Severe Blizzard

Another letdown ~ a promising development over Northern France around midnight fails to deliver. From past experience, thunder outbreaks over Le Havre area tend to move northwards with Guildford in the firing line. Up to now this has been a fail safe set-up and even I was 100% convinced that this would bring satisfaction at last. Of course, not in this pathetic gutless useless summer for storms. The MO rainfall radar at 0800 sums this up beuatifully where the activity weakens as it moves north then reintensifies as a new cell builds once it has passed the region so no doubt the Midlands and Wales will hit the jackpot again. This idea about storm shields is a light hearted way of looking at an increasingly frustrating summer. My own idea of storm shields is more mundane - I just think certain areas, like Guildford, are just cursed with the constant annoyance of missing out on the fun and getting nothing else to make up for it. A humid sticky overcast post-storm 'hangover' (a storm we never got) day is not compensation when WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR OUR FIRST PROPER THUNDERY OUTBREAK in 2009. I know this idea is crazy, but superstition starts to take hold when bored to tears with constant letdowns, downgrades and disappointments followed by another long wait with nothing interesting to focus on. It is thoroughly annoying overhearing the general public and even friends saying "ooh, we don't want a thunderstorm", when I know damned well they will get their wish every time. There is a consensus that the more people that say this remark, the stronger the storm shield. These people who don't want a storm and who are not normally interested in weather focus on the more simple things in life like discussing the latest soap or related garbage on television, remarking on what people wear and gossiping. It is funny that when there is an interesting weather event, it is these people who remark on the weather like they have never seen a storm etc. and suddenly there are intelligent conversations everywhere and life becomes interesting. Periods of boring weather such as in 2009 since the second half of February breed a sense of boredom and boring repetition. The repeated letdown situations just bring repeated grumbling and despondency - it would be really good to have something different for a change and see differnet parts of the U.K. getting storms for a change. Incidentally, drought status was reached on Wednesday having had no measurable rain for 14 days. Even in the famous drought hit summer 1976, there were several days of thunder in all of the summer months and a good autumn followed. I am beginning to seriously wonder if 2009 is to be the most thunder-free year ever as poorly performing summers are usually preceded by high levels of thunder activity in the winter or spring. After a poor summer for thunder in 2008, there was a thunder-free autumn and winter and one day of distant thunder in the spring (15th april). Yet in April 2008, there was thunder on 5 days and this was the last period of decent activity. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.

Very impressive!!! Frequency and strength of the lightning was similar to the 24th June 1994 evening thunderstorms. On that occasion there was no direct hit as seen in the first 12 seconds in the film. Lovely bit of footage. Does anyone know where and when this was filmed?

Well, here we are - the day after the thunderstorms - feeling fed up, let down and disappointed now that we have to probably wait for another month before there is another crack at having an opportunity. It would be too much to hope for an unexpected or surprise thunder event which were so abundant in the 1980's. Just because a few members are no longer in the no storms club after yesterday, 2009, in my opinion is still an extremely poor performer with a complete lack of suitable synoptic setups which are too few and far between. This is reflected in the low number of 'thunder days' (days on which any thunder - overhead or distant, was reported) this year and in the second half of 2008. It has been a long time since I have felt this frustrated and deprived. Having been patient and tolerant over the last few months, especially after a 'good' winter which has been enjoyed more than this summer, it has reached the point where patience is running out. :unsure:

