Synoptic Patterns

[Methuselah]

This is true, we got alot more off the easterly of feb 2005 than I though we would get, and to be honest that was a surprise, but we rarely get the frontal snow from an easterly. It would be nice to get quite a few frontal snow events this winter, however the only memories I have of frontal snow are from the north, northwest, and ironically, the southwest.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Things would be a lot better, if HPs didn't topple away so quickly as they have done in recent years...If northern blocking persists, maybe this year will be it? :lol:

[SP1986]

Did'nt you get any frontal snow at the end of Feburary???????????????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

nope i cant recall having done so, just showers and the odd trough. But frequent when the wind was a northwesterly.

[kold weather]

As is the same with many people living in northen Kent,southern Essex and the general thames region the best wind direction is probably a ENE,as the wind comes through the thames vally and thanks to some large laspe rates(as the Thames is generrally warmer then the north sea thanks to the close presance of London)and combined with a cold atmophere that helped to brew up some impressive showers of snow,which lasted for much of the night,although the snow was rather wet in nature due to fairly high dew points,if it had been dry and settled better,there could have been upto 6-8 inches from a nights worth of heavy snow showers,but alas,I still got about 7cms even though the snow didn't settle well at all and melted alot between showers.

[SP1986]

Ireland did absolutely amazing in last winters snow events, parts of Northern ireland experience 1 foot of level snow, I remember Carol Kirkwood being nearly carried away in a blizzard but to be fair she did love it.

[Summer of 95]

Produced impressive amounts of snow here in the Midlands (15cm+ over a wide area, up to 40 in places), and was largely unforecast. Just arrived suddenly overnight. I notice there's a 1040 high where the boring Iceland low normally is.

18-19th Nov last year was a near miss- it produced similar general conditions (torrential rain suddenly turning to snow) but needed to have been 2C or so colder (if it had happened a month later?) I notice there the Greenland and Azores highs have merged (sea not cold enough to N of Britain?)

[summer blizzard]

Is the high pressure system on the 8th December 1990 a northward ddisplaced Azores High or a southward displaced Artic High, i susspect that it is a southward displaced Artic High however i cannot be sure.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Easterlies are much more reliable than northerlies for cold temperatures; however, they are not necessarily any more reliable for snow.

A Scandinavian High setup, with high pressure moving out of Russia and into Scandinavia introducing an easterly or south-easterly regime, will usually be cold (although if the high is too far south, we may miss the coldest air, as happened in December 2002). However, due to the short track over the North Sea, it will usually be dry and cloudy, with maybe a little drizzle or fine powdery snow near the east coast.

The exception is when Atlantic lows push up from the SW and stall as they encounter the Scandinavian High. This can produce large scale snow events.

For widespread snow from a straight E'ly, it tends to require that high pressure extends westwards from Scandinavia over to Greenland, or vice versa. This brings more of an ENE'ly regime, which results in air being picked up from colder sources but with a longer track over the North Sea, and tends to produce sunshine and heavy snow showers, longer spells of snow and even thunder, primarily but not exclusively for eastern areas.

In December 1990, the mid-Atlantic high is a displaced Greenland High which got toppled.

In the January 1958 setup most of us would be happy, for although the setup was predominantly NW'ly, significant snow events penetrated even to south-east England via frequent polar lows. The reason why that event was so snowy was because high pressure remained strong over Greenland for about a week, while low pressure stalled over Scandinavia.

[stornado]

It seems to me that certain situations we used to get in my area never seem to occur now,for instance it was quite normal some years ago in winter for a Cold front to move south through the area to be followed by a drop in temperature with a frost following,the front would slow down across central Northern England and a wave would then develop which then moved slowly ENE with Newcastle always to the north of the front,rain or sleet would then set in ,turn to snow and gives us a good covering.I accept are winters are less cold than in the 60's,70's and 80's but the picture in my minds eye is of heavy snow falling softly with next to no wind. Perhaps some posters can remember other situations in there paticular area.

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Hi Rollo,

Yes I agree, although my statement seems pretty mediocre to your fronts and waves statement but we used to always [or though it seemed] get snow at Christmas time yet, now if we get snow at all, it happens in February!

[Rollo]

Hi Rollo,

Yes I agree, although my statement seems pretty mediocre to your fronts and waves statement but we used to always [or though it seemed] get snow at Christmas time yet, now if we get snow at all, it happens in February!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Morning Stornado and welcome to NW, white christmasses have been very few and far between up here in the North east although to me whether snow is falling or is on the ground matters not. Even the famous 62-63 winter did not produce any snow until Boxing night. I hope you enjoy your time on this site,you will find a vast array of very knowledgeable posters here.

[PersianPaladin]

I tend to notice sometimes we get pretty large CB's on the East coast in winter, if we have a north-east wind blowing and if there is a good area of convergence.

