carinthian

Latest reports from the Arctic sea ice areas report a general reduction compared to this time last year,particulary the continued low ice retention in the Barent Sea. The Arctic Basin and the East Siberian sectors show ice cover to retain the long term so called average ! May is the month of long shadows and increasing sunlight in the high Arctic ( generally the ocean has a full ice cover at this time of year above 85 degress N) Lower than average temps for the first part of May are presently being recorded here. Greenland currently is increasing its percentage of the worlds permanent ice retention as the rest of the world decreases ( as a meteorologist this intriques me greatly ) In the short term the positioning of high pressure zones continue to be removed from its normal latitudes. I feel there has been a continued marked change in the normal zonal flow since February 2005. High level winds have been pushed much further south as would be expected with a fairly prolonged dominence of negative Arctic Oscillation values ( high pressure influence further north, even in summer ). C

Hi Stephen, close. Have you got any sea breeze affect yet ? C

Hi Just hit 25.2 C. I think the Manchester Basin or Cheshire Plain with record todays highest temp. C

Hi Devonian, great to read about your keen interest in this fascinating subject. Perhaps if you read my first post on this discussion(31/3/06) you will be able to read more into what I report. Cheers C

Hello Devonian, You seem an expert in this field . Whom am I to argue ? I have studied Arctic ice shelves and extent of ice flows in the Arctic Ocean ever since I joined the Met Office in 1969. This restless circulating mass has always been very difficult to meassure accurately, even with todays ultra senor satellite data. As late as the 1970s the information supplied to me by Geostationary Satellites produced vague measurements that included sea eddies traced out by slush and water mixtures. So we have to be careful when making comparisions for each decade or so. Measurements of todays sea ice extent and thickness is always likely to be more precise. I only report on the conditions as I see it and more importantly rely on a lot of personal experience into reading the available supply of data to which I have access to. I report as I see it. At the end of the day the recording of sea ice extent is still evolving and is open consequencial evidence. Carinthian

Hello, Naughty little post ! What is your reality comparison.? What methods of measurement and accurracy are you comparing ? Do you have access to Acrtic data in the 1960s ? Which decade or decades ? I agree that the late 1960s reaches a peak during the last century.

Hello, The very latest ice reports from the Denmark Strait show a April advance of the main ice sheet 7/10th plus towards the NW corner of Iceland , situated at 24 degrees west on the Arctic circle ( about 25NM ) from landfall. The is the closest for some years. Greenland senors show a retained cold pool over its ice cap. The down flow of very cold surface air continues to mix with a prolonged spell of NEly airflow with Arctic origins in the Denmark Strait. These are great conditions to prolonged the "life expectancy" of spring ice in this region. C

Hello John, Thanks for those kind words and yes it is snowing now as I type! ( second to the old mistro himself ) what a great honour ! Cheers C

Hi, Forecast wind chill of -25C for Jan Mayen up wind for this weekend with blowing snow. Brr. C

Hi OP, The Arctic Ocean is 100% ice cover at the present, so that is average. The Greenland Basin is slightly less than average for this time of year, but was above average in the Autumn months. I wouldn't look to much into the Arctic cryoshere images and comparision reports over the past 20 years. Reporting and accurracy of ice extent and thickness is still evolving with new technology. I can remember 25 years ago that Geostationary Satellite views from Metestat 1 even measured ice slush eddies as permanent ice cover. So all I can advise is to be careful not to read too much into some of these gloom reports. The only reports that I take as being the most accurrate come from the Danish Met Institue climatologist. C

Morrning, the very latest report from the Denmark Striat indicate the main ice sheet to be presently 30NM from the Iceland Horn. The coming week will probably get the main pack 7/10-9/10th cover very close to NW Iceland ( probably no connection) the ice formation be retained and moved by a decent of very cold glacier winds mixing with the persistant NEly wind flow in the Denmark Strait, C

hI, No problem BFTP, Im always up there in spirit. I love the Greenland ice -cap,you can fit Western Europe on it. C