Live in the South East? Fed up with no storms? Fed up with the constant let downs, false promises and downgrades? Fed up with summer 2009? Then this Whiner's Corner Special – The Storm Starved South East is for you! This section can be used in conjunction with the No Storms Club section which gives a more generalised picture across the U.K. The NSC is not really a Whining World posting section and Whining World has not yet been updated for summer, hence I thought of this specific section to fill the gap. After the last few weeks I have reached the point where I am getting totally fed up with the 'summer' weather and having experienced yet another letdown today, the day that every forecast made a song and dance about and even I thought would deliver, it is now the right time to start grumbling! It is 5:30 pm and as expected all there is are large Cumulus congestus clouds with no further convection to the point of kicking off storms. My rant is as follows. I have tried to condense it to prevent repetition and being accused of being too verbose. I have left out examples for the points as one would need a high capacity server on which to store all the information and life's too short. Background Local areas – Guildford and Fleet – have only witnessed ONE day of thunder in the vicinity in the last 9 months. Last summer was also virtually thunder free and for the first time since 1990 (which was a hot, sunny and dry summer) there was no major thunder event at either site. The last period of high thunder activity was in April 2008, where cyclonic and unstable conditions prevailed and led to 5-6 days of thundery showers and some hail. The unsettled nature of summer 2008 had insufficient instability for thunderstorms as the S.E. was always on windy shower-less southern flank of the endless Atlantic depressions which brought so many storms and heavy rainfall events to the midlands northwards. Summer 2009 just feels like a continuation of where we left off form last year except it is (thankfully) less windy. The Main Points (1) There is a lack of viable synoptic situations which favour the S.E. and local areas. (2) The infrequent and transient nature of the favourable situations prevents any establishment of the ingredients for any thunderstorm let alone a good one. (3) Synoptic situations are usually unfavourable with no nice surprises. (4) Any glimmers of hope, such as forecasts – from any medium – are downgraded, usually hours before the event or establishment of the favourable synoptics. (5) After such downgrades, forecasts are more interested in the continuation of the dry weather or the next weak front letdown bringing the usual drizzle or fizzling out situation. (6) There is no second chance of the establishment of another event to get excited about – so if the event on the day is a letdown – tough luck and now there is another long wait for the next opportunity, usually a month or more later. (7) Funny how the conditions which are not met with such enthusiasm such as bright, breezy, dry weather with blowing dust or uncomfortable high humidity seem to be upgraded or develop unexpectedly. Thunder situations don't develop unexpectedly and this region never seems to get any pleasant surprises these days. ( <_< I work outdoors in a manual job with the public, which can be quite physically demanding and also stressful. In certain conditions the job is relaxing, rewarding and fun. However, the heat and humidity make the job more strenuous and stressful and it is not enjoyable dealing with bad tempered customers and chavs shouting abuse from cars when suffering in these hot and sticky conditions. It is even more annoying slogging away and having to make the effort knowing damned well that long awaited storm won't materialise and somebody else will hit the jackpot. (9) One's temper is not helped by the inability to sleep well in the sticky and humid conditions. Insect bites and the general upsurge in numbers of other annoying insects like wasps and fruit flies doesn't help either. Putting up with this would be worth it for a good thunderstorm! (10) Current situation is all the more frustrating as we are still waiting for our first proper storm of the year. (11) Because of the specific synoptics, certain areas always seem to be favoured – these include the general Midlands, East Anglia, Lincolnshire, and anywhere northwards. The S.E. tip of Kent and parts of the S.W. seems to be favoured too. I do apologise to those members that are still in the No Storms Club who live in these otherwise favoured non-S.E. England locations. I recognise that not all Midland observers have had the pleasure yet this year. However, I feel that these areas away from the S.E. have probably seen more thunderstorm activity per 10 km square grid than a comparable area in the S.E. (12) While the promise of much wanted thunder and severe weather events get downgraded for this region, subsequently not to develop at all, other locations get the jackpot as promised and often have the pleasant surprise events which this area never seems to get. (13) The S*ds Law effect. This is another rant and is off topic, but just to say, on the occasion when some event does materialise, I am miraculously away from the area at the time and end up missing it. Yet, many of my friends go on holiday annually and get caught in some exciting and memorable event and don't miss anything when away. Thanks for reading, Rant over.

Today, 10th June - Another letdown. Today's forecast - widespread showers with a good chance of thunder. Like Sunday 7th - another day of large cumulus with signs of development but all the action quickly dying off as another area of rain moves up the English Channel and misses this area (and much of the extreme S.E., for which it was forecast). Convection is killed off with the veil of altostratus from this area of rain. Verdict - no storms, again. Tomorrow's forecast - the showers will be less widespread and less thundery than today. Any hope of anything dashed yet again and more waiting no doubt. Summer 2009, as has much of the spring, has been thoroughly boring and uneventful - rain always seems to be in small quantities yet the heavier showers always seem to pass by just to the north and any prolonged potentially thundery rain always seems to clip the Kent area. Today is yet another example of this as has been the last few days - I am getting a constant feeling of deja vu as this boring pattern keeps repeating. Summer last year was cr*p for thunder as well and was the first year that I did not witness any decent storm in the whole year. However, summer 2008 had been preceded by a reasonably good winter and April for thunder so one may have expected a compensatory quiet summer to follow. In the last 9 months I have only heard thunder on 1 day, Wednesday 15th April (this was not severe or especially remarkable). There being no thunder at all in the precedeing autumn or winter followed by a quiet spring should surely lead to a bit more excitement in the summer? The way things are going, despite summer being "unsettled", with this part of S.E. / Southern England missing the action every time - it looks like I will be a member of this club for quite a while yet.

