charlton north-downs

Heavy snow in Biggin Hill Kent at least 2ins and still coming down fast

White out at Westerham Heights Kent 800ft temp -1c settling everywhere should stick overnight as well

Clouding over now on the Downs-Unless something goes terribly wrong we are in for a few days of very cold weather for late March. If the Downs gets snow overnight and its sticks then tomorrow could end up being close to an Ice day. I have known it to be Max of 6c in London and 0c in Biggin Hill after heavy snow in March and thats because of the cooling that occurs when snow falls and lays . Since I have moved to this area 21 years ago I think there has been only a couple of years when snow has not fallen in March or April .

Try the North Downs on the Surrey/Kent Border Westerham Heights at over 800 ft or Titsey Hill even Higher at 865ft just of Junction 5 or 6 :wacko: Sorry meant to say junction 5 or 6 off M25

Although this winter Chicago is experiencing a cold one, the article below makes interesting reading. If you like cold winters you would die for some of the so called mild winters Chicago have had to endure over the last few years :o January 29, 2004 Chicago Winters If you're like me you get tired of listening to all the whining from the East Coast every time they get a little bit of snowy or cold weather. What makes it all the more frustrating is that Chicago winters have become pathetic. Nowdays, we get a few inches and everyone gets all nervous about road closures, but it didn't used to be like that. Go back with me, if you will, to the halcyon winters of yesteryear... During the winter of 1976-1977 the temperature remained below freezing for 43 consecutive days. During the 1978-1979 winter, 89.7 inches of snow fell during a three month period. A few pictures here and here help you to get the idea. These past few winters, we get a few little wimpy snowstorms and that's it. These things used to be a regular occurence. Pretty soon, kids will have to visit the Digital Snow Museum and especially this page just to figure out what snow is supposed to look like. I'm not saying that all this is due to Global Warming or anything. To be honest, I have no clue why our winters have become so pathetic. We used to be able to scoff at those out on the east coast because we knew we'd been through much worse and barely said a word. It's a real let down because we haven't had worse and we can't brag anymore. Just to put it in perspective, here are some little vignettes from NOAA that recount the way winter used to be: January 25th, 1977: This was the 29th consecutive day where Chicago's High temperature was below freezing. The 43-day long cold snap lasted from December 28th, 1976 through February 8th, 1977 setting the all-time record for the longest period of below freezing temperatures to occur in Chicago. Rockford had two record temperatures set and Chicago had three during this long period. January 13th, 1979: The "Blizzard of '79" moved into northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. At the time, this date had the greatest calendar-day snowfall of 16.5 inches in Chicago. This storm also contributed to Rockford setting the all-time record snowfall for a single Winter season with a total accumulation of 74.5 inches. January 14th, 1979: As the "Blizzard of '79" moves off to the East, the region began to dig out of the snow. The greatest snow depth ever recorded for Chicago was set with a measurement of 29 inches on this date. January 28th, 1979: January of 1979 received 26.1 inches of snowfall in Rockford, making it one of the snowiest Januarys on record for the city. The Winter of 1978-79 had a total of 74.5 inches of snowfall, setting the all-time record for most snowfall in one season ever for the city. January 8th, 1982: Three days of blizzard conditions started, affecting much of northern Illinois. Though the actual snowfall totals were rather small, around an inch, high winds caused widespread whiteout conditions. January 10th, 1982: Bitterly cold weather gripped much of the state as most reporting stations recorded Low temperatures of 20 below Zero or colder. Some of the coldest air settled in over much of northern Illinois overnight causing temperatures to plummet to 27 degrees below Zero in Rockford and 26 below in Chicago. The Rockford temperature is the all-time Low temperature on record for the city. January 20th, 1985: Chicago's O'Hare International Airport recorded the lowest temperature ever reported for Chicago with 27 below Zero. A record Low temperature was also reported at the Rockford Airport with 26 below Zero. Both locations also recorded the minimum High temperature for this date with a High of 4 below Zero in Chicago and 5 below Zero in Rockford. January 11th, 1991: A 3-day winter storm began across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. The combination of freezing rain and 35 MPH winds caused extensive damage to trees and power lines. Widespread blackouts occurred over much of the area. The freezing rain changed over to snow during the late evening hours, dumping over 4 inches of new snow by the following morning. January 3rd, 1996: While the snowstorm of 1999 was the worst New Year's snowstorm in Chicago, northern Illinois was affected by another winter storm on the 2nd and 3rd of 1996. This storm produced up to 8 inches of snow, and 30 to 40 MPH winds created near whiteout conditions across open areas. January 2nd, 1999: Northern Illinois was in the grips of a severe winter snowstorm, bringing much of the area to a stop. Heavy snow and high winds caused drifts of more than 4 feet in many areas. On this date 18.6 inches of snow fell in Chicago, the greatest single-day snowfall total ever recorded for the city. Over the 3-day storm 21.3 inches of snow fell across portions of the Chicago Metro area.

This winter has really hit home and I find myself loathing winters as I did in the early seventies when there was no appreciable snow from 1971-1978 in Sidcup Kent. Then it all changed and winters again felt like winters with Snow Frost and Ice on a regular basis but not every winter. Spring was something you looked forward to as real winters or UK winters make you appreciate the seasons . Alas now I cant wait for spring for a different reason as this winter has been as dire as any in the last 20 years. Snow did not occur every winter in the sixties and seventies but frost did and you usually got one snow event even if it was heavy wet snow. The frustrating thing is I moved to Biggin Hill after getting married in 1987 and a part of me did so because locals talked about how snowy winters can be up on the North Downs at a height of 200 meters and how lovely the countryside is so near to London. Since 1987 there has only been one major snow event Feb 1991 when we had over a foot of snow and drifts of 3ft.

