Cold Spell Discussion

[Snowyowl9]

Strong wall to wall sun and still very cold at just 1c cold surface air is having quite an effect today..

SE wind now.

[Optimus Prime]

Very cold last night, dropped to -4.8c. Lowest on record (March 2006 managed -3.8c) a dry sunny cool day with a maximum of 7.1c.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Reminds me very much of March 2003, with clear blue skies and minus minimums, 19th Mar 03

[Snowyowl9]

Much much colder to march 2003.

-4.2c now.

[Avain]

-6.7 here last night, incredibly cold for March!!

[TonyH]

-6.7 here last night, incredibly cold for March!!

MIlford Haven min -2c, quite a local variation!

Only -5.5c here, not so incredible.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Tonyh

[nick sussex]

Really amazing snow happening towards the Med coast, areas around Perpignan have over 25cms of snow and over 40cms further inland and its still snowing heavily, also its snowing in Barcelona and Girona, apparently the heaviest snow in those Med coastal regions for 17 years!

Here its very cold for the time of year -1.4 c with lighter snow but nothing compared to areas further east.

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

Really amazing snow happening towards the Med coast, areas around Perpignan have over 25cms of snow and over 40cms further inland and its still snowing heavily, also its snowing in Barcelona and Girona, apparently the heaviest snow in those Med coastal regions for 17 years!

Here its very cold for the time of year -1.4 c with lighter snow but nothing compared to areas further east.

Quite a contrast then Nick to the 24C you mentioned during the storm the other weekend!

The snow sounds great! It's been quite a winter and it doesn't want to go away in a hurry either!

[Andy Bown]

With the low cloud from the East likely to give some drizzle, what do others think of the chance of freezing drizzle given how cold the ground is?

[nick sussex]

Quite a contrast then Nick to the 24C you mentioned during the storm the other weekend!

The snow sounds great! It's been quite a winter and it doesn't want to go away in a hurry either!

Hi Tamara

Well you certainly get some very unpredictable weather down here but further east to get that much snow near the Med Coast is very rare, some of the pictures are incredible, some places near sea level have recorded now getting on for 30+ cms! The snow here has picked up a bit now with a covering and temp at -1.8c. I think this may well be the last snow at this altitude till next winter but to be honest I'm happy to leave winter behind now, I wish I could flick a switch and just go straight into summer, this time of year we can still get into the twenties which I'd be very happy to see.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Remarkable stuff indeed- it seems to have happened quite a few times in recent years, the Med getting unusual snowfalls even down to sea level (I think the 2007/08 season was the other major one).

Nick's experiences also bear out a point I made earlier- some on here have suggested that a continental climate might give the much sought-after combination of cold winters and then a rapid change to summer-like weather, but the reality is that climates with a larger annual temperature range also tend to be prone to more variability either side of the mean, so you might still get snow events in March/April, and individual Marches & Aprils that are cold and snowy, despite the long-term average temperatures being significantly higher.

[La Bise]

A good point by TWS, those quick transitions are a bit of a myth, I've had 30c+ temps in May in Geneva but also snow (even in june and it settled...). By mid/end of June thought, things do hot up significantly. Mean in July is 24 c, in January 1c...

[charlton north-downs]

See all the action in the Med on www.webcamgalore.com -See all webcams world-wide -Always jealous when you see snow falling probably 200 miles away in Europe.

[Eugene]

-8C here on edge of town last night and -14C in nearby valley ...incredible cold snap, wonderful way for this winter to go out with a bang with very low temps and extremely low dewpoints.

[keithlucky]

Question is this year a record for the amount of nightime frosts ? cant remember have so mant frosts in a winter and with no let up in sight.

[Eugene]

Just been looking through some UK weather forums and saw a thread opened in late November about them having recorded no sub 10C max's for a long time , i wonder if they have had enough sub 10C max's since

Some people have only reported one 10C+ day since mid December

[guitarnutter]

-8C here on edge of town last night and -14C in nearby valley ...incredible cold snap, wonderful way for this winter to go out with a bang with very low temps and extremely low dewpoints.

The temps the for 'nearby valley' seem suspiciously low, any proof?

[yamkin]

Currently 6.5C here and feels colder in the brisk wind

[cooling climate]

This picture of spring weather in Barcelona (Spain) taken a couple of days ago and also

the snow and ice chart for yesterday showing widespread snow over southern France

and parts of Spain.

Re: Winter watch

« Reply #906 Yesterday at 4:48pm »

http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/ims_gif/DATA/cursnow_asiaeurope.gif

With areas like this that are four, five hundred miles to our south getting some real winter

weather at the end of the first week in March just shows what we narrowly missed out on.

It is a pity really for some posters that have never experienced proper cold and snow in

March in this country and are of the belief that once March is here that winter (weather wise)

is over is just not true.

A blast of this would have put that falsehood to bed once and for all.

[AderynCoch]

Yep, high pressure in the wrong place yet again.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Just been looking through some UK weather forums and saw a thread opened in late November about them having recorded no sub 10C max's for a long time , i wonder if they have had enough sub 10C max's since

Some people have only reported one 10C+ day since mid December

...or even none!

[La Bise]

Just read in the Swiss media this morning that it went down to -38.9c in Glattalp (1850m asl) last night, beating the previous record this winter of -35.1c in La Brevine (a quirky little place in the Jura mountains, not very high, about 1000m asl but subject to some exceptionnally cold conditions in winter due to the geography, a frost hollow if I've ever known one...). Glattalp coldest temperature recorded was -52.50 back in february 91...

[John London]

Oh well the regional place is now closed, all shutting up for the year now it's warming up. Strange to see the Cold Spell Discussion still open, but without it I wouldn't be able to say it's strange to see the Cold Spell Discussion still open. Goodbye.

[Optimus Prime]

Of course John it couldn't possibly turn cold in March or April? How silly of us

[cuckoo]

Oh well the regional place is now closed, all shutting up for the year now it's warming up. Strange to see the Cold Spell Discussion still open, but without it I wouldn't be able to say it's strange to see the Cold Spell Discussion still open. Goodbye.

Yes but does this thread relate to UK cold spell only or a more global perspective?

The cold is still very much continuing in continental Europe as La Bise's post demonstrates.