scotland Scotland (Alba) Regional Discussion 28th March 2013 22:00hrs>

[jon_d1983]

Well I am off to Glenshee tomorrow.The forecast is snow mon,tues,wed.They have full cover so that would be some mighty thaw next Friday!

Full hair dryer effect must be on its way! I'm off to shee or maybe lecht haven't been there this season yet.

[Cheggers]

Been a great couple of days, and tonight was a cracking sunset. Not looking forward to the dreich stuff next week, wish we could skip to the proposed warm stuff mid month.

Here are the Ochils covered snaw, bathed in sunlight last evening.

[DR(S)NO]

Another beautiful day...good amount of sunshine...garden now a hive of floral activity as the spring bulbs come to life( better late than never).

Still no temps in double figures though.

In fact....last double fig temp was on 2nd of March. And. Last precipitation in my neck of the woods was 18th March!!

AND that follows the dry spell from 14 th Feb to 7th March.

There has now been less than an inch of rainfall since the 14 th of February.

Lets hope Mother Nature doesn't make up for this TOO much in the coming few weeks!

[ScottSnow]

Been skiing at Glenshee for the past couple of days. Blue sky and good snow meant brilliant conditions. The pistes were prepared fantastic. The conditions were certainly on par with Morzine where I skied in February.

[Guest]

A slight frost this morning, it is currently -4.2ºC!!

Edit: Both GFS and ECM look a little on the cooler side of mild into the start of next week. Snow for upland areas, and possibly even at lower levels too?!!

Edited April 6, 2013 by CatchMyDrift

[lorenzo]

Beautiful morning, completely clear night as observed at 11, 0100, 0300,0430,0600...... What day is it today ????!!

[Northernlights]

A slight frost this morning, it is currently -4.2ºC!!

Edit: Both GFS and ECM look a little on the cooler side of mild into the start of next week. Snow for upland areas, and possibly even at lower levels too?!!

-3.5c here this morning under cloudy skies the persistence and depth of cold for April is really strange. Farming press starting to pick up on the ramifications of all this spring cold. Two points being the rising costs of feeding livestock(no new grass growth) and asking landlords to postpone rent reviews and even give rebates in the blizzard affected areas where 5000 cattle and 20000 sheep have been killed in snow drifts and collapsed roofs of sheds(500 in Northern Ireland was one quote) Feed lorry drivers telling us of sheep piled up at the ends of farm roads awaiting collection for disposal in SW Scotland.

[101_North]

Currently -3c after a low of -5c at the airport. Stunning morning.

[Guest]

-3.5c here this morning under cloudy skies the persistence and depth of cold for April is really strange. Farming press starting to pick up on the ramifications of all this spring cold. Two points being the rising costs of feeding livestock(no new grass growth) and asking landlords to postpone rent reviews and even give rebates in the blizzard affected areas where 5000 cattle and 20000 sheep have been killed in snow drifts and collapsed roofs of sheds(500 in Northern Ireland was one quote) Feed lorry drivers telling us of sheep piled up at the ends of farm roads awaiting collection for disposal in SW Scotland.

It must be an emotional time for the farmers affected, dead (or poor) crops would be financially devestating but there must be an extra emotional attachment when livestock are involved?

Currently -3c after a low of -5c at the airport. Stunning morning.

Aye, that sunrise was nothing short of spectacular

Snow showers anyone?

[Blizzardo]

A beautiful clear morning after an overnight low of -3.7c.

Last week at this time we were looking at a situation where the models were pointing to the Atlantic breaking through at the end of this weekend bringing an end to the unseasonably cold weather. The ECM actually looked really bullish about this scenario. As has been the case many times over the last fews months as T0 gets closer things have started to correct themselves further south with the cold stubbornly refusing to budge and the Atlantic looking weak and just not up to the task.

If anything, over the last couple of days high pressure is building again over Scandinavia and Greenland giving signs of renewed northern blocking. The strong low pressure zipping across the Atlantic has almost gone and anything reaching us looks as though it will give some wintery precipitation before being deflected south east.

The pattern change has again been put back to the middle of next week and I wouldnt be surprised to see this delayed further as time goes on with the cold upper air hanging on a bit longer yet.

