slaphead

I'm suprised Ventnor didn't figure- I was always under the impression this was sunnier than Eastbourne on average, but beaten by Jersey.

Hey Walsall- the Feb 85 event is the one that sticks in my mind- I have never seen drifting approaching this at any other time in my life. I think there was decent snow in Jan 85 as well. I don't remember any significant snow in 86- a few powdery dustings, but I do remember the cold going on and on and Chasewater and all the canals being frozen for weeks (I actually saw an ice skater on them that year!). I also remember the school playing fields being hard as concrete but snow free. Jan 1987 was another good event- heavy snow yes, but without the drifting that made 1985 so memorable. Stangely I don't remember exceptional cold during this event although records suggest that it was. In my mind the snow of March 1987 was probably nearly as deep and it certainly seemed very cold, although that may be the result of a cross-country match in Rugely in blizzard conditions- not much fun.

I lived in Walsall in the 80s and have posted about Feb 1985 before here elsewhere- the month you must be thinking of is indeed Feb 85- there was intense cold but not much snow in 1986. In Feb 85 i clearly remember wet snow and rain turning to blizzard snow during double french and then by the time we left school at 4pm the drifts were incredible- main roads by the arboretum about a foot deep and traffic standstill. I attempted the bus home but after 2 hours travelled about 400 yards- walked the remaning 5 miles!! Next day I think was a saturday (although Im not sure about that). Remember being out with friends and amazed by the huge drifts many feet deep. I have seen nothing like them since, although Dec 1990 and Feb 1991 gave their best shot. Still my favorite winter snow event by miles and one that seems to have been largely forgotten.

If ever anyone ever needed an illustration of the effect of the gulf stream this is certainly it!

Yes Snowy- Im always suprised this isn't mentioned more. I was in south staffs in Feb 85 and no other event stays in my mind like this. I rememeber cold morning rain turning to snow- incredibly heavy, huge drop in temps, a real blizzard. By the time I left school that evening everything was gridlock even main roads had snow a foot deep and the drifts!!!! The largest I can ever remember, some easily over 6 feet deep (I have photos somewhere) and often stretching across roads, against walls, hedges and open fields completely swept clear. I doubt as much fell as in Dec 1990 but the overall effect and drifts and the cold beats it and Jan 87 and Feb 91 easily.

Yes January 1985 was a fairly exceptional month according to the stats- odd then that compared to the February event of that year I hardly remember Jan 1985. I wonder a fair bit about this because I remember many of the other winter months of this period quite well even earlier ones than this that were much less exceptional- we had decent snow in Jan 1984 for example- I remember because I got home from a day of building snowmen to have my Sunday evening bath to find I had german measles- two weeks off school and I never did get to grips with Algebra!!

Good morning! This is a very rare event for me to post here but usually try to make comment about snow events of the past. Being a current resident of West London we were very much spoiled this year for the snow in early February- heaviest I have seen in UK for many a year- with 6-8" probably since 1991. I have no doubts however about my favourite snow event and am surprised that people do not go on about it more- February 1985. I was living in South Staffordshire at the time, so perhaps the more extreme fall was more localised than I imagined. Many of the details of it are very vivid in my mind despite (or perhaps because of) the fact I was only 13 at the time. The whole event began in an unusual way. Travelling to school that morning it was cold but raining quite heavily. During school assembly however the rain turned to snow quite suddenly as we watched out of the window. The first two lessons of the day were double French with Mr Ackroyd and the snow was incredible, piling down huge flakes, not especially powdery at that point. By morning break there must have been 4-5 inches of snow, fallen within about 1 1/2 hours. During the rest of the day some really cold air seemed to cut in, the snow turned to powder and the wind really got up. By the time I left school at 4pm I would have said there must have been at least 12-16 inches of snow- however the wind and powder meant it was impossible to tell in many parts. That evening my journey out of Walsall on the 6 mile journey home took over 4 hours- a combination of bus, walking and a lift off a neighbour. The most amazing things however were: 1. Traffic stuck on the main roundabout by the aboretum in Walsall in snow almost knee deep- at RUSH HOUR!! 2. Drifts across the main road between Walsall and Rushall than were several feet deep. 3. Out walking the following weekend- hedge-top drifts by the local canal easily over 6 feet deep and accidentally falling onto the frozen canal as a cornice of hedge top snow collapsed under me (that hurt- the canal was as hard as concrete). 4. Digging huge snow tunnels in the drifts which blew out of the local park. After this initial event there was sunshine and freezing cold. Great time to be a kid!! Nothing comes quite as close although Jan 1987 was not bad but less drifting, Dec 1990 midlands snow storm was amazing but I missed the best of it as I was at University in Exeter and got back as it was thawing. Similarly Feb. 1991 was good, with excellent drifting but I only saw this briefly on a weekend visit home. Feb 1994 in Nottingham surprisingly good, and Feb 1996 back in South Staffs also not bad- mostly rubbish after that to be honest although the 2000s have on the whole been better than the 1990s I think. Any other 1985 memories?