polarlow2

It really grind my gears when people disect each forecast so minutely, and then get it totally wrong!

BBC local weather showed snow in London at first, perhaps rain later. 5cms north of London, 10cms south. It DID NOT show a rain only event in London. There will be a covering in London, even, I would imagine, in the City for a time. Slight thaw Sunday yes, but people over-reacting and saying 'rain only' are wrong.

More and more convinced this is going to be a central southern England/Midlands/Northern England event on Saturday. Really to feel we are too far east.

I really really would urge caution to those predicting snow totals etc. This is still 72 hours away, so much can change and that front could still stall way out to our west. My bet is that the models will adjust its position a few more times yet. It looks great at the moment, but how many times have we been burnt...

I don't buy into talk of streamers tomorrow night and Friday - well, not significant ones anyway. My punt: a dusting of snow in parts of Kent (particularly east Kent), Essex and Sussex. Weekend: snow edging into western parts - maybe as far east as Reading say, and gradually fizzling out. Everywhere else: cold, sunny, dry, maybe the odd flake.

Slightly concerned for London's prospects at this point; the snow showers progged for Thursday night/Friday look like staying to the east, and the frontal snow (assuming it is snow), could well shift west to, say, Hampshire, Oxfordshire etc. Could see the capital caught in no-mans' land. Anyone else care to give their thoughts?

I can vouch for that. In Hanwell, west London we got a dusting from several hours of light snow while south-east London got hammered. Frustrating.

One thing that has struck as me as this will it-won't it get cold spell - is the enjoyment taken out of it simply by having so much information available? When I were a nipper in the early to mid-90s the only way to know what was coming was to watch the BBC or ITV forecasts, or check Ceefex. The Countryfile forecast on a Sunday was always an exciting moment. Many a time you'd get a hint from the presenter: 'signs of a change to something much colder midweek', or something similar. It just seems now that having access to models and seeing two weeks or so into the future, the mystery has gone. The build-up to a cold spell, even if it delivers, is frought with stress - upgrades, downgrades, stellar run, winter's over etc. Enjoyable? Or stressful? Give me Ceefax page 403 any day.

That front gave a lot of snow in London, more than was forecast. About 8cms I think.

For where I lived at the time, in north-west London, it went from absolutely epic to absolutely rubbish! The snow on February 1st and 2nd was incredible for it's intensity and longevity. It began around 8pm and lasted all night, finally easing about 9am, leaving around 14cms or so, less than other parts but the most we'd had since '91. That was the epic part. The rubbish part came in the afternoon, when a band of snow moving up from France was forcasted to drop another 5 inches or so. What we actually got was a continuous light flurry for about 3 hours, which added nothing to what had already accumulated. The following week was frustrating, as a series of lows gave us heavy rain, turning to snow about 20 miles to our north. But for what happened the night of February 1st into 2nd, it still ranks as an epic event.

God spare me, for anyone trying to learn some posts on the model thread are so frustrating - 'big upgrade', 'stellar run', 'best this winter', 'snowmageddon at +35408 hours.' Oh wait - 'game over', huge downgrade, 'winter's over', 'mild all the way', 'Atlantic wins out'. 'Remember, don't comment on FI...but look at this chart for February 20, it shows 6ft of snow and -60 temps!' Meh! I await this to be deleted.

Many thanks, that is indeed the one. Am I right in saying there was more snow in the south-east than was expected? It doesn't often get talked about so I was wondering if the heavier snow was restricted to northern suburbs of London.

Hi all, I'm trying to find out a bit about the heavy snow that affected London in late 2003 - I think maybe Thursday January 31? It stands out in my mind because it appeared to be very poorly forecast. The night before, the BBC predicted light snow showers affecting the south-east the next afternoon. In the event, where I lived at the time, in Dollis Hill, north-west London, we got an absolute hammering. The snow began about 2pm I think, and got gradually heavier, continuing until about 9pm, leaving about five inches or so, in a really strong wind. My gut instinct tells me it must have been some sort of Thames streamer, given that the winds were from the north-east - can anyone shed any light? It was a fantastic snowfall anyway, at the time the most snow I'd seen since 1991.

What is the point of this statement? Can you back it up with charts? Is winter REALLY over in early February, or is it actually an utterly silly statement?

Absolutely beautiful day here in Hanwell, north-west London; cold, crisp, sunny - perfect. I love (and miss) the snow but I'll happily settle for this. I don't understand the moaning / sniping / depression on the model thread, just because the weather isn't doing what people want. Sometimes people have to step back and see the bigger picture - is the absence of a few inches of snow really worth getting a strop about...? Or are there more important things in life? Anyway, my thoughts are that we're in for another week or so of this weather, maybe more, but I would be surprised if we went through the whole of February without some notable cold.

Yamkin I know your ramping is much-loved on this thread, and that's fair enough, but it is a tad mis-leading. There is little to suggest a return to freezing weather (at the moment), and picking and choosing charts merely to back up what you would like to see won't make it so. This is in no way a pop at you, but un-based ramping for either mild or cold is often what begins the sniping which seems to take over the model thread. Anyway - mild, dry and actually rather pleasant here, almost feels spring-like...

Hope no-one minds me starting this thread. The lack of snow has got me reminiscing about my favourite snow of the past, and I was wondering what everyone else's favourite 'snow memories' are...I have loads, but my favourite is a vague recollection of a night in February 1996 when our part of north-west London got an absolute pounding during the early evening. It had been bitterly cold all day, and I remember seeing John Kettley on the BBC during the afternoon forcasting heavy snow to hit London during the evening. We had about three hours really heavy snow which left about 6 inches and lasted about three days. February 2 2009 was also pretty special... Anyway, feel free to share your memories!

Definitely February 2003. Snow hit north London around lunch-time on a Thursday afternoon. By mid-evening there was six inches and driving snow in a strong wind. I decided to take a short-cut home from sixth-form through a park in Hendon, the snow was so bad it was virtually a whiteout and I lost my bearings completely, couldn't make out paths or grass from the snow. Eventually found the exit but it left me pondering how easy it is to get disorientated in snow. To this day I've never seen more intense snow, really was incredible.

Hello, I don't often post but the prospect of snow has got me reminiscing. Actually I have a question. During late December 2000 I was on holiday in north-west Ireland and had a collosal snowfall, about 7 inches of snow in five hours from early morning to mid-day. I seem to remember this was a nationwide event, but can anyone explain the synoptics? And why the snow was so intense over that part of Ireland? It was the best snowfall I've ever seen in my 26 years of life, happy days.

Light snow in north-west London, just started

Here in north-west London we've had the slightest dusting all day...anyone know how places north of the river will do tonight, I can see the orange sky to my south over London and it's all rather agonising??