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Severe Snowstorms - Are They Possible In The Uk?


lukemc

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Posted
  • Location: Liverpool
  • Location: Liverpool

Hi,

Although we have had quite a severe winter especially by recent standards, I have seen posts stating that despite quite a few major snow events for most one thing that has been lacking this winter is a severe blizzard like snowstorm with widespread falls over a very wide area and very large accumulations - by this I would define as an event that produces widespread accumulations of a foot or more even over low ground and possibly accompanied by strong winds (30mph+) and very high accumulation rates (several cm/hr). By this I mean something on the scale of the recent snowstorm hit the East Coast of the USA (with Washington being hit the hardest of course) - would something on that scale be possible in the UK? I would also like to know what sort of synoptics we would need to get such an event? Would it be a battleground scenario with an Atlantic Low/fronts coming up a very cold block over Europe? Would it require the presence of a strong Greenland high?

Also I am interested in the synoptics that causes such heavy snowstorms along the US East Cost is the most common set up resulting in this situation a Northeaster storm - is that where an area of low pressure moves in a Northeasterly direction from the Gulf of Mexico up the Eastern Seaboard towards New York/Boston - does the heavy snow result from the deep low pressure interacting with deeply embedded cold air over the North American landmass (i.e. polar continental air) and if so is it similar to our battleground situations with Atlantic lows moving into a cold block of continental air?

Luke

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Posted
  • Location: G.Manchester
  • Location: G.Manchester

The winter of 1979 was extremely cold and unsettled. There were snowstorms by your're 'extreme' standards. Ideally we need high pressure to be over Greenland with low pressure over Scnadinavia with atlantic lows cutting southwards across southern Britain;

Rrea00119781230.gif

That was the last 'extreme' blizzard that affected a wide area. Some eastern areas had blizzards from the easterly of January 1987. Some areas around 20 inches fell in the east;

Rrea00119870113.gif

The snow in January this year gave us around 24cm. It was the heaviest fall easily since either 1981/1982 or 1962.

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Posted
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl
  • Location: N.E. Scotland South Side Moray Firth 100m asl

Well its trying to give us one here tonight with strong winds blowing snow around the front garden with moderate snowfall and just under freezing point. On higher areas it must be windier and much more severe( see Traffic Scotlnd live eye views)

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Posted
  • Location: Glasgow, Scotland (Charing Cross, 40m asl)
  • Weather Preferences: cold and snowy in winter, a good mix of weather the rest of the time
  • Location: Glasgow, Scotland (Charing Cross, 40m asl)

Take a look at what western Scotland is experiencing tonight! Probably a good foot or so for many by morning, and a lot more over high ground. Cold air entrenched at surface levels meeting a front with less cold uppers behind = a lot of snow for a lucky lot, though sadly not Embra, Dundee or east borders.

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Posted
  • Location: Stoke Gifford, nr Bristol, SGlos
  • Location: Stoke Gifford, nr Bristol, SGlos

These extreme blizzards are what's been missing from this winter for us here in the BTL area, IMO, to mean this winter although memorable by recent years comparisons, but not in the league of winter 78/79 in terms of heavy snowfall - in cold terms yes, this year is 'memorable'.

I think we had 4 fierce blizzards in 78/79 from mainly easterlies as LPs attached from the west/south west but came up against cold air that stopped them tracking north and deflected off into the near continent.

as for that Jan 87 chart we did have a huge blizzard from that in BTL, it dumped about a foot of snow even in BTL itself and in the outlying areas huge drifts occurred. The thing i remember about that 87 event was that it stopped for a few hours either side of lunchtime, but then returned for another few hours spell of snow and blizzard conditions. I remember because we got sent home from work in BTL city centre, even though we'd struggled in during the morning! Plus temps during the snowstorm, even in the afternoon were only about minus 2 or 3 celsiuscold.gif

I would also add even in those winters between 78 and 87 we never reached the extremities of the US mid-west or what we saw in Washington the other week.

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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

We've come close to some proper nationwide blizzard conditions this winter, but unfortunately most frontal snow has been fairly light and accompanied by mainly light winds with no steep temperature gradients. What is happening over Scotland right now is blizzard conditions though thanks to a deep low and strong lows, we just haven't had many deep depressions tracking over the country on southerly paths, mainly because the jet stream has been displaced far to the south.

Examples from winter 78/79 and Jan 82 show that blizzard conditions normally occur when we have strong heights to the north and deep depressions tracking over southern england.

Blizzards can occur in a strong easterly, again this year easterly winds though prevalent have been fairly light, in fact this winter must have been one of the quietest wind wise I can remember, how often have we heard gales mentioned in the forecasts, hardly ever this winter.

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