La Bise

A shield to block anything coming from the SW quadrant....

But isn't Atlantic driven weather an harbinger of constant depressions bashing at the UK? How long will the benign cloud and drizzle conditions you describe before we get lashed by incessant rain and winds...?

There was something about this on the BBC website recently Stephen, possibly related to the Maunder Minimum which has started in the mid 80's that brings a cooling across northern europe where the kind of blocking we had this winter is the strongest but globally the planet is still warming.

To pick up on John's comment, try to go skiing for a few days in January in sunny weather if you want a natural tan...

Yeah, but I had the snow reflection to contend with as well

Indeed, forgot to apply my suncream when playing in the Welsh mountains yesterday and my cheeck feel a bit warm today. Nothing too unpleasant but a reminder that now, a day in the sun means protection.

Scirocco defo comes from Africa. It is quite striking when it blows in the mountains in winter, it turns the snow pale reddish due to the sand it carries

Sorry John, I have no idea why it came out so small!

Always a pleasure to read your update NSSC, I know that when you post something upbeat, it means there is no SW muck on the way. For the western seaboard the possible outcome is quite good, possibility of some frosty nights if skies are clear enough I guess....?

Anything to get rid of the wet, mild muck currently plaguing my neck of the woods...

Is it not the case that it is excess of sat fat that causes heart disease rather than sat fat per se, something that I do not think is in any way controversial and disputed by the medical profession. Is it not also the case that the depletion of the ozone layer as well as excessive amount of sun due to increased outdoors activities such as beach holidays and, of course, tanning salon popularity has lead to the increase in cases of melanoma rather than some nebulous notion of troglodyte lifestye? All the doctors I have talked to have been fullsome in their praise for my hiking activities, I never had one telling me to cut it out due to melanoma risk...And I put on suncream otherwise, I would burn myself to a cinder despite having a "latin" type skin. The "Med Diet" is an excellent diet to follow, it is rich in fruit, veg and grillet meat/fish as well as some nicely fatty stuff (fried fish is very popular in the Med area) and moderate alcohol consumption. It is head and shoulder above the typical anglo-saxon diet of take-away, ready meals and general junk that makes up most people diet in the UK and USA. Beyond any societal notion of a healthier pace of life (which you are very right to point out), the food itself is much better, health wise and closer to mankind ideal diet. The diet of the South-West of France does indeed include some pretty yummy fatty stuff but also large quantities of fresh veg and fruits. Unpasteurised cheeses are not that popular anymore in France, most cheeses bought are standard, pasteurised stuff. You'll find them more popular in Switzerland where the two main players, Gruyeres and Emmenthal are still sold unpasteurised (including in the UK) There is ample evidence to show that food eaten in those parts of the world do contribute (but not exclusively) to the people better healther and longevity. I wish there was a governement conspiracy to promote this kind of diet, but as usual with this kind of stuff, the biggest conspiracy, that of untrammeled freedom for junk food peddlers is ignored despite being right there in front of you...

Snow patches left on Moel Siabod, Pen-Yr Ole Wen and Snowdon, I went through some meself this week-end. Very slushy stuff though...

Is there some kind of serious research to back up some of the wild claims on this thread or is it the usual stuff pulled out of a blog on the internet and passed as "science catching up" claptrap...? Saturated fat are part of our diet, the problem is the monstruous excessive consumption of it that is now the standard western diet coupled with the lifestyle of a sloth. However I doubt cooking in butter is healthier than using olive oil or geese fat (a surprisingly healthy cooking fat as it happens...)...If by vegetable oil, you mean those horrible conction full of hydrogenated rubbish, then yes, the less of that you use, the better. Cutting on take aways and fast food is the first step towards that. Sun is important but advising people to go out burn under it, without sun-glasses is quite frankly irresponsible, the causal link of excessive UV leading to melanoma, particularly in Australia where the ozone layer has depleted more than in other parts is well established. You can get sunburned quite easily in february, skiing and by march, a day out in the sun hiking does the business without any problems.

It is indeed puzzling to see this kind of regimented change of mood - end of february henceforth blizzards, 6 ft of snow, -20c; early march 20c, sun, dry... In the UK, of all places...

I was up Bleaklow yesterday, the snow cover is going but it's going to be a while until the last of it is gone. Some thick drifts in gullies grykes that will take a while to be gone.

If ice is your thing,check those pics of Geneva where strong winds and sub-zero temperatures combined to create some lovely (if slippery...) ice sculptures by the lake... Chilly!

So sum up for dunces: a litteral interpretation of the models is a return to much milder conditions by the end of next week however this is to be taken with a large pinch of salt as it is a repeat of a scenario that has occured during all winter, the vanishing FI mild. No major changes reported in the background signals, so a betting man would dismiss the models as being way over-progressive. Fair sum up you reckon? As for what could happen, a puny northerly followed by a slack flow and hp to re-assert itself after a threat of an easterly...?

Well, it's UK really but seeing as it is dead quiet, the mods don't seem to bothered. It is pretty cold back in my hometown (Geneva) due to a strong "bise" blowing from the nether parts of the north and bringing that cold airmass above central europe. "Bise" is a wind, from a northerly quadrant, it heralds cold and sunny days. An appropriate choice of alias for me....

Just read in the Swiss media this morning that it went down to -38.9c in Glattalp (1850m asl) last night, beating the previous record this winter of -35.1c in La Brevine (a quirky little place in the Jura mountains, not very high, about 1000m asl but subject to some exceptionnally cold conditions in winter due to the geography, a frost hollow if I've ever known one...). Glattalp coldest temperature recorded was -52.50 back in february 91...

Hear, hear, swlies come from Satan's very own bottom I think...Once Atlantic weather is back in place, it's not going to shift and bring us nothing but rain, wind and misery. Just peaked out of my window and said "boring weather" is nothing short of lovely, unless you got an aversion for the sun...

A good point by TWS, those quick transitions are a bit of a myth, I've had 30c+ temps in May in Geneva but also snow (even in june and it settled...). By mid/end of June thought, things do hot up significantly. Mean in July is 24 c, in January 1c...

Talking about Winter Hill, I'm pretty sure there must have been times when it snowed at the top of the mast but rained at the bottom.

Today on Ingleborough, enough to have plenty of fun up there!

Go out, enjoy the sun, do something!

Thank you Andy. I somehow think the winter conditions up there won't be going away in a hurry...Right i'm off to buy crampons and ice-axe...