White Easters 2010 To Join The List?

[damianslaw]

With the potential for colder weather and possibly wintry conditions in the run up to easter - yes it is still a long way off and much can change.. we could be seeing a white easter once again following on from 2008.

Not sure what others think of the chances of a white easter are..

Also does anyone have any stats on other white easters.

I think 1975, 1983 and possibly 1990 were white easters and maybe 1998..

I believe chances of a white easter are equal if not greater than white christmas's especially if it is an early easter.

Welcome thoughts..

Edited March 25, 2010 by damianslaw

[Thundery wintry showers]

There is a significant likelihood of northerlies next week, though depending on how close by low pressure sets itself up to the east, it could end up bright with wintry showers, or dull and wet with fronts straddling the UK and a lot of mixing of airmasses around the depression. Easter itself depends on how long this cold northerly type sets up for.

1994 also had snow showers on Easter Monday in western and northern districts if I remember rightly. It is true that in some parts of the country snow is more likely to fall on Easter Monday than on Christmas Day.

[Weather-history]

I think 1975, 1983 and possibly 1990 were white easters and maybe 1998..

1990 wasn't a white Easter, 1998 was.

It has made me wonder how many times there have been white Christmases ie with snow falling and the following Easter also had snow .

Even rarer a Christmas Day with snow cover and a Easter Day with snow cover.

[Eugene]

Easter itself depends on how long this cold northerly type sets up for.

Yes it may warm up slightly for easter weekend way too soon to be calling a white easter monday, if it was on March 30th then yes a good chance but even then not a dead cert

[Thundery wintry showers]

We will need to watch out for the possibility of a northerly setting up early to mid week and then another depression coming in from the NW towards the end of the week, as has been appearing on a few GFS runs. If that scenario comes to fruition the chances of a snowy Easter are significantly increased, as the low may re-introduce another northerly. However, this setup also quite often evolves into a flatter westerly or north-westerly type as happened in April 2006.

I'm not sure of any notable examples of white Christmasses followed by white Easters, but the 1981/82 season was quite a close approach- widespread snow cover on Christmas Day 1981, and although I don't think Easter 1982 had any snow cover at low levels, northerly winds brought a few wintry showers in northern and eastern regions- ironically during an otherwise warm dry sunny April.

[Summer of 95]

We will need to watch out for the possibility of a northerly setting up early to mid week and then another depression coming in from the NW towards the end of the week, as has been appearing on a few GFS runs. If that scenario comes to fruition the chances of a snowy Easter are significantly increased, as the low may re-introduce another northerly. However, this setup also quite often evolves into a flatter westerly or north-westerly type as happened in April 2006.

I'm not sure of any notable examples of white Christmasses followed by white Easters, but the 1981/82 season was quite a close approach- widespread snow cover on Christmas Day 1981, and although I don't think Easter 1982 had any snow cover at low levels, northerly winds brought a few wintry showers in northern and eastern regions- ironically during an otherwise warm dry sunny April.

1993-94. That certainly saw snow showers in many areas on Christmas Day, and I've seen reports of wintry weather at least for the Fri and Sat of Easter weekend (1-3 April)?

[Thundery wintry showers]

Yes, indeed, I'm amazed I missed that one considering that Cleadon had a snow cover late on Christmas Day 1993, and I specifically mentioned Easter Day 1994!

[dellboy84]

I used to love the snow, but after this year, im not loving it as much lol - i hope for the heatwave like a few yrs ago, but from what you's r saying, it aint going to happen lol

[StormChaser]

Id rather it rain tbh after the amount of snow we had at the start of the year, I couldn`t care less for it anymore!

[Weather-history]

Yes, indeed, I'm amazed I missed that one considering that Cleadon had a snow cover late on Christmas Day 1993, and I specifically mentioned Easter Day 1994!

There was no snow for Easter Day 1994 itself though, remember Easter Day is the Sunday, it was a pretty wet day. Snow did fall on Easter Monday but I think there was very little on the other 3 days of the Easter weekend.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Mr_Data

[I remember Atlantic 252]

my last white easter in 2008, sun 23rd march, such a quick thaw gone by 10am

[Thundery wintry showers]

There was no snow for Easter Day 1994 itself though, remember Easter Day is the Sunday, it was a pretty wet day. Snow did fall on Easter Monday but I think there was very little on the other 3 days of the Easter weekend.

I didn't know that- I thought Easter Monday was Easter Day!

[Weather-history]

I didn't know that- I thought Easter Monday was Easter Day!

Actually, the two religious days are just Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Saturday is a normal day, its not really Easter Saturday and Easter Monday is just a Bank Holiday except for Scotland. Not sure why they added a Bank Holiday after the Sunday.

[clee_snow]

I hope that it gets cold for snow on the coasts not just the hills

[Thundery wintry showers]

In Cleadon there were white Easter Days in 1998 and 2008 with snow both falling and lying.

The 1998 instance was notably late in the season for lying snow- the Friday was dull and sleety, then the Saturday, Sunday and Monday had sunshine and snow/hail showers, and overnight Saturday/Sunday there were east-coast snow showers which provided a covering which lasted through to mid-morning. Easter Day fell on the 12th April that year.

In 2008 a frontal system moved SE, and I was on holiday in Glasgow at the time where it rained and sleeted (although there were snow showers during the day on all four days of the Easter weekend there). At Cleadon this band fell as snow, though, and produced a dusting on the ground for Easter Day.

[BlueHedgehog074]

It's amazing how close these snow events can be, sometimes and how areas of cold and slightly warmer air can make a difference. I guess Glasgow must have been under an area of slightly milder air at that time.

I think it was April 2008, too, was when I last saw snow during Easter with a front whcih gave me about 1 to 2 inchews of snow on the ground. Most of it had melted with a few patches left during the next day.

With a small risk of snow for Easter Sunday, I think I will probably just stick with seeing rain, or possibly sleet for now, even though I am feeling really hopeful.

[North-Easterly Blast]

Actually, the two religious days are just Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Saturday is a normal day, its not really Easter Saturday and Easter Monday is just a Bank Holiday except for Scotland. Not sure why they added a Bank Holiday after the Sunday.

I would suspect to bring it into line with Christmas. The main festival day is December 25th, but the day after was also made a Bank Holiday (December 26th). Boxing Day is not entirely a special day of the Christmas festival is it? I presume that they did the same for Easter, as Easter Day is a Sunday, of which every Sunday in the year is an official bank and public holiday, to bring it into line with Christmas, they made the Monday, the day after Easter Day, a bank holiday.

[Gord]

Easter 2008 was memorable...but if i remember correctly the following Sunday was even better for snow.

So no chance of an Easter like 2007 this time around then?!

[damianslaw]

Thanks for the clarification regarding 1990, I couldn't remember if easter was snowy that year. I do remember 1994 being rather wintry here in the Lake District.

2008 was notably snowy, we had 2 inches in the early hours of Easter Sunday, the hills had a deep cover, the snow only slowly thawed and stuck around above 300m.

Still a long way off but colder conditions look likely to prevail as we head into the easter period i.e. Good Friday onwards.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Easter 2008 was memorable...but if i remember correctly the following Sunday was even better for snow.

So no chance of an Easter like 2007 this time around then?!

well not the following sunday, but the sunday after (2 weeks after easter) 6th april

[Cheese Rice]

2008 easter certainly was good, pretty much the whole of winter squashed into a few days. A good 10cm+ on two occasions.