Winter 1991/2

[Terminal Moraine]

Here, December 1999 was like December 1993's little brother. The mean max' and min' were very similar but 1993 was much wetter and much more snowy.

1993 had 15 mornings with lying snow including a fall of almost 17cm on the 12th and an accumulated depth of 49.8cm; 1999 had 7 mornings with lying snow and the deepest fall was just over 6cm on the 21st, the accumulated depth for the month was 20.9 cm.

Both months were windy with a mean speed around 20 mph but whereas the mean speed in 1993 was slightly higher than in 1999 there were only 3 days with gales in the former and 6 in the latter.

[Snowyowl9]

Both months were windy with a mean speed around 20 mph but whereas the mean speed in 1993 was slightly higher than in 1999 there were only 3 days with gales in the former and 6 in the latter.

Yes 1993 was a memorable time for storms this one in particular storm force winds, I remember doing major damage here to buildings here with a NW-ly. not something we`ve had much of since not from a NW-ly point of direction it was mild that day.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119931209.gif

As for december 1999 there was this storm, wind tree uprooted, with quite a drop in temps with hail and snow showers to follow.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119991204.gif

[Terminal Moraine]

Yes 1993 was a memorable time for storms this one in particular storm force winds, I remember doing major damage here to buildings here with a NW-ly. :o not something we`ve had much of since not from a NW-ly point of direction it was mild that day.

That one gave us a gust of 89 mph here, the highest I've recorded in December.

[Snowyowl9]

That one gave us a gust of 89 mph here, the highest I've recorded in December.

Oh wow thanks for that well that was a nightime storm and it took 60 slates off our building the only time it`s happened.

It funnels down our valley with a NW wind.

There was another storm in 1989 as TWS posted the chart last winter and I forgot when exactly it was as there were frequent stinging hail showers that day then driving snow/hail that night with a covering another storm force NW-ly at night after, and that to me felt a modern type winter set-up not seen earlier years just wondered when that date was and what wind speeds it gave.

[Snowyowl9]

Found it I got the wrong year it was february 2nd 1988 this was the biggy I remember more that all of the storms with frequent wintry soft hail showers then snow and stormy during the evening.

[Terminal Moraine]

Found it I got the wrong year it was february 2nd 1988 this was the biggy I remember more that all of the storms with frequent wintry soft hail showers then snow and stormy during the evening.

[

Yes, similar here on that date. ( I assume you mean the 10th as on the chart ) A gust of 82 mph at 0425 from that storm, and 5.5cm of lying snow. The mean wind speed reached 52 mph during the early morning.

Edited October 17, 2008 by Terminal Moraine

[Snowyowl9]

Yes the 10th thanks again, a typing error by me there.

That`s quite alot of snow 2.5inches as memory goes that can underestimate how much snow we had in the past without records as I found out looking back to what I recorded.

Seemed like a covering here so maybe an inch. but may of been more.

Edited October 17, 2008 by Snowyowl9

[J10]

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/1999/december.html

In the winter 1999/2000 I didn't even see a single flake of snow at home , so it was truly snow less. but on the way to visiting relatives, there was have snow on the Outskirts of Bath, and we were stuck in behind a jackknifed lorry for over 4 hours.

[Severe Blizzard]

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!

[Terminal Moraine]

1991-92 was also a dry and snowless winter in this area, though not nearly so dry as where you are.

I recorded just over 209 mm that winter but almost a quarter of it fell on December 21st when there was 49.5 mm, there were only 38 rain days ( met' office definition ), the lowest number for any winter on my records which began in 1963.

Sleet or snow fell on only 11 days and there was snow lying on 6 mornings, only the winters of 1988-89, 1997-98, 2006-07 and 2007-08 have had fewer.

The mean air pressure for the winter was 1026.5mb, the highest value for any season on my records.

I also remember it as a tedious and uninteresting winter but, as you say, great for cycling. I think I'd just about trade off the lack of cycling for a repeat of winter 1978/79 although if I don't get out on the bike at least once a week I start getting feverish. It would have to be mountain bike on the road in the snow, I think, and leave the road bike at home until the thaw.

[Portland Paul]

A little snow recorded in SW birmingham that winter - none until mid February though:

Sunday 16th February 1992 - Light early morning snow shower, gusty northerly winds.

Tuesday 18th February 1992 - Overcast, 2 cm slushy snow lying in morning, with falling sleet and snow dying out into a drizzle.

Wednesday 15th April 1992 - Strong NNW winds, with a deep low over Denmark. Frequent snow and soft hail showers throughout the day, with temporary heavy dustings, thawing quickly in sunny intervals.

Otherwise a very dry and boring winter, as I remember, save a very frosty period in the first half of December 1991 - with sub zero maxes and heavy crystaline rime frosts.