[Rollo]

I tend to notice sometimes we get pretty large CB's on the East coast in winter, if we have a north-east wind blowing and if there is a good area of convergence.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi PP,you are quite right,very often with the wind just being slightly west of North I see them moving slowly down the North Sea making there way to East Anglia with the promise of snow there. I am sure on the odd occasion that W Bay may also get the odd flurry but generally we need a true Northerly to bring them inland-here's hoping for 2005/6.

[stornado]

Morning Stornado and welcome to NW, white christmasses have been very few and far between up here in the North east although to me whether snow is falling or is on the ground matters not. Even the famous 62-63 winter did not produce any snow until Boxing night. I hope you enjoy your time on this site,you will find a vast array of very knowledgeable posters here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Rollo I have been a member here for a while I just haven't posted before but I thought it was about time I introduced myself!

Yes I have many fond memories of playing with my new toys on Christmas morning out in the snow, even riding bikes and things LOL It's a shame ina way that kids these days don't get to enjoy that about Christmas. I think the past few years of Christmas days have been really quite mild... OOO apart from this past Christmas it did snow, quite a lot actually, I had just forgotten that! I should have remembered that however!

[Thundery wintry showers]

Your recollections of Christmas remind me of my own experiences during Christmas Day 1995.

Northerlies are largely dependent on the specifics of the wind direction.

A NNW wind is as good as useless unless you live in north or west Wales or the coast of Aberdeenshire or East Anglia.

A straight northerly favours eastern coastal areas, such as Aberdeenshire, east Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham, Teeside, the Wash and East Anglia. Other areas are clear and sunny all day. This setup arose on Christmas Day 1995.

A NNE'ly will bring showers inland, often as far as the Pennines and eastern Highlands, but in south-east England they often struggle to reach London.

A NE'ly, however, tends to be the snowiest overall direction and can bring snow showers just about anywhere, although the northeast is most prone and the southwest least prone.

Alternatively, a NW'ly will instead bring showers to western areas.

It is no accident that most of the really snowy northerly incursions are those where the blast lasts upwards of a few days, giving polar lows and troughs the chance to form. This causes the wind direction to shift quite a lot, varying between NW and NE.

[The Eagle]

Your recollections of Christmas remind me of my own experiences during Christmas Day 1995.

Northerlies are largely dependent on the specifics of the wind direction. 

A NNW wind is as good as useless unless you live in north or west Wales or the coast of Aberdeenshire or East Anglia.

A straight northerly favours eastern coastal areas, such as Aberdeenshire, east Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham, Teeside, the Wash and East Anglia.  Other areas are clear and sunny all day.  This setup arose on Christmas Day 1995.

A NNE'ly will bring showers inland, often as far as the Pennines and eastern Highlands, but in south-east England they often struggle to reach London.

A NE'ly, however, tends to be the snowiest overall direction and can bring snow showers just about anywhere, although the northeast is most prone and the southwest least prone.

Alternatively, a NW'ly will instead bring showers to western areas. 

It is no accident that most of the really snowy northerly incursions are those where the blast lasts upwards of a few days, giving polar lows and troughs the chance to form.  This causes the wind direction to shift quite a lot, varying between NW and NE.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi TWS. IMO northwesterlies are the best chance of significant snowfall. A northwesterly blast from my experience brings the most snow particularly just after christmas where it is fine (the snow) and can remain on the ground for as much as five days! It really is the best direction.........Conor.

Edited August 14, 2005 by Darkman

[Methuselah]

Hi TWS. IMO northwesterlies are the best chance of significant snowfall. A northwesterly blast from my experience brings the most snow particularly just after christmas where it is fine (the snow) and can remain on the ground for as much as five days! It really is the best direction.........Conor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's the same here Conor...Our best snow often arrives a copule of hours' after a cold front goes through. We then get very heavy and frequent snow showers until the wind veers northerly. After that it's usually dry and sunny.

[kold weather]

The best direction for snow depends of course on wehere you live.Down here in the south-east north-westerlies tend to only give the weakest of snow flurries and only when the atmopshere is very unstable do the showers make it down here,the only other hope down here is for a comma cloud feature or polar low feature,fronts tend to die away into very light precip by the time they reach here.

Northerlies are good depending on the type.If its a dry northerly with no front or LP system/comma/polar low present then the showers generally stay of to my east,but in frontal systems this area tends to do suprisingly well out of them probably partly due to the extra instablity the front picks up over the north-sea before heading towards East Anglia.

however by far the best direction in general is a easterly/north-easterly.In a pure easterly there is alot of instablity in the atmosphere caused by decent laspe rates between the cold air and warmer north-sea.In a showery easterly flow there tends to be 3-4hrs in the afternoon when there is a shower generally every half an hour.Infact in terms of ability to give widespread snow just about anywhere,easterlies would probably be the best as the showers penetrate inot the heart of England when on a decent flow and not slack,then there is the possiblty of LP's and other systems coming in from trhe north sea that can go very far inland.Then in a good easterly you will see a cold vs warm battle as a LP tries to push in from the south-west giving blizzard condtions in general to much of the south-west and Wales in general.Then theres the channel low where much of the south gets hit by some very heavy snowfall.

