Scotland/Northern England

[Mondy]

Whats windsceen wiping???

No air frosts for the last 13 days and only 8 eight ground frosts during that period. Still for the last few years that is out standing.

Therefore, you posted in the wrong thread

[Cookie]

not been that many here lately due to the Atlantic battering, but was a hard frost tonight here

[reef]

Well about 30 miles due North of you it's a different story. I do accept you have a point, as in the recent high pressure cold spell, this wasn't the best place to be as we were constantly under leaden skies with a breeze off the relatively warm North Sea. However, they did clear briefly at times, giving us a good number of frosts, but not really cold nights. You didn't have to go much further inland to notice a bigger difference. We are 10 miles inland, incidentally.

Since November we have had 40 air frosts, 8 November, 18 December and 14 January, though the mean min for Dec was 0.0, even with air frost on more than half the nights. This month with 14 out of 24, the mean is -0.0 currently. (Actually, it's -0.6 currently)!

As for snow, loads of it and 16 (or 17?) 0900 covers since November, including a 20cm fall. Again, location is key and though not at a great elevation, it's enough to make a difference, as is proximity to the coast, but this time for the right reasons. We're also in Wolds valley, which helps the frost.

So it's been fairly frosty, but not cold!

Bring back the Northerlies, these Westerlies gave some snow this week, but we're not high enough for accumulation.

Elevation and location have indeed made a big difference this winter, mainly as the majority of the cold weather has been anticyclonic in nature. The clear nights reported elsewhere never materialised here, so temperatures struggled to get below freezing. Indeed, it was completely overcast for almost 10 days after christmas apart from the night of the 30th December. Bear in mind when I say frosts are below average Im talking about the 1971-2000 average for this location. Not in comparison to any other. To myself, that suggests that frosts in this area have been pretty marginal. Indeed, March 2006 saw 12 air frosts here, so its not just a case of being in a poor location. That month also saw -5.4C reached compared to the low this winter of just -2.8C. The mean mins for here compared to yours tell the story. We had a mean min of 2.3C (-0.2C) in December and currently 1.9C (+0.4C) in January. Its also 3.8C here compared to your -0.6C, so it highlights the huge difference. In fact, nearby Leconfield (on average much frostier than here) hasnt dipped below 2.6C all evening, so you must live in quite a frost hollow there!

As for snow, in the winter months we've had no lying snow whatsoever and just 2 days with sleet or snow falling. You mention a 20cm fall in November, here it was just a half-covering of 0.5cm! Again its due to the marginal nature of the snowfall. The upper air temperatures have never been much below -5C and all snowfall has come in the form of breakdown scenarios as warm fronts hit embedded cold air. Unfortunately for here, as it never got very cold in the first place, theres almost no chance of anything. I agree with you on wanting northerlies back, they are quite notable by their absence in the winter months nowadays. Of course when we do get one its generally a NNW'erly, so even then we miss out!

Im not trying to wind people up, Im just reporting on what Ive observed here. I appreciate its been frostier than normal in many locations, but these blanket comments saying its been that way everywhere are simply not true. I suspect many close to the North sea have been equally as frustrated this year.

[Cymro]

Very intresting because you say the north, But personally i'm of the feeling that the South West has done better than most of the british isles due to frost because of some hard air frosts.

I've had 35 air frosts since the end of october, 20 groundfrosts, 8 days with sleet falling - 6 days with snow falling, 3 days with snow lying. I've had 4 ice days, The lakes froze solid over here up to 29 cm in places, the river froze over for the first time since 1963. And i here people say this winter hasn't been the best, Yes snow hasn't been as widespread as it could but temps have certainly pleased me. -16 lowest here. even -10 on pembrey sands. The BEACH. THe estuary by there froze. Now when harbours and sea's are freezing that says alot doesn't it.

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Well, I think I count as the north of England, and I've had about 40 separate air frosts so far this winter (give or take one or two - the computer my weather station connects to died last night). For comparision, up until this date, the past few years have had:-

2007/08 - twenty-eight

2006/07 - twenty-two

2005/06 - forty-one

2004/05 - twenty-five

2003/04 - forty-three

2002/03 - twenty-three

2001/02 - thirty-five

2000/01 - twenty-seven

So it's up there with the frostiest recent winters, but not execptional.

[MAF]

some interesting data from met o here

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/

and here for Dec08

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2008/december.html

here too

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/200...ember/maps.html

Edited January 25, 2009 by MAF

[Mondy]

Interesting!

Provisionally, it was the coldest December since 1996 for England and Wales for maximum temperatures. Minimum temperatures were well below normal across almost all of the UK, by as much as 2 °C in some western areas. Provisionally, it was the coldest December since 1995 for N Ireland, 1999 for Scotland and 2001 for England and Wales.

[shuggee]

Edinburgh has had 28 air frosts this season. 42 since the end of Summer. Stats in my sig

[damianslaw]

Not had a real air frost since the 10th here in Windermere, a couple of ground frosts yes, but no real air frosts. Quite poor for middle of January, this evening could see a brief air frost though.

[Mondy]

Another air frost already this evening. Jeez, I wish I kept records of this. I honestly do not remember the past decade or more having so many "any type of frosts"

[Cookie]

back to the warm Atlantic here

[shuggee]

The 29th air frost of the season here last night - down to -4ºC. Even at 11am streets were like ice skating rinks, and everything in the shade is still frozen here at 3.30pm, despite an air temp of +5ºC.

A cursory look a the airport minimum temps in the last 3 months - and if you counted everything of 3ºC and below as a ground frost then there would be another 14 nights to add to the 43 airfrosts since summer end. I certainly can't remember such a frequency of cold nights.

[Mondy]

Same again tonight, Shuggs! Some of the frost didn't lift at all today.

[Snowyowl9]

No frost here last night due to cloud 3c but tonight looks lower 1.3c now so another ground frost to add to the list at least.