Norrance

Light snow / snow pellet showers in the wind here to the West of Dundee just now. Also in Perth earlier and a covering [skiff] on the ground in North Perthshire this morning. Nor.

I worked at the ASCO base in Peterhead Harbour in 1989 and can remember frequent gales that year. On one occasion [may have been the 13th Feb as Peterhead is only just down the road from the Broch] I remember the water going right over the breakwater. Not unusual in an Easterly but this time it was from a Westerly gale pushing the water over from the sheltered Peterhead Bay and not from the open sea. Either in 1989 ot 1990 there were gales recorded on something like 20+ consecutive days in Fraserburgh if I remember rightly.

My lowest reading was 962 mbs up here. Now 966 mbs with a temp of 3.6C.

Re the 12th March 2006 I had a look at the snow reports on here for that day. I think that it could trully be said to be widespread with only the South / South East missing out. These reports came from as far apart as Inverness and Aberdeen in the North to the Midlands, Central England & Wales in the South. There was even a report from the Isle of Mann. [both yourself and SF, several times reported snow on the 12th.] Depths from the Met O and Torro included 25 cms in Glasgow [caused chaos on the Saturday night with three thousand people staying the night in Night Clubs due to public transport being totally disrupted], 22cms in West Fife, 28 cms in Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway. Cumbria and inland parts of Northumberland also had 20-30 cms and there were drifts in North Wales of 30- 40 cms. The deepest official report of level snow came from Artalnaig [Loch Tay] in Highland Perthshire where there was 39 cms of level snow. Was this the last trully widespread fall in the UK? As for this March I still think that a just over average is possible though if the Northern blocking comes off I for one may have pitched too high.

Just two years ago the North East of Scotland had up to 30 cms of cumulative snow lying from a persistant Northerly. On the 11/12th there was more widespread snow further South with 39 cms level snow reported from Artalnaig in Perthshire. Parts of West Fife reported 30cms and the 25cms in the Glasgow area caused chaos overnight on the Saturday. The 12th is my daughter's birthday and on that day in 2006 her party was cancelled as her friends could not make it in from the countryside. It also snowed on the morning she was born in 1998.

With regards to the above you only have to look back to 2006 to find March having the coldest day in the UK. It also happened in 2001 and I think that was the last time that anywhere in the UK got below -20C. Source Trevor Harley's site of coldest and warmest UK days since 1900. Since 2000 the following years also had December with their coldest day. 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007. Only two years since 2000 had their coldest days in Jan/Feb [None in Feb]. This I would think must be unusual. As for this year the highest temp to date will surely now remain if the cut off date is Feb 29th given the current outlook.

6.9C for me. Some coolish and changeable weather but no extended cold or frequent frosts so very slightly above average. ps No real heat either though.

Tummel Bridge had the record from -7C to + 22C but was just beaten by Altnaharra at the end of December 1995 by point something. Interestingly Tummel Bridge was in May, Altnaharra in December and I believe that the previous record in Central Southern England was in August showing that the largest diurnal ranges are not limited to any one particular season.

Both the stations I quoted have records going back several decades but I only have figures from the mid seventies. There are some with records going back a long way, some only recently and others that are no longer in existence. Unfortunately snow lying and falling stats are not published as a matter of course by the Met Office and can be quite difficult to get hold of. I have found generally there are more stats up here on the internet as there have been many surveys done for the Scottish Office, Executive and Local Authorities. However if you e-mail the met o from the link in their web site I have found that they are very helpful in providing information about snow as long as it is not fto be used for commercial purposes. In general the early to mid seventies were not snowy and there were a lot of mild and less snowy winters between the wars earlier last century.

Looked at my post from last night and without the benefit of a few large glasses of wine I see the figures quoted just look a bit of a mess. What I was trying to show was how much lying snow has reduced over the last couple of decades. In the 10 years from 1977/86 my local reporting station Mylnefield had an average of 18 days per year snow lying. This dropped to 11 in the following 10 years and to only 6 in the ten years to 2006, 1/3rd of the first figure. In my home area the station at Faskally reported 40 days of snow lying per year in the ten years to 1986. This dropped to 31 in the next ten years and down to 20 in the ten to 2006, thus halving in the period. Incidentally even with this drop I doubt if there are many low level stations [94 mtrs asl] under 100 mtrs that report as many snow lying days. Anyone know of any?

