London And The South East Regional Discussion Thread - II

[Marie]

Ok my step Dad has just rang me as he is working at Gatwick Airport and he has informed me that the snow plows have just been brought out on the run way and are all lined up on the side as if they are expecting something to happen,fingers crossed they know something we dont,possibly the weather we could get at the weekend????

[k66yla]

Snizzle all morning here, getting slightly heavier giving a dusting to roofs.

[snowking]

Well looking back through the radar for the last few hours there seems to be little pockets of energy getting to about colchester, then suddenly expanding and intensifying into a larger area of (albeit) light snow/graupel. Not laying here in NW essex at ~ 90m asl, but essex weather on twitter has posted its giving a dusting across some higher parts.

Next line of energy seems to be brewing over colchester as we speak....light grapple here for the last 45 mins or so but nothing really laying here, just soaking the ground

SK

[wintermaster]

Indeed, I have to say I would not like to be a MetO forecaster today. There is a risk of heavy snow in the SE over the next few days and also a risk of absolutely nothing as well. At the moment it seems they are siding with the absolutely nothing route and it appears that they are already wrong!!!!

-- sitting on the Olympic Park at the moment and it's snizzling!!

Peope keep saying there is potental for snow in the South East this week. But its not been mentioned by anyone at the Met Office or on any weather forecast. Sounds more like hope casting to me. Read the model thread its all doom and gloom this morning. I sure hope your right though.

[yamkin]

Convective showers are really pepping up now and the upper and lower temperatures are also dropping swiftly

Another Thames Streamer is in progress and building considerably

MetO, what are your thoughts

Edited January 31, 2012 by yamkin

[Suburban Streamer]

Ok my step Dad has just rang me as he is working at Gatwick Airport and he has informed me that the snow plows have just been brought out on the run way and are all lined up on the side as if they are expecting something to happen,fingers crossed they know something we dont,possibly the weather we could get at the weekend????

They obviously dont use a radar!

[Robbie Garrett]

Ok my step Dad has just rang me as he is working at Gatwick Airport and he has informed me that the snow plows have just been brought out on the run way and are all lined up on the side as if they are expecting something to happen,fingers crossed they know something we dont,possibly the weather we could get at the weekend????

They have an alert system, they are probably only on standby due to the cold conditions. Standard procedure I am afraid, and some of those machines assist in de-icing of runways.

[londonsnow]

Fluctuating snow grains in Westminster(mp dandruff no doubt) cant see much in the realms of possibility with regard to proper snow in the immediate future for most of the southeast

[Coast]

Peope keep saying there is potental for snow in the South East this week. But its not been mentioned by anyone at the Met Office or on any weather forecast. Sounds more like hope casting to me. Read the model thread its all doom and gloom this morning. I sure hope your right though.

You won't get a forecast of snow out of the MetO or their media outlets until much nearer the time any is due.

[warrenb]

Temperature now dropping here down to 0.6C

[10 Days Away]

Crikey Yamkin ...... thats alot of code for a few words of information. Was that received from the METO or an enquiry to them ?

[Bluebreezer54]

Technical question, can anyone help please? As the precipitation is so light and the air so dry beneath, is the precipitation mostly evaporating before it reaches the ground? Could that explain why the radar shows something but most of what we are getting is nothing?

If this is a daft question then I apologise.

Thanks

AS

Not a daft question at all AS, and I suspect thats exactly what is happening in some locations. Here included at the moment !

[jgbgt]

In central up at Holborn,

Very light snizzle, grains etc.....i was told there was slightly more earlier and it might even have settled a little bit, however since i was inside at the time i cannot confirm, probably exaggeration.

though I hear there is also definite light snow at New Malden, not settling either there!

