Norrance

Sorry. Can't remember Oct 3, 2000 and have filed away weather diary from 2000 in the loft. Late Feb until mid March this year was better here than 2005 though we did get some snowfalls then also. On the few occasions the Scandinavian high has ridged towards us in recent Winters it has tended to come to close to us to bring anything but cold and light wintry / snow showers.

'While both of the winters you have recited were weakly positive in terms of the NAO, the 1991 example was a cold winter, the Met Office are predicting a mild winte, therefore 2001 is the most likely anologue' 2001 was actually the last good Winter we had for snow up here. A repeat of some of the North Easterlies that occurred in Feb and early March 2001 would be most welcome.

My memories of Christmas 1995. Christmas Eve. Took my new Fiancee to visit my parents in Highland Perthshire for the first time. Arrived pm to clear skies, a temp of -2 and a covering of powdery snow from showers on the 23rd. In evening visited pub in Aberfeldy. Came out at 1030 to find light snow falling and the powder blowing in the strengthening wind. Woke up AM Christmas day to find a full blown blizzard and could hardly see across the road. At 1100 the snow stopped, the wind dropped and the sun came out. The temperature also dropped like a stone to herald several days of sub zero temperatures. Maxima of -5 to -10. Minima of -14 to -19. Not quite as cold as 1982 but the second coldest that my parents had recorded in the area. At the end of the week the pipes in the attic had frozen and burst like countless others despite having the Central heating on constantly. Incidentally despite throwing my Fiancee in a snowdrift before Christmas lunch she still married me anyway