East Anglia & South East Cold Spell Discussion 4

[janetmh71]

Currenty 2.2c here with some very dark clouds zooming past to the east. Not seen anything fall yet this morning.

Janet

[Shunter]

http://www.meteox.nl/h.aspx?r=&jaar=-3&soort=satradar

Lightning reported in the north sea

Yeah saw that. The low seems to be winding itself up as it travels along the german and Dutch coastline.

[i luv snow]

xcweather.co.uk shows snow in Norwich, Norfolk and Mildenhall, Suffolk!

[Coast]

...and so begins what could be a very interesting day for the south east...some are saying historical, only the next 24-48 hours will tell

Hysterical you say?

[Snow Queen one]

http://www.raintoday.co.uk/ Try this link is is really good and you can zoom in quite close plus it is free

[azores92]

good luck to the lot of you, have fun where snow does settle, and dont forget to post some pictures up!

[PB22]

Morning all,

Woke up to clear skies and a touch of frost here on the Suffolk coast, but a shower has now moved in from the North Sea and the rain has washed the frost away.

[Radiating Dendrite]

Already a lot of showers forming according to the radar.

I hope I see some snow, not sure though, may be too far west in Ealing I think.

Got to catch a train tomorrow too, so no snow would not be too bad a thing

[Mike Storm]

Morning, 1.1c here, clear sky's with a few shower clouds on the horizon hoping for an exciting next few days

[i luv snow]

GFS suggests ppn in Suffolk to start at midday today and continue until 3am on Saturday (39 hours of snow!)....with more snow on Sat night ! Would be some very impressive totals...

[PB22]

NEW Severe Weather Warning's issued by the Met Office a few minutes ago:

http://www.metoffice...t_warnings.html

60% East of England 60% London & South East England

Heavy Snow 2100 Thu 17 2359 Fri 18

There is a high risk of severe weather affecting parts of east and southeastern England during Thursday evening and Friday. Heavy snow showers will give accumulations of 5-10cm in places on low ground and 15-20cm over hills. The snow showers are expected to gradually die out from the north of the area through the day. Some drifting snow is likely in the strong north to northeasterly wind. This could cause disruption to travel networks.

Issued at: 0828 Thu 17 Dec

Edited December 17, 2009 by Paul B

[East Herts Snow]

Just started snowing moderately here in Buntingford, East Herts and settling straight away.

Stopped now, but shows that the showers may push well inland today.

Edited December 17, 2009 by North Londoner

[we1330]

Morning everyone,

Carol Kirkwood's forecast was worth watching this morning . I've just been asked by my controller if I'll do a late shift on the buses tonight - could be interesting .

[Mikel Nimbus]

Hertfordshire seems to be getting a large proportion of this early snow as the showers keep their energy inland and wind direction is currently in our favour. Snowing again in Welwyn GC now.

[Coast]

I've just been asked by my controller if I'll do a late shift on the buses tonight - could be interesting .

Aghhhhhh ahhhhh ahhhh, it's gonna snow Butler!

[Neilsouth]

SKY NEWS : 2 - 6 Inches into the south east from thursday evening to friday afternoon

BBC WEATHER : 10 - 20cm into the south east , may start of as rain/sleet or snow but will all turn to snow by late in the day still some snow late friday.

EDIT : forgot to mention , both forecasts talk of gusts with drifting!

Edited December 17, 2009 by neilsouth

[we1330]

Aghhhhhh ahhhhh ahhhh, it's gonna snow Butler!

LOLOL!

[Tom D]

There's been a brief flurry here, just pellets. Strong wind picking up now making it feel raw, lots of cloud around, hopefully they'll become progressively more snow bearing later on! Currently 0.7c with an overnight low of -0.8c.

[suffolkboy_]

Just taken the dogs for a walk and there is unbeliveable black ice!

It was raining until about 1.30am, before the temperature fell to just below freezing early this morning. I have never seen black ice like it. Neither I or the two collies could walk on the road...no chance. There is a van in the ditch blocking one of the roads out of the village.

Had one shower this morning of rain, which turned to sleet for a time as it got heavier.

[mintyfresh]

light snow flurries in Watford at the moment although it's melting as it hits the ground - hope this bodes well for tonight!