[DR(S)NO]

Yet another frost overnight....heralding in yet another beautiful day AND YES. The temperature finally hit double figs at 10.29 this am and currently is 11.4c. So the warmest day of the year so far and possibly for a wee while yet going by the gfs 6z run.

So,on this run,spring showing its hand down south but still cold temperatures for Scotland.

Indeed gardener s need to continue to be aware as frost is predicted every night up until 14 th. April!!

[lorenzo]

Big Wow !!! - Cairngorms folks adding some amazing pictures to their page.

Looks like a great day up there today.

[FrenchScotPilot1]

April sun provides quite mild conditions during the day (circa 8C) but the very cold 850hPa air (-7/-8C) makes them drop again below freezing at night.

The consequence could be one new (last?) snow/sleet attack tonight from the cold front moving from the N.

During the day, the last few hundred feet temperature profile is positive but, at night, the whole profile is in the negative range.

Mid month onwards, 850 hPa temps look to get positive and stay around 0. Tentative spring is likely to appear at this point.

AO and NAO becoming neutral should ensure that no further incursions of cold air disturb the spring plan.

Ideally, they both need to be positive to see proper spring temperatures.

[Blizzardo]

Some heavy showers showing up now in the far north and this weather warning indicates that these should continue overnight and spread a little further south:-

Outbreaks of sleet and snow are expected to affect the north of Scotland and the Northern Isles overnight, leading to accumulations of 2 to 5 cm on high ground perhaps locally 1-2 cm in places on low ground. In addition icy stretches on roads may pose an additional hazard. Any lying snow should thaw on road surfaces during Sunday morning.

Looking further ahead Tuesday looks interesting with low pressure and associated fronts crossing central and southern parts of the UK with Scotland currently on the right side for some wintery stuff should precipitation get far enough north to cross the border.

Something else that caught my eye this morning was the latest GFS 2m temperature ensembles for my location which would not look to out of place in a winter month.

[Norrance]

Reached 9.7C here this afternoon and felt warm in the sun. Not quite making the double figures but warmest since 2nd March.

Min was -2.5C in the early morning.

[Northernlights]

Light showers of rain have just turned to light snow in the last 10 minutes. Currently 2c

[BleakMidwinter]

Cold and grey in Em,bra, with bursts of sun all day. Friend in Wales has spent half the day sitting outside in the sun!

BBC News is now picking up what NL has been telling us about the weather and farming - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22050874

[FrenchScotPilot1]

April sun provides quite mild conditions during the day (circa 8C) but the very cold 850hPa air (-7/-8C) makes them drop again below freezing at night.

The consequence could be one new (last?) snow/sleet attack tonight from the cold front moving from the N.

During the day, the last few hundred feet temperature profile is positive but, at night, the whole profile is in the negative range.

Mid month onwards, 850 hPa temps look to get positive and stay around 0. Tentative spring is likely to appear at this point.

AO and NAO becoming neutral should ensure that no further incursions of cold air disturb the spring plan.

Ideally, they both need to be positive to see proper spring temperatures.

As explained above, moderate sleet/snow has started over Aberdeen 30 min ago. Nice to see flakes again. Ok after this, spring warmth, promise

[Colsuth]

Snow is on here. Nae lying though.

[thebigyin]

Big wet snow flakes in Aberdeen now, I could not be less excited to be honest! Was gardening in sun in my T shirt earlier!

[Northernlights]

Light showers of rain have just turned to light snow in the last 10 minutes. Currently 2c

We have a thin covering and now 0c. Last field ploughed this afternoon after finishing the field of neeps.

[doctormog]

We had a bit of snow earlier and some light rain around. It feels totally different to earlier when I was out in the sunshine at Tarland (overlooking some rather pretty mountains including Lochnagar)

[Scottish-Irish Skier]

For the first time I selected the leather jacket over the North Face one the day.

Aye, spring was in the air. Almost hit 10 C with the sun.

Crocus in late full bloom with snowdrops amazingly still flowering. Tulips are pushing up along with the daffs.

Very nice day but still a chill in the wind.

[Cheggers]

Another nice day, but not passed double figures yet.

Better snaps of Ochils now proper camera fixed..

[Stormy]

Who else has woken up to 2" of snow? Looks December out there.