Wednesday 4th April 2012 Weather & General Chat

[Polar Continental]

It's days like today that make you glad to be alive!

Continuous moderate-heavy snow started just before midnight and continued throughout the morning and early afternoon, becoming lighter after 1400 g.m.t. The temperature got above 0c by 1300 g.m.t and a thaw set in, the snow already thawing steadily from beneath due to relatively high ground temperatures and compacting quickly once the thaw began, reducing the mean depth from just over 30cm at 1300 g.m.t to 22cm by 1800.

A few light snow showers since the main area of snow moved away.

Considerable drifting in a NE gale throughout the morning, the drifting stopped once the temp' got above 0c.

Yes an excellent day TM, even down here in the Trent Vally there was a covering early on.

Mainly cloudy overnight with drizzle fizzling out. The odd cloud break after midnight allowed the temperature to fall to 1.0c with –1.1c on the grass. Thicker cloud and rain accompanied by a fresh to strong North to north east wind arrived in the area around 06:30 GMT, this quickly changed to moderate sleet and wet snow quickly giving a covering of around 3.0cm by observation.

At 09:00 GMT: Moderate wet snow, feeling cold and raw in a strong NNE wind. The snow continued for much of the morning, though slowly turned to sleet and then rain alternating with sleet through the afternoon. The snow cover thawed away by 14:00 GMT, though further sleet continued through to early evening when it cleared away as broken skies reached the area around dusk. Very cold for April, top temperature 3.6c, though feeling subzero in the at times strong NE wind.

[Methuselah]

Cold, damp and windy, 4C...

[Summer Sun]

The wind has now died down after a windy 20 hrs or so, Scattered Clouds 3.8°C

[TonyH]

Cold and windy today, mainly cloudy.

A little light rain and sleet at times this morning, then a mainly dry afternoon and evening bar the odd spot of rain or sleet.

Fresh to strong north to NE wind.

Min: 1.8c @ 0800

Max: 4.9c @ 1730

Rain yesterday: 2.6mm

Rain since 10am today: Below 0.5mm

Currently: Cloudy, breezy.

Temp: 2.9c

RH: 84%

Pressure: 1018mbar, rising.

[Aaron]

Mostly clear, breezy, 2.1C, dew -1.7C

[Stargazer]

Showery rain cleared in the early hours leaving a cloudy day with occasional bright intervals, feeling cold in the wind. Further light showers this evening. Currently overcast, 7.2 deg C, wind moderate NE. Today's maximum 11.2, last night's minimum 2.0.

[damianslaw]

It's a very similar event to the one in late April 1981, the main difference being that the 1981 snowstorm one went on for almost 3 days and resulted in a mean depth of 59cm with enormous drifts. In other respects, the temperature fluctuating between a little below and a little above 0c, the mean wind speed around 40 mph and the intensity of the snow, very similar.

Yes the BBC have mentioned Yorkshire saw its heaviest April snowfall for 30 years i.e. 1981, however, the 1981 event was much more severe and hit lower levels much harder and was generally a much more widespread event, with places in the far south also receiving snow. Alas this event will go down as a notable one for high ground above about 250m only and for NE Scotland, Borders, Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and parts of N and mid Wales only.