phil nw.

Certainly a pronounced change to the Ice minimum since 2001 T.W.S. This is further illustrated by the Graph below,copied from the same site. Whether this is the result of gradual warming of the 2 previous decades or a sudden warm up since the turn of the century i don`t know,but the result is that the oft mentioned tipping point has possibly been reached in the last few years--unless of course the Arctic cools again quite soon.

Good Post above O.P. I looked at this too and my map illustrates that even as recently as 2001 there wasn`t dramatic loss of Ice compared to 1980. . Looking at 2008 map-posted by you- does really underline the loss in the last 7 years and shows how shrinking of Summer Ice has really accelerated since the turn of this Century. Even in 2001 the Ice was still clinging to Alaska and N.Siberia.Not a dramatic difference to 1980 here. The loss of ice also seems greater over the other side of the pole in recent years. Interesting stuff though.

Thanks for comments guys. No pot of gold though.

Rainbow over roofs

A Winter like 1962/63 for me. It started to snow in England on boxing day and thawed in early March. (see my signature below) It beats any other cold spell/winter in my lifetime both for its longevity and it`s nationwide extent. Remarkably we had many sunny days during the snow and sub-zero cold weeks. 1947 would come a poor second as it didn`t really start untill mid-January. It would be quite something for many of you younger members to experience a 62/63 type Winter just to show you what a real long cold spell feels like.

I recall forecasts of years ago used precise temperature guidelines when the words Hot,Cold,Mild etc. were used.In fact these terms subdivided as follows- Exceptionally Hot Very Hot Hot Very Warm Warm Rather Warm Average Rather Cold Cold Very Cold Exceptionally Cold. In Winter the term Hot was never used ,this was substituted by Mild. Similarly the strength of the wind was described with reference to the Beaufort Scale. I particularly remember the radio forecasts were very true to these guidlines so there was no chance of misinterpreting the meaning of the message. I enjoy the informality of some of the presenters but sometimes this can result in too much dumbing down when maybe a little effort to explain terminology would be better. The loss of quality weather forecast presenting maybe due to less airtime being given these days.

I seemed to have revived memories of the 69 Snowstorm amongst a number of our senior members.Thanks everyone for your responses which i have read with interest. It was if 1969 was the swansong of a cold period in that decade because i recall a run of much milder Winters in the early 1970`s. Apologies to Carinth if i steered the thread slightly off track but the mention of the advance towards Iceland of the ice in that period and its consequent effect on the severity of an Arctic flow to the UK sparked this memory. Kind Regards,Phil.

Interesting discussion above regarding Polar Low developments in late 1960`s Winters. I remember a Friday in February 1969 when a forecasted such development hit the Midlands at Lunchtime. It started raining/sleeting then quickly turned to powder snow as the wind got up. Chaos ensued within 2 hrs. as it quickly settled and by the time it peterd out around 7pm the Coventry/Warks area was virtually at a standstill. I myself didn`t get home from work that night as many people were stranded in the nearest hotels workplaces or anywhere they could shelter. Looking at the archives i have copied and posted the sypnotic chart for that day which shows a bitter Northerly flow right across the UK. Something like this event would be unusual today but i too remember a number of these incidents in that era.

16.7 please.

My punt for July is 17.5C please.

15.8c for me please.

Good photo`s guy`s. Here are mine--taken at 9 a.m.

My punt for April is 7.9C please.

Please forgive me for opening this thread early,but i will be away for 2 weeks from tommorow and cannot be sure of internet acccess. I would like to enter my punt now for March CET. It is 6.8C. Thankyou. NB. If you wish to lock this as its too soon please can someone ensure my punt for March is on record,Thankyou.

Thanks GP for your post too.A lot to consider and absorb but educational.Much more to take in these days compared to my youth,when all i had was the sypnotic charts off the tv and some newspapers. I do appreciate what yourself,Steve,Brick and all the knowledgable members of the forum post.

Thanks Steve for taking the time and effort to explain some of the factors that affect our Winter. I wondered why we got no High pressure further North earlier this month when we had the jet so far South for a while. Is this simply because of the very cold stratosphere over the pole?

Thanks Paul.A good summing up.It really is down to how that High from the west develops later this week as to whether we get a chance of a colder shot.

Having experienced 62/63 winter in all it`s glory as a 14yo schoolboy you would have thought that i would say there has been nothing as cold since. This was a typical set up then Indeed as you can see from my avitar i experienced 63 days of lying snow. However for bitter Cold 1987 to me was the one i remember,although the spell only lasted about 1 week we had record minima in the midlands. Here are some charts to show the setup Just look at the uppers -15 to -20c air over the Midlands. I can`tremember anything like that since.

Thanks John. Yes looking at all the run`s this evening there`s good agreement for quite a flat pattern and although the PJF is South of the UK no real chance of any Arctic air coming our way at present with this setup. At least there some interest for the North with some Snow in PM air at times this week.Could be a lot worse-like last Jan.for instance.

I am with SB on this. I thought we used Manley because it never got revised. Correct me if i am wrong but i don`t recall any previous month`s figure being revised--through last years comp,that is. Hadley`s yes-quite often. If this is an exception let`s stick with Manley and use the final(revised)figure--it would bring me slightly closer (my punt was 5.7) i accept-but it would be the correct thing to do.

My punt for January 3.9c please. An early punt for me as i will away for a few days after today.

clear -3c.

My December Entry is 5.7C. Thanks to SF,JO and others for all the time given to running this Comp.

I think Met Office should have extended their W.Warnings further North by now.Just looked and still no change to earlier one for Sothern areas only. Certainly here in Warks. we have had Heavy almost continuos rain since about 4.30pm.

ooops!Its getting late(lol) Thanks Jackone.