Moderate wet snow at Guildford from 7:20 pm to 9 pm. Slight covering on flower beds and some bushes / low foliage. Playing field was white with dusting and car roofs had about 0.5~0.75 cm. This was a surprise as it was thought the precipitation band would miss the area by quite a distance - we were on the edge however and it was still great to see snow again after an absence of 5 days where things were beginning to feel a little 'deflated'. The snow was mostly quite large flakes but also smaller snow grains and perhaps frozen rain drops. There was a short period of sleetiness as the precipitation died out.

I agree. Haven't seen a single snowflake since last FRIDAY. It's another marginal situation - the usual curse in our area - either precipitation intensity dies off / fragments before it reaches this region or the temperature / dewpoint profile is too high. So we probably won't see much in the next few hours. This spell is turning into a big dissapointment - it started off well enough with the fantastic 13 hours of heavy snow overnight 1st~2nd February with 29 cm snow lying but every situation since has just become more marginal with increasing downgrades and less snow. The usual areas which are favoured in this type of set up have done much better this week (Midlands, East Anglia and Lincolnshire).

4.6 deg C. with steady moderate rain at Guildford. Temperature up from 3 deg. C in last hour. Barometric pressure now 981 mb (after dropping from 1002 mb at 0900). No sign of any wintry precipitation and despite no really heavy amounts yet there are large puddles in the middle of snow patches which are sadly thawing at the fastest pace seen in the last week. Hope this bent back occlusion can at least give some wet snow before the low gets too far east and the precipitation dies out.

A fantastic and historic snowfall averaging 29 cm depth at Guildford. Heavy snow persisted from 1:30 am to 9 am with some very heavy bursts especially aroud 5 am to 6 am. On retiring at 1:15 am, I thought the heavier snow was not going to penetrate sufficiently west and that the existing 6~7 cm was the final word. It was a wonderful surprise to wake up at 2:30 am and see an estimated depth of 12 cm on tops of walls, and after this I was getting up hourly and increasingly unable to sleep with excitement. Depths were estimated to be 15~18 cm at 3:30 am and 21~23 cm at 4:30 am. I finally got up at 6 am - couldn't sleep anymore - and looked at the radar which confirmed my suspicions of the best Thames Streamer that I have ever seen. The heavy snow kept piling W.S.W. in a narrow line and there was more to come. After an initial drop to -3.2C, the all-night snow fell at between -2.4C and -2.2C. Venturing out at 8 am, I was met by incredible snow depths and complete dislocation of traffic and services. I took snow depth measurements on non-disturbed level snow and measured a depth of 29 cm in many spots, although a few were lower at around 26 cm. The playing field opposite the supermarket brought a measurement of 33 cm. Fairly heavy snow persisted to 9 am before becoming lighter and turning granular. There were a few bursts of heavier snow from 10 am to 2 pm, otherwise snow was mainly light and granular. Melted snow yielded 19 mm 'rainfall' demonstrating the powdery nature of the snow (one would have expected about 29 mm from 29 cm snow). The powdery nature will mean a quicker compaction tomorrow. As for the 'main event'. I had a hunch that this would 'go wrong' for my area - thankfully not introducing the mild sector too far west as suggested on last Thursday evening's unwelcome downgrade. Thankfully, the streamer and snow showers delivered - while the frontal event was a let-down. After last night's success, this let-down isn't too serious and at least others have seen some decent snow now. (I felt sorry for those missing out last night as it is usually where I am located that misses all the fun - but not this time... ). Hope to upload some photos soon.

