Stevew

It's got be Christmas eve 1968. Living in the Midlands. Played football with friends in the morning before the rain set in around lunchtime. The BBC weather forecast was only talking about rain. Then - from nowhere - the rain started to turn to snow. What a shock! The ground was completely covered by tea time. Temperatures stuck at zero. The snow died out in the early hours. I really though all Christmases were going to be like this!

I was still at school and remember it well. I had hoped the rest of the winter was going to cold. Unfortunately it was dismally mild!!

Hey Jude by the Beatles! Release date 26th August 1968. A stunning hit throughout that autumn!

I remember this summer very clearly. It was the first time I was allowed go on holiday with some friends rather than my parents. I'm not sure who made the decision but we plumped for sunny Skegness! We were there for two whole weeks. The weather was so dull and cold and miserable. I honestly don't remember the sun ever making an appearance. Such happy days.......perhaps not in this case!!

I remember 1968 as though it was yesterday! Warm sunshine at the end of March. Pleasant enough for a game of tennis. Then a couple of days later winter returned. Heavy snow meaning no transport and a very long walk to school! I have a recollection that it was actually forecast but perhaps not as severe as it turned out!

I have really strong memories of the month as I was living in the Midlands doing a lot of commuting. The weather was such a disappointment if you like snow. Lots of frost in the ground which lasted through the day. This caused the postponement of a lot of horse racing and football. Hardly any snow. If you look at the record books you would think " wow what a winter that would have been". Unfortunately it was pretty drab really despite the endless frost in my back yard!!

For me it is 6.6c and 54mm. Many thanks

6.0c and 84mm for me please.

A slight covering of snow here in sunny Prestbury. Oddly enough there is no snow cover on nearby Cleeve Hill. The snow shower must have been not far east enough in the northerly wind.

I think we will hit 5.9 this time around. 82mm of rain.

8.0 and 98mm for me!

This is my first attempt at using my crystal ball. But I'm officially an OAP from tomorrow! 10.9c and 81mm please.

Interesting to note the predominance of low temperatures for much of the spring. How might 2021 CET for March-May compare to other cold springs?

I kept a detailed weather diary in the late 60's and early 70's living in Coventry. In this diary I used to summarise the weather forecast from the previous evening on the BBC. I will dig it out at the weekend as I can recall so many spectacular snow events that were not forecast. The downside is that there were so many occasions when snow was forecast but it never materalised! If anyone is interested I will take a look and summarise some of the events.

The Cheltenham festival gets underway at 1.30pm on Tuesday of next week. Surely the weather gods are not going to be unkind this year - not after the Equine flu outbreak in Feb which was bad enough!