[Neilsouth]

Thursday eve - night

There is a moderate risk of severe weather affecting eastern parts of England. Rain showers will turn increasingly to snow, especially during the late afternoon and evening. Accumulations of 2 to 5cm are likely.

Friday

There is a moderate risk of severe weather affecting parts of eastern and southern England. Snow showers, especially during the first half of the day, will give local accumulations of 5 cm, with perhaps 10 cm on hills. Some drifting snow is possible in the strong north to northeasterly wind.

NEW WARNINGS

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html

[Hammer]

Warnings cover a slightly larger area now, with the more Western parts of this regional thread under it also. Obviously warnings are one thing, but that should please some.

[Barometer Obama]

Thursday eve - night

Friday

NEW WARNINGS

http://www.metoffice...t_warnings.html

I've got a feeling that I'm gonna wish I was living 50 miles further east!

[Snow Obsession]

Warnings cover a slightly larger area now, with the more Western parts of this regional thread under it also. Obviously warnings are one thing, but that should please some.

It definitely pleases me - I was beginning to feel a bit left out yesterday! Now I'm in the middle of all the action with a nice orange covering - hopefully it will turn out to be white though

[Coast]

Winter sprinkles its magic at last as Britain braces itself for eight inches of snow

Last updated at 9:04 AM on 17th December 2009

Britain is bracing itself for a ‘bitterly cold’ day which will see up to eight inches of snow falling in some areas of the country, forecasters have warned. Temperatures are expected to plummet to 4c during the day, but a strong north-easterly wind will make it feel much colder. Showers of rain are expected during the morning, but by about 5pm this will turn into snow, particularly over London and eastern England.

The Met Office has warned homeowners to expect between 5cm and 10cm of snowfall – but this could increase to 20cms on higher ground. The East Midlands and south east will also be affected. Snow will continue to fall overnight, with temperatures falling to -4c. ‘Heavier snow showers are likely in eastern regions on Thursday and Friday,’ a Met Office forecaster said.

A sprinkling of snowflakes turned Britain into a winter wonderland for many yesterday, but left bookmakers shivering with fear. The light dusting came after days of bitterly cold weather, covering parts of England in a thin blanket of snow.

Despite the wintry conditions, with temperatures plunging below -7c yesterday, forecasters say it is too early to predict a white Christmas. This hasn't comforted nervous bookmakers, who are set to pay out millions if snow does fall on December 25. Rupert Adams, of William Hill, said: 'The million-pound snowflake is something that we have always talked about in hushed tones and for the first time this millennium it looks like we could get collared.

There is unlikely to be much festive cheer in our office this year. The bookmaker said it had seen a surge in betting for a white Christmas, with the odds of snow in London on Christmas Day slashed from 8/1 to 5/2 - close to the shortest price ever offered in England.

One gambler from Derbyshire stands to collect more than £14,000 if it snows on Christmas Day. Today, rural areas should see up to four inches of snow settling on the ground, with Kent and East Anglia set to be the best locations for a snowball fight. On higher ground there could be falls of up to eight inches. Rail bosses are ready to run empty 'ghost trains' through the night to displace excess snow and stop it building up on the tracks.

The Met Office said the snow flurries were set to continue well into the weekend with the coldest temperatures expected on Sunday, when the snow may start to move north. A forecaster said there was a chance of milder weather into next week but added: 'It's definitely time to dig the woollies out.'

The AA said that motorists across Britain could face difficulties as only half of all local authorities had salt stocks for gritting roads that would last for six days of continuous freezing weather. The organisation's president Edmund King said he had sought assurances from the Local Government Association there would not be a repeat of the February snow chaos on the roads. He said local authorities' reliance on supermarket-style 'just in time' deliveries left too many of them vulnerable.

Mr King said: 'Around 1,000 people are killed or seriously injured on snowy and icy roads each winter and hospital casualty departments are often inundated with people who have slipped and fallen. 'Investing in ice and snow clearance, to save elsewhere down the line, makes total sense.'

Although no weather-related problems were immediately reported on London's transport network, bosses will be eager to avoid a repeat of the major disruption caused by previous cold snaps. Met Office spokeswoman Sarah Holland said there could be transport disruptions later in the week as the snow became heavier and urged people to keep up to date with forecasts: 'Anyone driving should be keeping up to date with traffic and highway updates and looking at our website and the BBC'.

www.dailymail.co.uk