What If?

[mike Meehan]

What if the recent set up were to have set in during, say the beginning of December?

Perhaps it may happen one year that the Russian and Scandy winter comes early and build a mega high pressure system keeping us in the easterlies from December until March.

It has happened before and no doubt will happen again - I believe that the last 3 winters have shown us that despite the global warming which is supposed to be affecting us the weather is still capable of throwing extreme low temperatures at us.

I am now coming up to my 70th year on this planet and do not recall any December being as severe as the one in 2010 - in fact until the late noughties I never expected any meaningful snow falls until after Christmas but the snow at the end of October 2008 changed that.

I am wondering now whether the likes of Joe laminate floori were right in predicting a series of cold winters

up to about 2035.

If this is right we may just see a snow blanket from Dec to March one year - I'd love to see another one full of ice days and powder snow punctuated with clear blue skies before I pop my clogs, provided I still have a few shillings left to put in the gas meter.

[Terminal Moraine]

I live in hope too Mike but a quick glance through the CET series back to 1659 shows that 3 consecutive very cold winter months were rare even during the Little Ice Age.

If you take 2.0c as the upper CET limit for a severe month the only winters to produce 3 consecutive months were 1677/78, 1678/79, 1680/81, 1683/84, 1765/66,1783/84, 1829/30, 1916/17 and 1962/63. 1696/97 and 1697/98 came close(how great were the late 1600s for severe winters!) as did a few others in the 18th and 19th centuries and there were many others with two very cold months and one milder one.

The main stumbling block seems to be getting a very cold December in the first place, let alone maintaining the cold for another two months. I've no doubt it will happen again, preferably several times and within my lifetime.

[bobbydog]

keep your clogs on mike, maybe we're in a cycle of colder winters, as has been suggested before. i grew up in the north east during the 70's and have many memories of snowy winters. i'm sure it wasn't just because of the location, as many have said, "we dont get winters like we used to"- from all areas of the country. since i have lived 'daan saaf' the most memorable 'winter' for me was feb 1991 and that was fairly mild here overall. the event itself only lasted about a week but it was enough to stick in the memory as a good winter. we've had a couple of years of proper winters recently (even if the last one was only really december!) and although this one was disappointing for some, others have had decent snowfall and even the last few days have been good for snowfall. i've always thought the best winter ever will happen the winter after i die! mind you, if you think along those lines as well, maybe i'll get your 'best winter ever' lol. unless of course i die first, then you'll get mine!!

[Guest]

At least I can say that I have one - perhaps I am being greedy - I'd just like to another

[NickyB]

I was led to believe that 'Global Warming' could lead to both hotter summer months and also colder winters so you may well witness another plunge into the freezer Mike :-)

[bobbydog]

At least I can say that I have one - perhaps I am being greedy - I'd just like to another

well lets have another one (or many more!) - in both our lifetimes!

[Guest]

I was led to believe that 'Global Warming' could lead to both hotter summer months and also colder winters so you may well witness another plunge into the freezer Mike :-)

If our last few summers are anything to go...... but there again to be fair a lot depends on where the jet streams decide to set up residence as in the very hot Russian summer a couple of years ago and we got the but end.