East Anglia & South East Cold Spell Discussion

[NorthNorfolkWeather]

it took my hubbie 3 hours to get home last night from enfield to chigwell. he had to help people drive up hills, then walk back down to get the next person who couldnt get up the hill, this included a woman who was trying to get up the hill in drive on an automatic rather than first and a man who couldnt drive his land rover properly as often wondered what that "other gear stick" was for...so the gritters can only do so much!

am resigned to the fact no snow this christmas for us but have loved what we have had!

merry christmas to one and all!!!! only 3 more sleeps!!!!

Hiya,

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Too many people have very little sense when driving on snow or ice. Partly I think because it's been so rare in recent years, but also because many people follow the "Clarkson Doctrine" of "POWER!!!!", when all that does is get your wheels spinning, the car drifting and you end up either off the road or blocking it.

But seeing a gritter would be nice when it wasn't snowing....

[Mike Storm]

it took my hubbie 3 hours to get home last night from enfield to chigwell. he had to help people drive up hills, then walk back down to get the next person who couldnt get up the hill, this included a woman who was trying to get up the hill in drive on an automatic rather than first and a man who couldnt drive his land rover properly as often wondered what that "other gear stick" was for...so the gritters can only do so much!

am resigned to the fact no snow this christmas for us but have loved what we have had!

merry christmas to one and all!!!! only 3 more sleeps!!!!

Thats classic! and a Merry xmas to you!

[Rich44]

Yeah had a good laugh at someone here the other day trying to get their car up the snowy road/driveway started off all right then as soon as she started losing grip she floored it then just shot off sideways lol

Less is more people

[maidstone weather]

No snow here last night, just rain! And the drive is like an ice rink!

[i luv snow]

Can't believe that with the snow and rain last night that the snow mainly didn't melt and the ice and snow is still covering cars/pavements and grass!

[Nick F]

Well the paths this morning on the walk to work are the slipperiest they have ever been since the snow fell last Thurs/Fri. At one point I had to grap hold of a litter bin on a slight incline as I was loosing grip with my feet on ice which had a thin layer of water on top, lethal!! I remember the days when the dustbin men used to clear the paths of snow when they weren't collecting rubbish, that was in the days when they weren't contracted out by councils but run by council themselves. Only paths right in the centre of town have been cleared.

Anyway, looks like no more snow around here for the rest of the week, as the cold air retreats north.

[Coast]

Thats classic!

Must admit a lady in our road who drives a 4x4 school-run 'truck' was struggling in the ice and snow last week. I watched her slip slowly towards our second car and notice it was only her rear wheels spinning. I tapped on the window and suggested she would do better putting it into 4 wheel drive and she exclaimed 'but I don't know how to!!!'

[maidstone weather]

Satellite this morning is handy as it's currently clear across most inland parts of England. You can clearly see the snow has melted in the northeast corner of Norfolk, and the snowline is currently retreating westwards across Kent also - I am on the very edge of the snowline, we do still have lying snow, but the roofs are snow-free and the garden has half of what was there originally. You can also see the snow extends much further westwards than a couple of days ago, effectively covering most of inland England.

[justinflavin]

just saw the ticker on sky news saying that South West trains are operating a Saturday service today.

[Guest archiesmummy]

gives the real land rover enthusiasts a bad name! anyhoo...just heard on the BBC breakfast that there is a news special at 11 on BBC 1 regarding the weather...no idea what angle they are taking as such as is a change to what should be on...just thought mite be of interest

[yamkin]

No snow here last night, just rain! And the drive is like an ice rink!

It snowed here around 04:45 hrs which was quite heavy to begin with and grew lighter by 05:15 hrs and stopped by 05:30 hrs

[jdp80]

Helped push quite a few cars up hills last night and so many had no idea what to do. People seem to think flooring it is the best approach!

When you are in a powerful car like a 535d then all this does is move the back of the car straight toward the kerb and the abandoned cars ...

I told him to leave it in second and turn off his traction control .. he looked at me blankly. "How do I do that?"

Some local people were out with shovels clearing ice off the road for 3-4 hours.. families, kids etc - well done to all of them. I bet quite a lot of people avoided nights in their car as a result.

[ukmoose]

What I find difficult, up here in the frozen North of Norfolk is the lack of gritters on the MAIN roads. I live in the 'back of beyond' where, when we have a cold snap, a gritting lorry usually finds it's way past my house after 3-4 days. Yesterday I was on a main road which was still badly iced up. The local county council apparently has loads of salt, but has declined to pay the drivers overtime, so they work 8 hours and clock off, normally the driver work an average of 10 hours, allowing many more roads to be gritted, and earning some extra money as well. I cannot believe that there isn't something in the pot to pay for some extra gritting to be done.

It does sometimes seem sometimes to be a question of money - or lack of it.

Here's a thought why don't councils turn off some of the ridiculous amount of street lights we have in this country and stop lighting areas that don't need to be lit where only cars (with headlights) go thereby saving a) money (to use on other essential services) and :lol: using less energy and creating less pollution from power stations. I think we must waste more money lighting huge areas and miles of roads than most other countries - certainly in Europe.

Sorry - off topic, rant over! Freezing fog and very, very icy here today after yesterday evening's snow. Shame it looks odds on now for the cold to give way on Christmas day (in the south at least).

[Tom D]

Satellite this morning is handy as it's currently clear across most inland parts of England. You can clearly see the snow has melted in the northeast corner of Norfolk, and the snowline is currently retreating westwards across Kent also - I am on the very edge of the snowline, we do still have lying snow, but the roofs are snow-free and the garden has half of what was there originally. You can also see the snow extends much further westwards than a couple of days ago, effectively covering most of inland England.

I don't think that's snow cover - here and for as far as I can see it's cloudy and many areas also have fog, which I think is what is showing up there.

Someone posted a great satellite image a couple of days ago after Thursday night, showing snow streaks on the green land.

[maidstone weather]

I don't think that's snow cover - here and for as far as I can see it's cloudy and many areas also have fog, which I think is what is showing up there.

Someone posted a great satellite image a couple of days ago after Thursday night, showing snow streaks on the green land.

Ah yes good point! :lol:

[yamkin]

What I find difficult, up here in the frozen North of Norfolk is the lack of gritters on the MAIN roads. I live in the 'back of beyond' where, when we have a cold snap, a gritting lorry usually finds it's way past my house after 3-4 days. Yesterday I was on a main road which was still badly iced up. The local county council apparently has loads of salt, but has declined to pay the drivers overtime, so they work 8 hours and clock off, normally the driver work an average of 10 hours, allowing many more roads to be gritted, and earning some extra money as well. I cannot believe that there isn't something in the pot to pay for some extra gritting to be done.

It does sometimes seem sometimes to be a question of money - or lack of it.

Here's a thought why don't councils turn off some of the ridiculous amount of street lights we have in this country and stop lighting areas that don't need to be lit where only cars (with headlights) go thereby saving a) money (to use on other essential services) and :lol: using less energy and creating less pollution from power stations. I think we must waste more money lighting huge areas and miles of roads than most other countries - certainly in Europe.

Sorry - off topic, rant over! Freezing fog and very, very icy here today after yesterday evening's snow. Shame it looks odds on now for the cold to give way on Christmas day (in the south at least).

The very cold temps look like recovering in the S/SW, but it will still feel quite cold

[Snow Obsession]

I am currently at my parents' house having not been able to get home last night. I went to London with my parents, my husband, my daughter (6) and my son (3) to the theatre. Luckily my husband and son didn't come to the theatre with us and left London early and managed to get home before the snow started. However, my parents, my daughter and I were not so lucky. We managed to get to Beaconsfield station on the train and got in the car at 6.30. My parents were going to drop us home before going home themselves but the traffic on the A40 between Beaconsfield and Wycombe was at a standstill. It took us 3 and a half hours to get to my parents' house - normally a 15 minute drive. There was no point in trying to get to our house.

Amazing snow - but a nightmare for us, especially with my daughter in the car too.

Quite an adventure... I hope everyone else is safe.

[TEITS]

Very cold and bleak here with low cloud and temps of -2C. Really going to struggle to rise above freezing today. The BBC suggest min temps will be -2C tonight but I reckon -5,-6C is on the cards especially for those with snow cover.

[matt69l]

Hi. I've been lurking for a while but finally decided to register yesterday.

It's been a great few days but unfortunately looks to be coming to an end. We had a bit more wet snow last night where I live near St Albans but the temp stayed up just above freezing for most of the night so there has been a constant slow drip .drip, drip of melting snow going on all night.

I always feel a bit depressed when we come top the end of an icy or snowy spell! But, already looking forward to the next one and hopefully not too long to wait.

Edited December 22, 2009 by matt69l

[yamkin]

Hi. I've been lurking for a while but finally decided to register yesterday.

It's been a great few days but unfortunately looks to be coming to an end. We had a bit more wet snow last night where I live near St Albans but the temp stayed up just above freezing for most of the night so there has been a constant slow drip .drip, drip of melting snow going on all night.

I always feel a bit depressed when we come top the end of an icy or snowy spell! But, already looking forward to the next one and hopefully not too long to wait.

Welcome to Netweather. It will turn slightly less colder in the SW, but it will still be cold

[Lowestoft]

Just finished my deliveries for today. Up at 4am and it was lovely to see that most of the snow had gone, it would have taken me hours longer to finish in the snow. Thankfully no more snow forecast until after Christmas.

[Rich44]

I wouldn't put too much faith in that forecast

[ukmoose]

It's very interesting where the snow has remained snow and other areas have had any lying snow pretty much washed away. Also how some places had a mixture of snow, rain and sleet yesterday and others (here for example) just snow.

Shows how difficult it can be to forecast snow and even to get the temperatures about right sometimes. That was a complex little feature and the warmer air mixed in proved to be almost impossible to pin down. Fascinating.

[icy toes]

It snowed heavily in West Cambs for about three hours last night. Started to thaw a little bit, but the cloud cover today is helping to keep the temperature down. Woke up to a winter wonderland, though, and praying the snow can stick around until Friday. It'll be my first white Christmas since 1981 if the snow stays. Here's a little pic of my garden this morning. My hubby always insists on sweeping the paths when it snows, which is extremely annoying as it spoils the view. Hey-ho!

[Lowestoft]

I wouldn't put too much faith in that forecast

I think I get a sense of wishful thinking in your reply. Or do you have evidence of more snow to my area before Christmas?