Well all in all it is a pleasant surprise after the gloom of the forecasts and of the model thread last night.

jon

[Jimmyh]

here it comes in sutton this looks a little better not massive but it is actually snowing

[JamesC]

Peope keep saying there is potental for snow in the South East this week. But its not been mentioned by anyone at the Met Office or on any weather forecast. Sounds more like hope casting to me. Read the model thread its all doom and gloom this morning. I sure hope your right though.

The reason why there is always a chance wintermaster is that with these synoptics there is always a possibility of streamers setting up. This happened last year and also in Feb 09 that where not really forecast (until 24hrs or so previously). If your in the model thread you will have also read at some point that forecasting snow is nigh on impossible, it depends on a varying number of factors. The facts are to wait for the cold (which is now here/coming) and then wait for the chance of snow. The uppers are easily cold enough for snow, especially once the very cold air arrives on Wednesday. At present we are see small snow showers/graupel showers with uppers of -6c to -7c (that have not been forecast) which look to be building slightly. On Wednesday night we get hit by uppers of around -12c to -13c (atleast) which will create far more convection off the north sea than we are seeing today. This COULD lead to heavy snowfall, IF other factors fall into place.

This chart shows the predicted wind direction at this time.

http://cdn.nwstatic....6/42/ukwind.png

This would condusive to a Kent streamer (not thames streamer as the wind had a northerly component to it and is not a complete easterly).

As always, I maybe wrong!!!!

EDIT - Another point to note is that the chart shows that the wind strength will be relatively strong. Around 30mph coming of the North Sea, this again would be condusive towards Lake effect snow i.e. some type of streamer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_effect_snow

Edited January 31, 2012 by JamesC

[BLUNT]

Just saw the BBC forecast Matt Betts just said there are lots of people getting over excited about a few flurries of Snow. it will be getting colder and a interesting developing feature for the weekend spreading south with Snow, didnt mention about getting milder behind it!! could be interesting??

[yamkin]

Crikey Yamkin ...... thats alot of code for a few words of information. Was that received from the METO or an enquiry to them ?

Croydon Council have been informed of convective showers forming and Thames Streamer in progress

[bobbydog]

Croydon Council have been informed of convective showers forming and Thames Streamer in progress

by you perhaps????

[snow freak]

What a pathetic winter this is turning out to be. Finally get some cold (although nowhere near as severe as they were predicting) and then it all goes pear shaped with no appreciable snow in the forecast for the future. I think this winter will go down as one of the most boring in recent years. No snow to speak of and consistently mild and rainy. I give up with winters in this country. It seems all we can guarantee is that they will be mild and rainy. Any hopes of snow are only dashed and I think this is only going to get worse over the next decade or so. I wish I could emigrate to Canada. I hate the UK weather.

[Marie]

Croydon Council have been informed of convective showers forming and Thames Streamer in progress

Could this be why Gatwick airport have just got there snow plows out? exciting stuff

[Spartan]

Agree with JamesC ; very difficult to predict even 12 hours away and snow is often very localised. I live in Eastbourne and work in Lewes and last year could not get out of my drive one morning but my colleagues in Lewes were staring at a green and pleasant land!

Also the conditions over parts of Europe now ( more to the East) would almost paralyse Britain .

[Kentish Kiwi]

Croydon Council have been informed of convective showers forming and Thames Streamer in progress

Not sure that a Thames streamer is in progress. Certainly convective showers are forming in the north sea and pushing SWwards in the Thames estuary - that's pretty plain to see on any of the precip radars.

[abruzzi spur]

Not a daft question at all AS, and I suspect thats exactly what is happening in some locations. Here included at the moment !

Thanks!

[tcc]

Here up at sunny Crawley (well overcast actually!) it's snizzling, funnily enough it's not settling!

[Paul Sherman]

Croydon Council have been informed of convective showers forming and Thames Streamer in progress

Yamkin

No disrespect but what Convective Showers ?? I am right at the mouth of the Estuary and all we have is leaded skies with sleet falling, absolutely no winds to speak of, granted the temperature has plummeted in the last few hours but I cannot see any convection at all