North West England Regional Weather Discussion

[Weather-history]

Slushy deposits on everything and grass looks very white. Hail, sleet, wet snow. 

850hpa don't look that special, infact I have seen lower 850hpa deliver nothing. Evaporative cooling plays it part but yet again I have seen it where for some reason it doesn't quite happen. We have an onshore wind, Irish Sea surface temperatures will not be at their coldest, we just had a warm September as well. 

Why today has been conductive for snow to reach lower levels when it hasn't in January, I don't understand.

[robbo88]

Another weather warning for tonight. Says snow over 200m this time...we shall see 

[Maz]

"Why today has been conductive for snow to reach lower levels when it hasn't in January, I don't understand"

That was my thought too.  Early season, warm Irish Sea, 850hpa not even -5, rarely delivers.  Whilst same in February, with colder sea, usually delivers something here.  So was not really expecting a covering of snow this morning.  Nice surprise to see 1cm covering.  Mix of rain, sleet, hail and snow through this morning too.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Maz

[SP1986]

Perhaps it's to do with the depth of cold at origin source,, for example the atmosphere is cold to some depth higher up, as I recall that wasn't the case the past few years. At 500hPa temperatures must be close to -40C, it probably has some bearing on the type of precipitation.

Just as a side thought... -40 degrees at 500hPa are usually good conditions for Polar Lows. (I'm not suggesting such a thing though, wrong type of setup)

[WillinGlossop]

Ended up with 2-3 inches on snow... trudged through whiteout to station... slushfest in Glossop.... nothing in Manchester... 

[Geordiesnow]

1 hour ago, Weather-history said:

Slushy deposits on everything and grass looks very white. Hail, sleet, wet snow. 

850hpa don't look that special, infact I have seen lower 850hpa deliver nothing. Evaporative cooling plays it part but yet again I have seen it where for some reason it doesn't quite happen. We have an onshore wind, Irish Sea surface temperatures will not be at their coldest, we just had a warm September as well. 

Why today has been conductive for snow to reach lower levels when it hasn't in January, I don't understand.

Lower thicknesses could  be playing a part I would imagine? Perhaps hence why parts of Scotland recorded some quite low minimum despite again upper air temps not being all that cold.

Certainly no snow here but some heavy hail showers fell last night, this morning's a bit quieter just a couple of light to moderate showers, some in the vicinity so its all very much hit and miss.

[Maz]

"At 500hPa temperatures must be close to -40C, it probably has some bearing on the type of precipitation."

Yep, that must have some impact.  Also wind is very light here, reducing mixing, so helping keep cold surface layer.  I've got hills to the west which help in that respect in the right conditions.

...and thundersnow!!  Could just do with 50m or so more altitude as its too slushy and marginal here.  Edenfield and into Rossendale should be doing well today.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Maz

[feb1991blizzard]

Belting down all morning and now a covering.

[gregior]

Non stop wintry mix all day,3 weeks later in the season and we'd have a foot of snow by now!

[Deep Snow please]

To those who are going on about how much greater this would be in December, rather than just the damp squib it's turned out to be you might do well to remember last winter and be thankful we've actually got some decent snowfall in

[The Northern Ramper]

Chaos on Huddersfield rd an hour ago between milnrow and Denshaw. Car abandoned blocking it, people stuck. 

 

 

[Spah1]

3 minutes ago, Ramp said:

Chaos on Huddersfield rd an hour ago between milnrow and Denshaw. Car abandoned blocking it, people stuck. 

 

 

wow lucky bugger

[Cheese Rice]

7 minutes ago, Ramp said:

Chaos on Huddersfield rd an hour ago between milnrow and Denshaw. Car abandoned blocking it, people stuck. 

 

 

Same story in higher parts of Leeds, I think we are under a streamer for the day!

 

Leeds Bradford Airport has also closed due to snow.

[SP1986]

8 minutes ago, Deep Snow please said:

To those who are going on about how much greater this would be in December, rather than just the damp squib it's turned out to be you might do well to remember last winter and be thankful we've actually got some decent snowfall in

Actually Im not convinced it would have been any better in January than it is now. It's understandable from a logical point of view to assume that later in the season the elements would more conducive to snowfall.. but I suspect any improvement would be minimal. The snow area may increase to include areas such as St Helens and Warrington and perhaps more eastern parts of Merseyside, but not by much, and probably not settling. In a westerly were still getting alot of moderation in this setup even in late Winter. Therefore I think the difference between now and January would be fairly small... it may be different in a Northerly/easterly though.

[Chris.R]

3 minutes ago, SP1986 said:

Actually Im not convinced it would have been any better in January than it is now. It's understandable from a logical point of view to assume that later in the season the elements would more conducive to snowfall.. but I suspect any improvement would be minimal. The snow area may increase to include areas such as St Helens and Warrington and perhaps more eastern parts of Merseyside, but not by much, and probably not settling. In a westerly were still getting alot of moderation in this setup even in late Winter. Therefore I think the difference between now and January would be fairly small... it may be different in a Northerly/easterly though.

 I agree with  850s as high as now. 850s -10 and below though and it would be our turn to get buried! 

[SP1986]

Indeed, at -10C 850s there is no question of marginality... that said... I have seen rain fall at such indicators before.. probably quite a rare thing though to have rain falling in those conditions. 

I take it the shower stream is north of you now Chris? I can see the cells gathering from the west, piling into what I assume is Blackpool/Fleetwood. 

It's just shy of 8 degrees here at the moment.

[SP1986]

I can see a rapidly expanding cell complete with a shelf cloud and rapidly falling snowline... anyone around Blackpool , or perhaps even Southport may see this one.. it really has exploded with in the last 15 minutes. It doesn't yet have a fully formed anvil, but it will do by the time in hits shallower waters.

[SP1986]

It's now producing a rain curtain... this surely will be a classic thunderstorm. Looks good for Crosby actually Chris.

[Chris.R]

 Just had to re-type my post. I'm ready for it. I would like a bit more thunder. 

7.5°C here.

Taking a little interest on Sunday morning but looks to be just too marginal again.  I always keep an eye out when there is an off-shore wind though. 

[Chris.R]

 No lightning around yet. Still sunny here. 

[SP1986]

What's it like to your west Chris?

[Chris.R]

 Going dark now and sun has gone in. Starting to drizzle, the type  I associate with being on the edge of a CB

 Wind is gusting.  

[Chris.R]

   Heavy rain for a minute, now stopped. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Chris.R

[SP1986]

Lots of cells building in the Irish sea

[Backtrack]

Apparently we had a covering in Runcorn this morning. I slept in until 12 midday so I have no idea, lol. Lost a lot of interest now, university and stuff takes over!