Best Thames streamer since 8th January 2003. The snow which started at 7:45 pm eased off around 9 pm but there have been bursts since. The depth at 10:30 pm is 4 to 5 cm. Temperature is -2.5C. Light snow falling at present.

Steady moderate to fairly heavy snow since 7:35 pm. All grass, paths and roads covered - depth about 1.5 to 2 cm. Temperature is now -3C. No road gritting this evening - yet - so traffic is going slow and cautious. First flakes were seen at 10:12 am and there were light flurries with small flakes and snow grains at 1:05 pm and 2:45 pm. Maximum temperature was 2.9C dropping to -1.9C by 5:30 pm. Rather windy all day (gusts of 20~25 mph) but little wind since snow arrived this evening.

Saturday 10th was the coldest day I have had at Guildford since 1st January 1997. After -6.3C last night, freezing fog and cloud resulted in a low maximum, -1.1C, which is the first ice day since 20th December 1999! The sky cleared just after 4:30 pm to reveal cirrus patches. A period of clear skies continued and temperatures reached -3.1C around 6:30 pm before beginning to rise - slowly. The frost was still present and showed no signs of thawing on returning home from work at 10 pm despite temperatures beginning to rise. Last night would have been colder had it not been for the development of extensive fog and freezing drizzle around midnight. There was an extensive coating of rime on all surfaces except roads just after midnight and this has persisted all day. A brilliant end to the enjoyable cold snap. Interestingly, despite such a cold day with persistent fog and frost, the wind at 50 m above ground (steam and smoke from Royal Surrey Hospital chimney) was S.W. at about 10~15 mph as early as 1 pm and some slight gusts were felt at ground level and this dislodged some of the rime from the trees. Winds remained mostly light all evening although there were some light to modrate gusts. However after 8:30 pm, higher up (est. 300~500 m) the change is already apparent with fast moving fragements of stratus and a definite change in the 'feel' of the cold at ground level. The rime and frost on Bannister's Playing Field around 3:40 pm today.

Current temp is -4.1C after dropping to -6.3C at around 10:30 pm. Max. temp on Friday 9th was 0.5C after clearence of fog and stratus. The rime lasted all day on some trees and ground remained frozen in nearby garden. Skies were clear until 10 pm when fog moved in and temperatures then rose 2C. 5 nights out of 10 in 2009 so far have had minima at -6C or lower - unheard of in recent years!