So i'll say.it depends where you live,if your exposed to a north-westerly wind,then thats probably gonig to be your best direction,here its the classic easterly and for some on the east coast,anything from a northerly to a easterly will do the job well.

[summer blizzard]

Because i live near the Pennines, i get snow from almost any direction, although a easterly to north easterly wind is probably the best wind direction for me, the best thing for snow for me is a event like the one at the end of Feburary to occur, when there is a quasi-stationary frontal system, as it usually stays directly over me, it snowed for twelve hours at the end of Feburary, however due to the mild air embedded in the low pressure system, i only got four inches of snow.

[Lord of the clouds]

The best direction for snow depends of course on wehere you live.Down here in the south-east north-westerlies tend to only give the weakest of snow flurries and only when the atmopshere is very unstable do the showers make it down here,the only other hope down here is for a comma cloud feature or polar low feature,fronts tend to die away into very light precip by the time they reach here.

Northerlies are good depending on the type.If its a dry northerly with no front or LP system/comma/polar low present then the showers generally stay of to my east,but in frontal systems this area tends to do suprisingly well out of them probably partly due to the extra instablity the front picks up over the north-sea before heading towards East Anglia.

however by far the best direction in general is a easterly/north-easterly.In a pure easterly there is alot of instablity in the atmosphere caused by decent laspe rates between the cold air and warmer north-sea.In a showery easterly flow there tends to be 3-4hrs in the afternoon when there is a shower generally every half an hour.Infact in terms of ability to give widespread snow just about anywhere,easterlies would probably be the best as the showers penetrate inot the heart of England when on a decent flow and not slack,then there is the possiblty of LP's and other systems coming in from trhe north sea that can go very far inland.Then in a good easterly you will see a cold vs warm battle as a LP tries to push in from the south-west giving blizzard condtions in general to much of the south-west and Wales in general.Then theres the channel low where much of the south gets hit by some very heavy snowfall.

So i'll say.it depends where you live,if your exposed to a north-westerly wind,then thats probably gonig to be your best direction,here its the classic easterly and for some on the east coast,anything from a northerly to a easterly will do the job well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that an Easterly airflow is the best if you live in the SE. The showers often merge to produce longer outbreaks of heavy snow lasting quite a few hours.

Years ago when I was small I used to wake in the morning during the winter to find that snow had fallen overnight and left a thick blanket on the ground. Can't remember the last time that happened here?...

[Portland Paul]

A north-westerly can do well for us, as snow showers feed through the 'Cheshire Gap', and can still be pretty heavy and prolonged.

A straight northerly is often more dissappointing, due to shelter from the Pennines.

[Thundery wintry showers]

In South Tyneside, it can snow from any of those directions, but N'ly and NNE'ly winds seem to be the most reliable here. Easterly winds can bring a lot of snow but often, due to the onshore winds, you get sleety stuff on the coast and snow inland.

It is surprising how common it has been for snow showers to migrate over the Pennines on a NW'ly (most memorably on 16 February 2000), but unfortunately it didn't happen on Christmas Day 2004.

The Lancaster archives indicate that in north-west Lancashire, NW'ly winds tend to be associated with the most snow, followed by NE'ly winds. If the cold air associated with returning polar maritime air gets down to England and Wales, prolonged heavy snow showers and even thunder can occur.

[Summer of 95]

N'ly or NW'ly can both give snow here, because of the Cheshire Gap. Easterly and SE'ly are also pretty good, providing it doesn't dry up before reaching us. December 1990-type situations are the best, shame they're so rare. NE-ly is less reliable because it has to get over the Peak District in addition to the already long land track.

Westerly is pretty much useless for any kind of heavy precipitation because of shelter from the Welsh mountains. In winter they (along with NW-lies) can be surprisingly sunny here though. SW-ly? Yuck! If they ever do manage to bring snow it nearly always turns to rain, and unlike W or NW-lies they are nearly always relentlessly overcast and murky.

[Portland Paul]

I posted above about 'good' snowy north-westerly winds.

Easterlies are'nt too bad here, often bringing frequent (often light) snow showers or flurries.

South-easterlies, ahead of a trough from the south-west occasionally do us well, with some decent snowfall. Unfortuately, these seem to be rarer nowadays. The last really good episodes (with stalling troughs, or channel lows). were in January 1987, and February 1985.