musician

My partner is from Christchurch. She thinks Stroud is the North of England! Here she is setting out earlier. Her car is currently abandoned in Cirencester some 12 miles away.

I'm glad I'm not the only crazy person out there. I used to live in Hewlett Road, Cheltenham, in the late 1970's and used to do exactly what you did today. Used to take my bike up Aggs Hill, past the Reservoir and up to he top and along the road to the Masts. Amazing how it would be raining in Cheltenham and a blizzard on the top with drifting. Look forward to seeing any video clips.

Ah! Reminds me of my youth, growing up (?) in Chipping Norton. The only thing I remember about it is blizzards!

Still snowing lightly here. About an inch of slushy stuff on the ground. Had to go out to top of Stroud an hour ago - very bad up there with cars slithering down from Bisley with snow really packed onto them. You were right about the size of the flakes. I've been snow watching for probably more years than most and those really were the biggest I've ever seen - yes they were proabably about 2 inches across and it's the first time I've ever seen rectangular snow ie 2 inches by 1 inch. My brother in the Forest of Dean is reporting about 2 inches on the graound. I think you're gonna have to move if you want to see any snow!

Steady moderate snow now falling here. Has been sleet for the past hour but has gradually turned to real snow. Very wet stuff but now starting to settle on windscreens and on my Greenhouse. Temperature has fallen to 2.3

Thanks Jethro, I don't think it's off topic to say that I left Chippy School in 1963 - the year of the great snow which lasted several months. Roads blocked for weeks on end, cars buried - I remember looking to see if anybody was trapped in them - don't think we'll ever get anything like that again! All this fuss today about a flake or two. Most people on this forum have never lived! ...and the temperature has now fallen here to 2.8 with continued light sleet. Peter

Sleet now falling in Stroud despite temperature having again risen slightly - currently 2.9C

Ian, we really are so lucky to have your imput on this forum! Many thanks for such an articulate, measured and informative account!

Hi! Yes! I certainly did! Mum still lives there. I wonder how you made the connection? Better add a weather item for the moderator - temperature has risen to 2.8 and we have drizzle.

Agreed. With he temperature remaining steady or falling ever so slightly - and an Easterly picking up here - things can only go one way later - Snow! I also note that the front has stalled, which is good news for an incursion of colder air.

Temperature has fallen slightly here in the last hour, from 2.9 to 2.7 with several bursts of sleet. I'm about 125m ASL in the Thrupp/Brimscombe area so slightly colder then down in the centre of Stroud.

That explains the temperature difference. I'm originally from Chipping Norton at 750 ft ASL. I've noticed how much milder it is here in Stroud - Help! it's now risen to 2C!

Whereabouts in the Cotswolds are you? I'm in Stroud and the temperature is 1.9C

As I said earlier, this type of event used to be quite common in the 1960's and 70's where I grew up in the North Coswolds with everything coated in ice and the trees creaking and groaning under the weight and crackling in the wind. Also quite lethal when it started to melt. But I've not seen anything like this for many. many years so something may well be happening to our climate.

Good pinch of salt required here I think! But I'm glad there are still some of us left! Pete

Well, if it is like '63 you'll never forget it. The worst thing I remember about it was the cold which was relentless. Here I go again.... I forgot to mention the freezing rain. Every time mild air tried to come up from the SW the rain froze onto everything, the trees, cars, telegraph wires, and with a strong SE wind you could here continual crackling as all the ice creaked and groaned. I've NEVER seen freezing rain like that, since. Happy Christmas to you too and keep your snow dreams alive! Pete

Sickening! We had some wet snow earlier but it's just rain here. Swindled again!

Ok I'll have a go. I well understand your frustration but I've long given up any hope of a return to the sort of winters we had 20 or 30 years ago as there does seem to have been a general warming winter trend so I'm happy to accept what comes now, and we do sometimes get a surprise fall of snow which was not predicted until the last minute. I'm lucky to have been at school in the north cotswolds in 1963 and I've never seen anything to match that winter since. We had lying snow for three months, drifts up to the bedroom windows and telegraph wires and for weeks on end I was able to walk down the main road over the roofs of buried cars, which I would scrape the snow away from to see if anyonwe was trapped inside. The hot water bottles froze in our beds and one morning I awoke with a snowdrift in the room and onto the bed. We had no heating in the bedrooms of course and each time another blizzard arrived we put blankets up against the windows to stop the fine snow blowing in. Fine snow accumulated in the loft space, which came throught the ceiling when it melted and of course the pipes burst. We had drifts of snow still under the hedgerows in May and I remember writing in my diary that even I was getting a bit fed up with the cold and snow. I'm sorry if this makes you even more unhappy but I feel myself lucky to have experienced this and I feel we should perhaps accept that the winter climate has changed somewhat, especially in the south west, though we can still expect a few extremes. I'm hoping that the next cold spell will bring a battleground to the south west with a major blizzard - we are long overdue one - though with the warming climate we shouldn't hold our breath! I hope you get something you like in the near future! Pete

The net weather xtra radar is now showing much more sleet and snow on it's northern edge than an hour ago but at present it's all across the South Midlands, thought he band of wintry mix is expanding.

Still a steady moderate very wet snow here in Stroud but not a hope of it settling. I've just returned home from a visit to a school friend in Northants. Wow! what a winter wonderland! Four inches of frozen crunchy snow with freezing fog thrown in for good measure. I hurried home as I the forecast was for freezing rain but we have wet snow which I prefer.

Heavy snow now falling in Stroud, even though the radar shows rain. Started off as rain, then sleet.

I agree entirely. I was also a boy in the North Cotswolds and know the expression "It's waiting for more" and more did indeed, usually arrive. I am also in awe of these model discussions. Even though I don't understand much of the background detail, I get the thread and read every single reply. I'm sure I'm beginning to understand some of the detail as time goes on and I certainly seem to have a good grasp of what weather is on the way. I really must congratulate all these excellent "posters" in this, my favourite thread!

Hi Drew, If you are in Gloucestershire, then you are officially classed as being in South-west England, as I am in Stroud.

You think you're old? I can remember the winter of 1963! You aint seen snow until you've experienced that!