Hello BFTP, Thanks for your interest in this topic. It would give me great pleasure if your prognosis came off. I too don't think we will get the searing heat of tropical air mass, but I anticipate a good summer with lots of sunshine with the high pressure belt (clean air mass type) sinking closer to the British Isles, hopefully as good as 1959, which if you can remember was warm,sunny and dry without getting to hot. As regards to being on the Greenland plateau, I get all my info from some good buddies who work for Danish MI in the climate dept and I belief them alright when they say its cold up there! Cheers C

Hi John, Beats my -4.2C earlier this morning. The cold wedge should be centred over your part of the world on Monday night into Tuesday morning. It will be interesting to see if that record is broken again. Could be a close call. Let us know ! C

Morning, Further to the above -50C on the plateau this morning with blizzards and severe cold pushing towards Iceland. C

Morning, Minus 4.2C at 5am this morning. Lake frozen again. 70th frost of the season and not finished yet ? C

Greetings, Latest surface and upper air data show a developing cold pool over the Greenland ice cap. Cold air is expected to push from the Arctic into the Iceland Basin towards the end of the week. Deepest pool is likely to spread into Ireland over the weekend. C

Hello John, The volume of ice in the Baltic Sea is relatively small compared to much of the Northern Sea ice sheet. However, this year has produced one of the coldest winters for some time in many of the Baltic states. If you look at the Estonian web -cameras, a lot of deep snow remains on the plains and out into Tallin Bay there remains a lot of ice, If you remember last Autumn the SSTs in this region were remarkedly high ( this could be the effect of not much snowfall melt flowing from the Swedish and Lapland highlands into the Gulf of Bothnia) Further if you remember, I reported that the Norwegian press were reporting longer than normal snow retention last summer in their Alps. So the signs continue to look good. C

Hi Paul, I do remember playing beach cricket in August of the Skeggy sands,but with about 5 sweaters on ! All that snowfall in Scandinavia has yet to melt and flow into the North Sea. Can now see where the so bracing comes from. Blankets for the donkeys and hot mugs of tea for the sands ! Give me Ibiza anytime. C Perhaps that old salt skipping along the sands with that waterproof fishermans hat on and waving his arms with great delight was are own John Holmes!

hi further to the above report, for those interested in this subject the latest Finnish ice reports for the Baltic sea indicate twice as much sea ice cover compared to this time last year and a general 50% increase in the thickness of the sea sheet. Growth is still occurring as no let up in winter conditions continue to affect this region. C

Ice cover remains on a par with this time last year,apart from the retention of ice formation this winter in the Gulf of Bothnia. Pack ice covers the Arctic Ocean and the Kara Sea. The Canadian and Siberian sectors show a good cover of sea ice but not all areas are packed. Not much ice to report of in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. Any pack ice here being locked into the Greenland Fiords. The recent low temperature in the Barents Sea has failed to produce much sea ice in this area this Spring, although the prevailing NEly winds have pushed some ice flows into the Spitzbergen Bank with Bergy bits being now reported in Jan Mayen waters and as far Southwest as the Irminger Basin. The Aleutian Low is now in a position to return polar air from Siberia back into the Sea of Japan with a return of snowfall to much of highland Japan. Deep snow still covers much of Scandinavia, the Baltic states and much of Russia and Siberia. The Arctic high still dominates in a broad swathe from Labrador, Greenland and into Northern Russia with a well established and prolonged negative AO still prevailing. This combination is ripe for a return of cold NEly to affect much of Northern Europe during April. Eventually the high pressure zone will slip south with a return to warmer conditions, but when ? Carinthian

Hi Paul, Snowing here and settling. Looks to be heading for your part of the world. C

hI , mINUS 1.2C last night. 61st frost of the season. ( ratio of 1:6 ) not bad for global warming. Mod snowfall now. 5 days of lying snowfall in shaded area. C

hI all, 61st frost of the season this morning. Still a covering of snow in the shade at 75m asl ( 5 DAYS IN A ROW NOW) Deep snow still covering much of the Cheshire Peaks. Light flurries at the moment. C

Hi Blizzard , Thanks for the up-date. A cool sunny start to the cricket season late in April will do me fine . cheers C