Having read through this thread I thought that I would obtain the snow lying figures for my home area in Perthshire and the area I live in now just West of Dundee and compare 10 year averages of snow lying days for the last thirty years as I think this part of the world has been hit badly by the changes since the eighties. I have taken official readings from Faskally, near Pitlochry at 94 Mtrs asl in Highland Perthshire for the inland readings. I lived a few miles away but the records are fairly similar to my own. [My own records had more snow days but in retrospect I didn't adhere strictly to the >50% cover on open ground at 0900 hrs and I lived in as North facing side of the valley.] The Dundee records are from Mylnefield at 35 mtrs asl to the West of Dundee. Their recent records mirror my own here almost exactly in recent years. Snow lying at 0900 hrs. >50% open ground covered. Days at Days at Year Mylnefield Faskally Year Mylnefield Faskally Year Mylnefield Faskally 1977 14 22 1987 15 31 1997 10 13 1978 27 39 1988 0 23 1998 7 20 1979 30 70 1989 2 25 1999 2 33 1980 14 43 1990 7 26 2000 3 17 1981 16 56 1991 22 29 2001 12 30 1982 15 32 1992 4 20 2002 0 19 1983 7 31 1993 22 42 2003 3 15 1984 23 36 1994 10 45 2004 10 21 1985 11 42 1995 12 39 2005 12 20 1986 30 33 1996 18 31 2006 3 12 10 yr av 18.7 days 40.4 days 10 yr av. 11.2 31.1 10 yr Av. 6.2 20.0 This would show that in Dundee snow lying days are now 1/3 of those in the eighties and the last two years 2007 and 2008 so far are even worse though official records are not yet available. Inland it is not quite so bad but still only 50% of the cover there was two decades ago but this year so far has been quite good. Yet despite that fall in snow lying days I doubt there are many places under 100 mtrs in the UK that have averaged 20 snow lying days over the last ten years. I think that it shows how even a small rise can have a large effect on snow cover where the temps are marginal such as in areas of low ground near the coast. It also makes me think that I was extremely lucky as a snow fan at being brought up in a snowy area in a relatively snowy era and that sledging and learning to ski in local hills were not seen as something special. Sorry I am no good at tables. :lol:

Very similar here just up yhe road with 8 air frosts in January plus a few more under 2C. This followed 14 air frosts in December and another 4 nights under 1C. A very distict line so far this season possibly somewhere in Northern England between an average / cool Winter and the very mild weather further South.

February through to March 1947 must have been an incredible though harsh spell to have lived through, with rationing still in force and no central heating. For snow depths throughout the period the data collated by George Booth attached is very informative. It does show western parts were very dry in the North but not so further East http://www.winter1947.co.uk/

Signs of a cool down from about Tuesday possibly due to as high pressure building to the North. Latest Met O outlook for the last few days of Jan a bit cooler than previously indicated. UK Outlook for Sunday 27 Jan 2008 to Tuesday 5 Feb 2008: Many parts should be fine at first with some sunny spells, as high pressure is expected to be centered to the south of the UK. Northern and some western parts will be more unsettled though with cloud and outbreaks of rain as well as some strong winds, perhaps gales over northwest Scotland. It will be mild generally. However, some colder air is expected to spread across the UK from next Tuesday onwards, and this will bring showers or spells of rain, with wintry falls over hills, and perhaps to low levels in the north. It is likely to be windy at times too. The driest and sunniest conditions are most likely in the south and east. Temperatures will be near normal to rather cold after the mild start. Updated: 1158 on Tue 22 Jan 2008

I don't know of any specific sites but I have found the Met Office to be very co-operative when I have E mailed them for snow and temperature data. May be worth a try if not for commercial reasons as I think that they charge for that

Much as I would like to promote the joys of Scottish skiing I think if I lived where you are and wanted to maximise the chances of good skiing conditions I would head to Alps. I have had some brilliant days skiing up here on fresh snow over a wide area, with good weather and little in the way of queing but to get a combination of these factors recently has been rare. Consequently booking in advance would be a risk but great if it worked out. I can pick my days from here as I am just an hours drive from Glenshee and two from Cairngorm so this recent spell is great, particularly in midweek when the slopes are quiet. If you ever do decide to try Scotland later in the season is usually best for both snow and weather, and if away from holiday times and weekends quieter also.

The mountain forecast for the Grampians after today's heavy snow indicates snow again tomorrow on the higher slopes turning to rain later. Temperatures will temporarily rise to 4/5C but by Saturday it will be colder again with snow showers. This indicates only a slight thaw on the higher slopes and has been said above a freeze thaw cycle helps here by giving a good long lasting base. The main danger comes later as there are indications of a much longer lasting mild spell with thawing at all levels from next Tuesday.

There was a noticable dfference North to South with more PM air affecting Northern England and Scotland. The average temp for Jan 1984 in Scotland was 0.3C. However it wasn''t the temperature that made Jan 1984 so memorable but the depth and intensity of the snowfalls, particularly from mid month onwards and into early February. Kindrogan in Perthshire reported lying snow for 30 days in January and most northern areas had lying snow from the 13th. A memorable spell in a series of memorable winters.

Some great pics from Glenshee this week/today. You can see Winter Highland for more from around the resorts. http://www.winterhighland.info/pix/display...=5708,398#start

Now snowing down to seal level in Centre/West of Dundee. Edit Better make that sea level. :lol:

Rain has turned to snow in Perth. Further inland it has snowed all morning.

Now snowing to relatively low levels again in Highland Perthshire. Lying for about a week now, something that did not happen last winter.

Just back from a walk up near the Coupar Angus road about 8 miles North West of Dundee. Beautiful feathery snowflakes falling up there onto about 4inches of crusted snow.[Wish I had thought of taking the camera] The back road was quickly filling in and the snow was even lying on the higher part of the main road despite the gritters. Back at home unfortunately as was the case last night it is sleet and sleety rain. I was up in Highland Perthshire this morning and there the snow was approx 6 inches deep, of the sticky variety and crusty on higher ground.

Around 1/2 cms here with the roads being treacherous with slush and ice. On a more downbeat note one death on the roads in Angus this morning down to a car leaving the A90 due to the weather conditions according to the police.