Scotland/Alba weather discussion - Jan 2021 onwards

[Cheggers]

Not weather related, but anyone along the Fife coast around Kinghorn, or opposite in Granton, Humpback whales blowing this morning. 

-1c, and a cold crisp morning here. Seems to have been a dandruff sprinkling of snaw last night 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Cheggers

[Benvironment]

No subzero for us last night. A low of 0.1C but only at 0.5C just now, with a light dusting of snow overnight and I've now lost count of how many consecutive days we've had snow on the ground. There aren't many winters these days when you can say that!

[dragan]

Just now, Benvironment said:

No subzero for us last night. A low of 0.1C but only at 0.5C just now, with a light dusting of snow overnight and I've now lost count of how many consecutive days we've had snow on the ground. There aren't many winters these days when you can say that!

indeed, and potentially for the east next weekend, there could be an absolute dumping.....

[JoeShmoe]

GFS 6z run is great for the NE of the UK !!

[scott125]

Didnt a few places around Biggar get to near minus 18 a few weeks back? Not official?

[Stormeh]

Eastern Scotland members taking their dugs for a walk next week...

 

[Polar Side]

20 minutes ago, JoeShmoe said:

GFS 6z run is great for the NE of the UK !!

Yeah, I think we would all be fairly happy with that run.

 

[Klippie]

An overnight low of -2.2deg/C and another wee dusting of snow.

I don't know about anyone else but I'am really enjoying this winter I just love seeing everything covered in white. 

[shuggee]

16 minutes ago, scott125 said:

Didnt a few places around Biggar get to near minus 18 a few weeks back? Not official?

Yes, Hartree unofficially recorded -17°C or something similar. 

Just -2.0°C here overnight, but that is my thirty fourth air frost. Wondered if it'll make fifty. Note that the phone's XC Weather app has converted most of the week's six days of consecutive snow falling into a "wintry mix". We all know what that means! 

[blitzen]

Morning all!

Currently -0.2c/-0.8c/ENE/1001.8.  Lowest temp recorded here around -2.4c about 4hrs ago with a

dusting of powder snow.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Blitzen

[101_North]

Yellow warning for Monday to Wednesday. Looking great for anyone inland. Unfortunately plenty of mentions of rain to coastal areas. 

[Penicuikblizzard]

1 hour ago, JoeShmoe said:

GFS 6z run is great for the NE of the UK !!

If it comes off like that even the lower areas of Edinburgh towards the forth will be buried

[Penicuikblizzard]

1 hour ago, 101_North said:

Met automated forecast hinting of the possibility of a few snow showers on Monday and then a marginal mess on Tuesday! Who knows what will fall!

I think we will do ok Mon night into Tuesday then Wednesday will be a rain day and fingers crossed for heavy convective snow showers from the east next weekend with no marginality

[Kirkcaldy Weather]

Well somehow I got lower overnight temps than @Benvironment  -0.5C / -1.7C DP lots going on with the charts and it’s a lottery trying to pick the most likely outcomes as a few have mentioned the 06z gfs op is what we would want to go straight into a snowy spell at the first opportunity. Latest wrf nmm looks better for snow but it’s crazily fine line between pish or paradise just the SE flow making me think will that be trouble for me and @Hawesy or maybe we will get lucky  

[Penicuikblizzard]

1 hour ago, Stormeh said:

Eastern Scotland members taking their dugs for a walk next week...

 

Probably higher values through the forth/Clyde estuary if streamers set up

[Stormeh]

12 minutes ago, Penicuikblizzard said:

Probably higher values through the forth/Clyde estuary if streamers set up

Yes definitely! We usually do well In these kind of setups. 

Before all that all eyes are on tomorrow and the rest of the week for some good snow potential

Met office update looks promising

[jellybaby1969]

Overcast today temp currently sitting at 3c... The coming week looks very interesting and less marginal for some.  Hopefully a few surprises for all of us.... even on the ayrshire coast  we may see a cm or 2 !

[Hawesy]

@Kirkcaldy Weather With what looks like a 25mph easterly wind setting up on Tuesday I’m afraid we’ve got no chance. As the warning says: is likely to readily turn to snow away from eastern coastal districts. We’ll need to remain patient and see what the rest of the week brings. January didn’t deliver here but February might! 

Currently 4.3c here under partly cloudy skies. Chance of a sneaky wee covering for some coastal Fife/Dundee/Angus folks tonight perhaps? Excluding myself in that obviously 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Hawesy

[blitzen]

38 minutes ago, Kirkcaldy Weather said:

Well somehow I got lower overnight temps than @Benvironment  -0.5C / -1.7C DP lots going on with the charts and it’s a lottery trying to pick the most likely outcomes as a few have mentioned the 06z gfs op is what we would want to go straight into a snowy spell at the first opportunity. Latest wrf nmm looks better for snow but it’s crazily fine line between pish or paradise just the SE flow making me think will that be trouble for me and @Hawesy or maybe we will get lucky  

If I remember correctly, and there is every chance I haven't!but I think that the year (1991) the UK suffered 'The Wrong Type of Snow' which caused problems for rail transport...   Gawd, were you even born? all of that came from a SE direction.   Kent and Fife suffered the deepest snow depths!    So... Go figure KW, you never know!

 

 

The phrase originated in an interview conducted by James Naughtie on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on 11 February 1991. British Rail's Director of Operations, Terry Worrall, was asked to comment on the adverse effects of the unusually heavy 1991 snowfall on railway services that winter. