North West Cold Spell 9

[fluffytrollop]

catcam looks splattered too. might have to do the pub lunch with the kids tomorrow then. hope the buses are running - i love that little journey.

[snowdrifter]

Drizzly stuff here, and given that I have zero elevation I'm not expecting anything. Hope those higher up in the NW get something tonight.

[stoke weather watch]

if you were 5 minutes out of town up Buxton road you'd be seeing one or two flakes!

Might have to take a walk then lol

[meerkat63]

Hi,

A final question, does anyone know if a "Polar Low" has ever brought snow too my area?

Luke

I take it that by your area you mean Liverpool?

As an answer to the above, I don't know but I would expect almost certainly. A polar low occurs in as you would expect in a northerly airstream of polar origin. They tend to be very localized.

I do recall one instance for example of Blackpool getting over a foot of snow from an event such as this wheras my location further inland received nothing by way of snowfall. So given the right conditions - and the conditions do have to be conducive to this sort of event - your area would be fairly well placed in my opinion. Someone else will probably have more detailed info on this however.

[lukemc]

Hi,

As a matter of interest does anyone know why this event has been so marginal with respect to snowfall as I was expecting it to be rain south of the M4 or whereabouts and then snow further north of that line and if the precipitation was to reach as far here it should have been wintry in nature, it isn't like we have the effects of the irish sea as the wind direction is supposed to be from the east now, so why aren't dew points dropping like they did the other night when we got the snowfall?

Luke

[Liam J]

the temperature here is colder near the coast than it is inland its 1.1c here where as in keswick 22 miles inland and higher its 4c....strange.... very light sleet up here as i drove home so if it got heavier it would turn to snow readily,

[Zerouali lives]

Check out conditions at Flash - Britain's highest village http://www.maccinfo.com/Flash/

[meerkat63]

Around 215m, so not that much higher than you, perhaps we're under slightly heavier precip? Having said that it's got a little lighter now.

OK thanks for that. Set my mind at rest

Temperature has fallen to 1.9c so hopefully just a matter of time before we see snow now.

[V for Very Cold]

well it's 2^oC, steady rain without even a hint of sleet. The rain has melted whatever lying snow there was and you really can;t imagine it getting any colder - it seems strange that the MetO issues flash warnings just as the weather gets milder

[Cecil Hogmanay Melchett]

well it's 2^oC, steady rain without even a hint of sleet. The rain has melted whatever lying snow there was and you really can;t imagine it getting any colder - it seems strange that the MetO issues flash warnings just as the weather gets milder

Yep,

Just too warm for snow,looks like its colder down in the midlands as they are seeing snow now.

weird really as i was under the impression the further north the colder the air.

ah well,good luck to those in the midlands.

anyone else noticed how the greens turn to blues as soon as they hit manc.

edit moderate rain here and i have 660ft plus alt,not much chance of snow in manc ket alone here.

[snowingtequila]

Check out conditions at Flash - Britain's highest village http://www.maccinfo.com/Flash/

or up at the cat and fiddle

http://www.maccinfo.com/cat/

[iand61]

still coming down quite hard in Bacup but it's sleet or wet snow at best

sticking to the car roofs but little else

temperature has actually gone up slightly in the last hour or so and is currently 1'c.

still can't see the snow getting bad enough to warrant a severe weather warning but after what was expected earlier today, it could turn out to be the upgrade of the decade.

Ian

[fluffytrollop]

well, weirdly, the wind seems to have warmed up here...just been out and i think the deioniser blows out cooler air than I just felt outside. not much falling now at all. SOB!

[meerkat63]

Earlier today on this thread Mr Data posted the GFS 06Z ensembles for Manchester which had a very cold flavour about them. (Thanks Mr Data )

Tonight's ECM output is a stunner and those on the model output discussion thread have turned their attentions it would seem to the onset of winter armaggeddon

If all goes well, this could be just the start...

[wysiwyg]

well it's 2^oC, steady rain without even a hint of sleet. The rain has melted whatever lying snow there was and you really can;t imagine it getting any colder - it seems strange that the MetO issues flash warnings just as the weather gets milder

Looking at the Meto 12z analysis fax and the T+24 chart would suggest that they think that this system is going to stall sometime overnight with the warm front stretching east from Cumbria and the occluded front stretching east from mid Wales. The T+36 chart then indicates the occlusion slowly heading back south as cold air digs in behind it.

Although the whole set-up is clearly quite marginal - the potential was and still is there for quite heavy snowfall if the fronts stall for long enough to drop their moisture through the cold air as it undercuts the warmer air we are currently seeing now in the NW.

I'm not holding my breath for my location as I think by the time the conditions are conducive for snow, most of the moisture will have gone from the system. However, I still think that there is potential here for a few cm and more in areas with more favourable elevation.

I think today we have witnessed a classic cold vs warm battle ground over the NW. Unfortunately it was a tame storm versus a lazy cool airmass instead of an aggressive atlantic system pitched up against entrenched cold backed up by a polar or siberian feed. All in all these are encouraging signs and the fact that it looks likely cold will win out yet again is good news as we head into January. (if the ecm 12z T+240 verifies we are in for a shock! :lol: )

[snowingtequila]

interesting looking on here how close snow is to the region, zoom in and macclesfield is just a few miles from snow, a short sprint away!

http://www.raintoday.co.uk/

[dodge]

Wet sleet here. That's mostly rain, with the merest hint/suggestion there might be a more solidified icy context somewhere in the midst of all the rain. It's probably just an hallucination. I'll carry on watching the Villa V Liverpool match and share their luck lol

[Cheese Rice]

The rain/sleet most of you are getting may well turn to snow, the front has just made it here (falling as snow), and after an inital warm up temps are dropping again, so maybe the cold air is starting to undercut the front?

[James M]

Temp stuck at 1.4°C, come on just a little bit colder!

[Storm Animal]

Heavy sleet atm, seems to be right on the borderline for snow though with lots of flakes coming down, if only I was just a little bit higher! lol

Got a light covering of snow at present, appears to have got lighter over past 30 mins, but radar still shows some heavier stuff to the South, which should give a decent covering during the night I'd say. Temp now 0.5oC

[Cecil Hogmanay Melchett]

The rain/sleet most of you are getting may well turn to snow, the front has just made it here (falling as snow), and after an inital warm up temps are dropping again, so maybe the cold air is starting to undercut the front?

its becoming a tad annoying now.We have snow to our north and snow to our south.

Why are we seeing rain?

[James M]

Got a light covering of snow at present, appears to have got lighter over past 30 mins, but radar still shows some heavier stuff to the South, which should give a decent covering during the night I'd say. Temp now 0.5oC

I'm quite jealous of you're extra height now! lol, mind you we have had a lot of snow already so I guess I shouldn't complain.

[Snowmad79]

its becoming a tad annoying now.We have snow to our north and snow to our south.

Why are we seeing rain?

Its snowing here still but turning flakey again temp is now 1.1c here so there is still a gradual drop in temps here. The depth of snow is hedging towards 1cm .. slowly but surely

[Cheese Rice]

its becoming a tad annoying now.We have snow to our north and snow to our south.

Why are we seeing rain?

I can't really say why you are getting rain, but there could be a number of reasons.

-The PPN may not be heavy enough

-On low ground

-The cold air will be filtering down from the north so it will take it's time to reach you, as Leeds is further north were likely to see this first.

What is your temp?

[wysiwyg]

interesting looking on here how close snow is to the region, zoom in and macclesfield is just a few miles from snow, a short sprint away!

http://www.raintoday.co.uk/

When did they move the english channel?????

Edited December 29, 2009 by wysiwyg