The snowfalls and very cold weather of December 1981. Here is an account of a memorable spell of severe weather which resulted in the development of my interest in weather, including my love of severe events. These observations were made at Fleet, Hampshire. December 1981 began with an anticyclone to the N.W. of the U.K. and rather cold foggy weather with night frosts. A milder spell followed on the 3rd with the highest temperature of the month being 8.5 deg.C on the 4th. A N.W. airflow developed after the weak cold front moved S.E. This cooler period ushered in a period of rather cloudy weather on the 5th to 7th with light rain at times as waves moved S.E. along the front. It was already cold enough for snow in Scotland on the 7th. Overnight, a more active depression moved S.E. engaging very cold air to the north. As the front moved south, areas to the east of Salisbury Plain were treated to sudden heavy snowfalls. This snow was memorable because it was not forecast. A fantastic week followed and one wonders how many posts plus happy and satisfied weather observers there would be if such an event like the 8th~14th December were to be repeated today!! This would be in the realms of a true 'gift'. Even in 1981 I considered the timing of this near Christmas to be 'spot on' and is still the most wonderful lead up to Christmas that I have ever experienced – probably sadly to never be repeated. Tuesday 8th December: The day dawned with moderate rain which had snow mixed after about 7:30 am. By 8 am, snow was falling quite heavily and there was a light covering on some ground by 8:15 am. The walk to school was enjoyable but the walk home was even better as about 2~4 cm snow had settled on most surfaces. The snow died out at around midday and cloud cleared south fairly rapidly to allow sunshine onto this winter wonderland. Wednesday 9th December: A very cold sunny morning ushered in cloud associated with a line of coastal showers. There was little snow at Fleet but moderate snow was observed at Haselmere and rainfall records show that 2 mm precipitation fell at Guildford on this day. Thursday 10th December: An even colder day with extensive freezing fog all day. I remember the snow cover being patchy and beginning to look 'tired', even on higher ground to the south of Fleet (Beacon Hill, near Farnham). Despite thick fog, the evening saw the temperature dropping again. Friday 11th December: This was the main event in this period. Heavy snow fell in the second part of the night, through the morning and into the afternoon before dying out. Depths in the back garden – see photos – were around the 10 cm mark in exposed areas but I remember being pushed over in the school Rugby field and snow was about 20 cm deep. Needless to say, schools closed early on this Friday and being sent home at 2 pm allowed me time to take the photos on my relatively new Ricoh 500 35 mm camera. The evening news was filled with exciting snow scenes and it was a joy to see southern England in the news for a change from the ubiquitous events further north. Saturday 12th December: The cloud cleared overnight to leave a sunny day. Conditions were intensely cold with maxima not exceeding -5 deg. C. at Fleet and -7 deg. C. at Farnham. Although the sunshine was quite bright and clear in the southern portion of the sky, the second photo shows patches of cirrus to the west. Despite slowly encroaching cloud cover, the temperature plummeted to –11 deg. C. by 6 pm as quoted by the local weather observer. I remember the BBC TV forecast that evening – there was talk of more snow on Sunday but the real interest was the widespread blue temperature symbols showing values of -20 deg. C. A '-13' was positioned over the Hampshire area and indeed, the temperature did drop to -13 deg. C. before rising from advancing cloud. Sunday 13th December: The snow event was oddly enough not especially well remembered but the impact of it has left this day as an icon for impressive severe weather which will stay for many years. The morning was dull with the temperature close to freezing. By midday the wind was increasing and blowing the snow off the trees. The snow started around 2:45 pm and was mostly moderate but was mostly blowing sideways from the S.E.! A real blizzard was developing nicely and conditions were deteriorating by the hour. Just after dusk conditions must have been atrocious (but thoroughly exciting) if venturing or working outdoors. I often wonder how I would manage in my supermarket car park job if we were lucky enough to get a recurrence of such an event like the 13th December 1981! There was a local power failure from 5:45 pm to 7:15 pm and I vividly remember the eerie sound of swaying trees and the S.E.ly gale howling through my Dad's amateur radio masts above the house. The 350 watt Honda generator was about to be deployed for electricity as we expected the weather to become even more severe. However, the supply was restored and conditions relented slightly. Snow depths must have reached 15 cm during this event but with the temperature above 'zero', the snow was probably melting as it landed. By 9 pm, snow had turned to rain and winds became lighter as the depression passed over southern England. Barometric pressure dropped to about 970 mb during the passage of the blizzard. Reading University data shows a gust of 36 mph during the blizzard part of the storm but gusts of 50~52 mph near midnight as the winds veered N.W. With a period of rain, there was a thaw to the snow which would last for a few hours. Monday 14th December: This was a windy day with a gusty N.W. wind, sunny periods with hail and sleet showers. In some areas these showers were accompanied by thunder – another element to add to this already exciting month. There was a thaw to the lying snow which was about 5~6 cm deep on running to school. The journey to school was cut short by a teacher drawing up in her car and saying I may as well go home as the school is closed due to ice. It was good to have another day off school – although by 5 pm there was a dreary feeling that all the excitement was over and things were returning to normal. The next few days produced little interesting weather but nevertheless were still very cold. The snow mostly thawed out but some patches remained. Saturday 19th December: A cold night led to a sunny day with thickening cloud. Further west, conditions were wretched with heavy rain, snow and gales. This southerly gale was most severe in Cornwall where there was the tragic loss of life as the Penlee lifeboat was lost at sea. Sunday 20th December: A windy morning (Reading University – 48 mph) with rising temperatures (2.5 deg. C.) oddly enough brought snow which fell quite heavily but led to little covering. As temperatures dropped at the surface, the snow turned to rain – possibly due to a change of wind direction at higher altitudes. This was a messy situation and I don't personally remember lying snow on the 20th but runways were closed at Gatwick Airport and snow was deep in Eastern areas. Monday 21st December: Conditions were cold with sleety drizzle which turned to snow in the late afternoon and became heavier in the evening. Tuesday 22nd December: Periods of heavy snow overnight led to another moderate covering of about 7~8 cm by morning. A depression had developed in the English Channel and had halted Sunday's front before allowing it to push back west. The day remained dull with snow dying out but clearing skies in the evening brought severe frost. The lead up to Christmas continued very cold with quite deep snow cover and indeed there was lying snow for Christmas Day. This was not a white Christmas as no snow was actually observed to fall on the day. The thaw came on the 27th as a depression and fronts edged in from the west. However the frontal precipitation was rain rather than snow and the next few days brought periods of heavy rain and milder conditions. A temperature of 10 deg. C was not reached in December 1981. Details of December 1981 - (min / max / rainfall / wind direction details). 1st -2, 4.5, Nil, Variable or north 2nd -2, 5, Nil, North. 3rd 2, 8, 0.25 mm, N.W. 4th 4, 8.5, 0.5 mm, N.N.W. 5th 2.5, 6.5, Trace, N.W. 6th 1.5, 6, Nil, W.N.W. 7th 2.5, 6.5, 2.75 mm, West or W.S.W. 8th -1, 0.5 12.75 mm, N.E. backing to North. 9th -5.5, -1, Nil, W.N.W. or West 10th -6, -3.5, Nil, Calm or West 11th -5.5, -1, 10.75 mm, N.E. 12th -9.5, -5, Nil, Calm 13th -13, 3, 10 mm, S.S.E. / S.E. veering S.W. 14th -1, 4, 6 mm, N.W. 15th 0.5, 4.5, Trace, East 16th -4.5, 0.5, Nil, E.N.E. 17th -6, 0, Nil, East 18th -5.5, 0, Trace, N.E. 19th -9, 0.5, Nil, North becoming calm or S.E. 20th -1.5, 2.5, 14.25 mm, South or S.S.E. 21st -1, 0.5, 3.75 mm, East 22nd -1, -0.5, 6.5 mm, North 23rd -7.5, -1.5, Nil, East 24th -3, -1, Nil, N.E. 25th -2, 0, Nil, Variable 26th -6, -1, Nil, E.S.E. 27th -2, 2, 1 mm, S.E. then S.W. 28th 0.5, 3, 0.5 mm, E.S.E. 29th 2.5, 5.5, 12.5 mm, S.E. becoming S.W. 30th 5.5, 8.5, 4.5 mm, South 31st 1.5, 7, 0.5 mm, S.W.

