Michael Fishermans Friend

Nice work! - I'm basing my itinery for xmas on TEITS findings and forecasts.

I've got a sneaky feeling you can add this year to it, GFS is certainly showing somewhat milder conditions next week, but maybe HP close to the UK over Xmas maybe?

Difficult one to call this...Decembers of recent years usually provide the coldest anomoly and it looks like the first week will be quite cold followed by somewhat of a milder trend and possibly stormy by mid-month, and going by the last 6 months trend of near normal values have to go for this...5.2C

That is true...I remember seeing that, would be similar to the last few winters if that is so.

Remember the winter of discontent of 78/79 under Jim Callaghan, strikes, recession and all that - what comes around goes around? - sorry a bit off topic, that wouldn't help the economy at all.

Backing the form horse again - as said December has been the lowest anomoly wise over approx the last 10 years, so maybe the MET office are recognising this fact coupled with the model outputs. Not really surprising, but to change a month and to continue on the same track there after is a little strange.

Going by those contrast satellite images I'd say about 10% increase, and as you have said Phil n. warks - that the seas to our north over the Arctic are still ice free and also snowcover over western Russia and Scandanavia is noticeably scant compared to last year. I believe Moscow has only experienced 1 brief snowfall this autumn!!

Just read a column in todays Sunday Telegraph about the rapid extent of Ice recovery this year, up by about 30% on this time last year. All good news.

Sad news indeed, one of the first weather forecasters I remember seeing as a lad. Rest in peace Jack and may it snow everyday in heaven.

Yeah noticed that - changed from the mild and dry conditions they mentioned a monthor so ago, cheeky! - If November continues in the same vain then perhaps they might back track on winter - maybe?

Can't See them doing a u-turn...but with this likely to be the 5th month in a row of near average temperatures might tempt them to nudge towards a slightly cooler scenario.

I'm a member of the RSPB and have fed birds for years - I'm in the camp of feeding them in Autumn and Winter generally from November to early April but if it remains cold then I'll start earlier or finish later. I have a peanut feeder a long seed feeder with black sunflower seeds and a fat feeder for tits, finches etc. I also ground feed with bread, suet and a ground mix of seeds and when exceptionally cold apples for blackbirds and thrushes. Best bird feeding on my nuts has to be a greater spotted woodpecker.

Well what a surprise! - My forecast of what they would forecast temperature wise was spot on as well :lol: - one things for sure they are not gonna be spot on every winter and hopefully it will go the shape of the pear this winter, we'll probably have a very mild one lol!

Personally I'm going in the opposite direction of the majority on this board and thats away from digital read outs. I'm thinking of building a Stevenson Screen to house some Sheath Screened thermometers (Max and Minimum) a Masons Hygrometer for relative humidity. Also a rain gauge, maybe a Remex one in the garden. I already have an old exisiting Meto-instruments weather station (housed in teak with glass front and 3 dials) which has a barograph (I also have a barrel one), an Anenometer with wind direction and speed. I cannot see why this cannot almost be as accurate as lets say a Davis Pro2 and certainly cheaper, although you cannot in regards to the Stevenson Screen instruments see the changes as they happen but useful purely through a record keeping sense.

Not sure whether this relates to this Arctic Ice thread, and I know this is pretty obvious but why over the last few years do all the warm anomolies seem to effect the Northern Hemisphere far more, if you look at the SST's at the mo, all the positives are at a high latitude whilst in the Southern Hemisphere absolutely nout! - any particular reason for this?

Hello - one and all VP2 users. I'm considering buying just the 'basic' Davis VP2 wireless modelwithout the FARS etc, but can anybody tell me how accurate they are finding the temperature readings etc, does the Fan aspirated shield thingy really make another £400 worth of difference? Regards Timmy.

UKMO looks like it's just reverting to a week or so ago, with high pressure to the north and LP close to the UK with cold Arctic/Continental air over the country (again). Strange patterns occuring, nothing like previous summers when the Azore/continental high was prevelant. But its early days yet!

certainly will not be cold - we are not living in the era of cold, maybe cool periods throughout the summer months but no doubt will be off-set by warm or very warm periods! I personally think it will be slightly warmer than average but probably wetter in the south, drier in the north - but a pretty forgettable summer in my neck of the woods!

I pass Woodham to get to Thurrock, only problem is for me to get up that early on a bank holiday is that 1. I'd keep thinking I was going on holiday 2. I'd be falling asleep before I got to the dreaded Burnham bends (and through a field) 3. why have I done this when the chances of even seeing a flake of snow are zero! Anyway anybody coming with me in my Cooper better be prepared, the suspensions harder than a Hackney doorman.

I have a Cooper S, I never bought the snow chains for the tyres - I wonder why? but theres no better car for hammering it around B roads in sight of a flake of snow. lol!

Sounds interesting - though Lakeside is offputting! lol!, I live out on the coast. Wouldn't Sunday be the better morning? No problem chasing (if there is anything to chase), running along the coast parallel to the showers running down the north sea would be heart breaking, but that's the sort of luck we have recently in our winters. Still sounds a laugh though, what sort of hours?

Hello Moogyboobies! you say you just missed out on snow just miles down the road, well like you not a flake here in the winter and for miles around (I think), here in Burnham we have our own microclimate, we miss out on alot of frosts and just inland mist and fog aplenty from Althorne westwards but as for snow well we've all missed out on that. Fingers crossed for a little sledging this weekend!

Great pictures...winter doesn't have to be all about snow. Very scenic.

My memories go back to February 1978. I was at Primary school and the second half of February I recall was pretty cold and snowy. I remember waiting at the end of an alleyway waiting for my mum to pick me up in her old Ford Anglia, she had problems starting the car and was late I remember waiting for 15 minutes or so, I was wrapped up very well but was still cold but remember vividly looking up at the leaden sky and observing thick large flakes falling down. By the end of the afternoon about 3 inches has accumulated. I remember this month well as my friends pond was frozen thick, so much that we walked on it for a week or so. Also Ipswich played Bristol Rovers away in the FA Cup which we later went on to win, that game just went ahead on a frozen pitch with an orange ball, Ipswich scraped a draw and won the replay and the rest is history. By New Years Eve later in that year was my first experience of a huge snowfall with eye opening drifts, my friends and I went sledging down the local golf course (which had great hills). I remember that night had produced a snowfall of around 6-7 inches and coupled with the wind caused drifts up to 7-8 feet! We walked for about 1/2 mile down a lane which had hardly been passable by traffic, we pulled 2 sledges and I remember walking through a cutting with drifts either side enveloping us. Sledging was great fun but by the end of the afternoon just before dusk we got back home thankfully as I was suffering from mild frost bite. Great days... I have other great memories of winter...December 1981/82, January 1985 and the blizzard that never showed, February 1986, The great January 1987 and February 1991 and to the mid-nineties but unfortunately those days are becoming fewer. I could go on all day about my memories, shame there disappearing.

Well travelled home last night and the local authorities had gritted some major B-roads in my neck of the woods (that is Burnham to Maldon area) and the air temperature was near 3c and road surface just damp. I passed 2 gritters that threw more salt over my car than on the road, I really believe local authorities had a kick-up the backside I think since the problems of January 2003 when the M11 saw chaos from untreated surfaces and now at the mere mention of the white stuff they're out in force. Ceratinly if they use those sensors last night to inform the councils to grit the roads then they'd be out umpteen times each month as last nights conditions were not exceptional in the least. They were proved right though as I must of seen at least 3 or4 grains of sleet today! By the way that letter was class - bet no reply though!