon and updating this risk based on convection appearing in the Celtic Sea around 5pm this evening.

Starting to snow again in the Blackmore vale in Dorset, we have 5 inches of lying snow with a very slight thaw this afternoon, but light snow at the moment

Thanks - but if I ask all the questions I have - the mods will have to create a whole new thread for it!!! Will sit on the sidelines and look up the terms I don't understand - my challenge at the moment is getting to grips with the fact I look at charts that sometimes show the UK in green/mild colours and I then see another one which seems to be for the same period in dark blue/siberian colours, I think this has something to do with surface or atmospheric temps? Anyway, I will work it out!

So sorry - updated!

Hello Everyone, 1st post from a total newbie to weather..... well not to weather in general obviously.... just the "sciencey" (not sure if thats a word, but it should be) bit that makes it happen! Absolutely fascinated with the posts of this forum, even from those that profess to being complete novices. Really interesting to read all of your comments, views and opinions, in what is clearly a forecasters nightmare, for even the most seasoned of professionals, by the look of it. It would appear our own Ian Ferguson is extremely well regarded and rightly so, he seems to pitch everything right with the right amount of explanation behind his forecasts, without baffling us with terms we dont understand. I, for one have learned more in the last week by reading these forums that I ever learned in my science lessons at school. Obviously, hoping that we get some proper winter weather as does everyone on here by the sounds of it, instead of the continual wall of rain we have had, for what seems like forever. So looking forward to the 12z from ECM and UKMO (is that right?) this later today..... Keep up the good work - especially you IanF! Rachel