Snow on 23rd November. After the unusually early season snowfall of 28th~29th October it was quite a surprise to be visited by another snow event less than four weeks later - especially as the snow materialised as forecast (bettering many winter events of recent years). Today's snow was short lived and a light dusting lasting from 6:30 am soon thawed between 9 am and 10 am as heavy rain set in for a time. Although the event was 'slight', two snow events in the space of a month before winter is unusual and the last time this happened was in 1980 (Wednesday 5th~Friday 7th and Friday 28th November). Interestingly, there was also a snow event on Tuesday 23rd November 1971 producing similar qunatities in the S.E. to today. On that occasion, a front moved S.E. into cold air over Southern England with snow falling before dawn before turning to 'cold rain' (max. temp. no higher than 2 deg C). The weather in November 1971 had been variable with wild temperature fluctuations with mild warm sectors and daytime maxima of 14~15 deg C followed by cold fronts and clear, calm frosty nights. For example on the 20th, -6 deg C was recorded at Fleet, Hampshire before fronts and heavy rain spread East with gales and milder conditions. The cold air had returned by the 22nd with the almost perfect timing of the next front to arrive during the coldest period to result in snow. Cold snaps around 23rd November are not too uncommon with mostly frosty and foggy anticyclonic spells dominating such as in 2005, 1999, 1993, 1989, 1988 & 1983. In 1993, during a notable easterly blast, the maximum temperature on this date in Guildford was only -1 deg C, the earliest occasion in the autumn-winter for an ice day.

Sleet mixed in rain and drizzle from 9 pm finally turned to snow / snow grains just before 10 pm. Go for walk to local supermarket to follow and wintry precipitation tended to get heavier with wet snow and small ice pellets making a 'ticking' noise on trees which are still in leaf. Temperature is currently 1.1 deg.C. This is the first occasion I have enjoyed snow in October and is the earliest event in the season beating 5th November 1980! A good try, although technically, the event is still 'slight'.