Biggin Hill Kent -Just dropped my daughter off at Waitrose and the roads were really Icy and temps - 1.8c just checked the temps now and its -2.2c with freezing fog blowing in. Surely the CET must be be end up close to average.

Great report and photos . A couple great pictures of Biggin Hill Kent -shame it doesn't happen now as the North Downs at over 600ft can really be a winter wonderland.

Fantastic lunch time walk in Bromley Kent 3.8c crisp dry sunny almost a perfect day min last night in Biggin hill was-2.8c and expecting to be a lot colder tonight if of course it stays clear . I'm expecting a dusting of snow on high ground in the SE by Sunday-you heard it here first

Great Post Roger and your postings are always of great interest as you view in great detail our weather from across the pond . Having lived through 63' and all the cold winters up to 1987(Jan 87' The Kent North Downs received 30 inches of snow with drifting which meant the main Road to London was blocked for four days with several double decker buried .- mild thereafter apart from 1991 when even the heat Island called London had nine inches of level snow for a few days I fear that my kids and younger members on the forum may never witness a real cold winter Regards Charlton North Downs-a very amateur weather observer

Just found my old Weather book in the loft called London Weather which has all the data for Greenwich and Kew from 1841-1964. December 1890 caught my eye and I'm sure Mr Data has covered this but here are the stats for Kew . Other parts of the country would probably have been much colder. Mean (-1.6C) Diff from average (-6.8C) Mean Max 0.8c Diff from aver. (-6.7c) High Max 6.6c Lowest Max (-5.8c) High Min 2.3c Low Min (-11.8c) Rainall 0.55ins Average 27% Sunshine 0.03hours The daily minimum temp was below (-6.7c) on six nights at Greenwich and 16 days below freezing . Frosty nights at Norwood 26 .Continous frosts 10 days at Greenwich . Snow & Sleet fell on 12 days at Brixton. December was completely sunless at Westminster. What a month with no sunshine, freezing temps and some snow. The 1890/91 winter had 45 cold days below 2c and a memorable snow event on March 9th which led to snow drifts of 11ft even in Central London.

Heavy Rain since 6.30pm still coming down at 9.30pm

Living inat Biggin Hill on the North Downs at 650ft and only 19 miles from Central London we have our own Micro Climate which is fascinating for me. It seems to be windier certainly wetter and colder. A perfect climate for me would be Spring - A cold start with March/April snowstorms then warming up give spring storms and pleasant sunny days Summer- Hot with a breeze Autumn -Stormy start settleing down to frosty mornings and cool nights Winter -Frosty for walking interspersed with snow-storms and having lived through 63' and 87" I would like to see that that sort of snow again and unlike others I think the Country would cope eventually.

Hi Mr Data Looking at the last newspapers clippings, it had Cardiff as the wettest place in the UK at 1.77ins . If that is all snow then we are looking 2ft of level snow, that is an incredible amount, or did it start off as rain then turn to snow. Just a fact that I would love to know the answer too.

When you think of some of the temperatures even for the Heat Island called Central London . Max -2c min -5c. Feb 1991 was the last time those temps happened. At the time I was living in Woking and Temps then on some occasions only reached a maximum of -5c. We took it all for granted little realising that GW was on the way. People say the country will grind to a halt if we have those sort of winters again well I don't believe that, once the first couple days of a big freeze was over we got use to it and somehow managed to cope. :lol:

The thing that I remember most is freezing weather lasting two or three weeks at a time even in the South . Temps sometimes would not rise above -5c and nights temps often down to -10c. Now if we are lucky, we might get a couple days and maybe I am better off because of the height values at Biggin Hill

When the first snows arrived on the 9th I was stranded at Clapham Junction for about three hours trying to get to work. It really caught the weather forecasters out because it rained heavily first thing in the morning which readily turned to snow(if it had all been snow the snow-depth would have doubled :o ) . Central London pavements became like skating rinks, because after the snow stopped the temperature dropped to below -2c at around mid-day. It is the first time I can remember having regular snow storms for nearly four weeks.

Great Piece Mr Data. Its like having two weeks of January 1987 times 3 .

Heavy Rain, consistent now in Bromley Kent.

Been raining for about 3 hours with a cold wind. Very Autumnall

Heavy rain in Bromley Kent. Should push up the average for the month which was standing at 5% before yesterdays torrential rain.

Hi folks Snowiest place in Greater London should be Biggin Hill due to altitude of 230m at least 8/10 extra days of lying snow compared with Bromley and Central London. :wub: Westerham Hill at 289m gets a lot -just in Kent . fantastic when a NE blows. Often get snow in April at Biggin Hill usually rain lower down.

8am 7.9c minimum 5.8c which is pretty damn cold for July in Biggin Hill as were high up and certainly no frost hollow.

Heavy rain in Biggin Hill Kent this is not forecast -whats going on-answers on a postcard please .

What are the odds of a 51 year old living through an event such as the the record breaking May June July 2007 , which broke say a 250 year old record. Can odds apply to weather anyway as it is not constant . If the same principle applied as the lottery jackpot which runs like this 49x48x47x46x45x44 = 10,068,347,520 divided by 720 because the numbers dont have to be in order. =13,983,816 nearly 14 million to 1 . Am I having a really grey moment here-its along time since I left school but could it be like this 250x249x248 divided by 51 =302,705 to 1