Winter 1991~1992 will be also remembered for being extremely dry and anticyclonic. There was barely any snow but quite a lot of fog and impressive severe frosts in December and late January. Here are some statistics from Fleet, Hampshire; December: 13.0 mm. Mean temp; 3.2 deg.C January: 17.0 mm. Mean temp; 2.9 deg.C February: 25.0 mm. Mean temp; 5.0 deg.C Winter: 55.0 mm. Mean temp; 3.7 deg. C This is the driest winter in my records (back to 1967) for Fleet. Composite data for Guildford compares favorably with 53.7 mm and the previous driest winters were 65.1 mm in 1975~1976 (no wonder there was such a serious water shortage the following summer, the effects of poor winter recharge followed by an exceptionally dry spring and then hot sunny summer) and 69.1 mm in 1963~1964. There has only been one colder winter since 1991~1992 and this was 3.3 deg.C in 1995~1996. 1991~1992 was very disappointing for snow with the only event being light snow on February 16th and 17th~18th, the latter dates beng a marginal event with snow on hills and rain at lower altitudes. I remember reports of light snow on the Hogs Back near Guildford but I only saw rain in when staying in the grounds of the university. Persistent anticyclones predominated between late November 1991, initially as a 'Bartlett High' then nearer to the U.K. and were accompanied by fog and severe frosts, especially between the 6th and 16th December. I was lodging at Goldalming at the time and the disappointment of the lack of snow for the 10th anniversary of the fantastic December 1981 event was tempered by there being 2 cm of accumulated frost on the ground and thick hoar frost and rime on trees. Minima reached -7 deg.C. to -9 deg.C. on several nights (-11 deg.C. at Farnborough was reported on the 12th) and there were ice days between the 11th and 14th. The weather was milder and changeable for the run up to Christmas but amounts of rain were small as the high was still to the South. January began unsettled but rainfall was lacking. The high pushed back with fog and some frost from the 11th. There was another very frosty and rather foggy spell from the 21st to 27th January, but this was not as severe as in December. February was a typcial 'unsettled' month with poor rainfall quantities. As the high settled over France, belts of rain passed through but amounts were small. The 'wettest' period culminated in 7 mm rain on the 12th - the wettest day for 3 months. A colder N.W.ly followed with some more stiff frosts and reassertion of the anticyclone but with less frost and fog than previously. 1026.2 mb (+8.2 mb anomaly) was the most anticyclonic winter in my records and was also the second most anticyclonic season, beaten by Spring 1997 (1027.1 mb). The key to the snowless nature of this winter was undoubtedly the position of the anticyclones where precipitation was sparse even though with the mean temperatures, the realms for snow were there. Unlike other snowless winters in Southern England this one was accompanied by such a widespread lack of snow that has not been seen before or since. In other snowless winters, at least one part of the U.K. has seen decent snowfall (for example the winter of 2001~2002, where snow was widespread along Eastern coastal areas just before and after Christmas; 1992~1993, Scotland and the Midlands). At the time, the 1991~1992 winter was regarded as absolutely tedious, with no interesting events (except the December frosty spell) and boredom from the lack of snow. For many years it was seen as the worst ever season experienced! Now I must be mellowing as I get older, as a winter like this would not be so bad, from the consideration of outdoor activities - working in a supermarket car park and being a keen cyclist of the countryside. Such activities would not be spoiled by windy and drizzly conditions associated with the ubiquitous disappointing mild S.W.ly winters, where snow is guaranteed not to fall in local areas, that we get every year nowadays. However, if the anticyclone could have been a couple of hundred miles to the N.E. then 1991~1992 may have been a very different story with good N.E.ly weather and widespread snow like in the preceding winter. Extending the season away from winter. The best snow event were a couple of heavy blustery snow showers on the 15th April (2 days before Easter) and the only other snow in 1992 was a surprise period of heavy wet snow on the high ground to the west of Basingstoke on Saturday 19th December, just before the frosty Christmas spell arrived. These days, I get much pleasure from this quiet frosty and foggy weather in the autumn and winter, as it means outdoor activities are not marred by wind and insignificant rainfall quantities or are accompanied by the all too frequent frustration of seeing snow in other parts of the U.K. while missing out - so near yet so far. However, a repeat of a snowy winter, 1978~1979 would be truly fantastic even if means giving up biking for a few weeks!

Tuesday 26th September 1933 Fleet, Hampshire. Not remembered personally but a good event to kick off this topic. A sluggish Easterly situation produced an afternoon thunderstorm event which centered on Fleet. 131 mm rain (5.16 inches) fell during the afternoon and early evening resulting in severe floods, burst sewerage pipelines, a land slip on the Waterloo to Southamption raiway line near Winchfield plus damage to property. The synoptic situation is as follows; I suspect a sea breeze convergence would have had a major role in causing this supercell to stay in one position over a 4-5 hour period. The deluge was localised with little rain at Farnborough (7.5 mm) and totals remained high in a N.W. direction including about 80 mm at Hartley Wintney (about 5 km from Fleet). A major tributary of the River Hart would have been in the main catchment area of this downpour and the raised flow rate and volume of water would almost certainly have been responsible for the land slip on the railway. This river reacts quickly in heavy rain and the local stream normally 5~10 cm deep reaches depths of 40~50 cm even after just 20 mm or rain. During the 20th July 2007 heavy rain (53 mm in 6 hours at Fleet), this stream reached a depth of at least 1 metre and washed away vegetation from the bank and had sufficient force to remove some flagstones lining the bank. Although the area was much less urbanised in 1933, runoff would have been considerable and one can only guess on the extent of flash flooding. Oddly enough, no elderly residents who I have spoken to about this storm seem to have any recollections although there was one report of the marshy land to the west of the town being innundated in the '30's'. The quantity of rain in this thunderstorm still stands as a county record. There is a good account of this event in: The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Weather Book by Mark Davison, Ian Currie & Bob Ogley.

Having had 30 years experience of weather observations I have reached a point where I would like to share them with other readers through facts, pictures and short(ish!) descriptions. I will choose events I remember personally, unless there is an event of outstanding historic interest which needs a mention. Please feel free to share your experiences of these particular events and post photographs so a library of information can be made. Posts will be added at times of anniversaries of such events.

Here are some scans of 35 mm photos taken on 11th December 1981. 10~15 cm of snow had fallen overnight and into the morning on this Friday which was the second snowfall in the 8th to 14th December severe spell.

A poor and disappointing summer - for S.E. England - worse than 2007. Weeks of westerly grot with no thunderstorms and constant windy, dull and humid weather accompanied by bits 'n' pieces of rain is not my idea of a fun summer. I am actually hoping for some sunny anticyclonic weather this autumn just to have a respite from this gutless unproductive Atlantic influence!

Any prospects of some decent quantities of rain in S.E. England ? - despite this endless run of atlantic depressions very little rain has fallen in Guildford in the last 3 days. In common with the rest of this awful 'summer', as each depression gets closer the forecast for any decent rainfall in the south is downgraded or heavy rain is forecast and the result is still a failed situation. Saturday night and now Sunday evening are just two of the recent examples. Viewers of this post may surprised to read that this "unsettled" summer (1st June to now) has only yielded two days with rainfall exceeding 10 mm (3rd June and 9th July) and a total of 147 mm here in Guildford Will this coming week with another dire wet forecast finally bring a decent total in s.e. England in line with the rest of the u.k.?

A thunderstorm at Guildford! Thunder to N.W. at 1:53 pm with periodic activity to 2 pm. Newly developing cell to S.W. advances with shower from 2:21 pm. Very heavy rain with slight hail (<5 mm diameter) at 2:27 pm to 2:29 pm, estimating that 3 to 4 mm rain fell in this time. Thunder from this cell as it recedes to N.E. at 2:30 pm to 2:40 pm, with rain easing at 2:35 pm. A short and intense thundery shower yielding about 7 mm rainfall and a drop of temperature from 19.5 deg C to 12.6 deg C. Although the wind was prevailing from W.S.W., rain was lashing against the North facing windows suggesting a N.W.ly component to the squall during the most intense activity. The cumulonimbus receded east with an impressive sky - as photographed at about 3:15 pm.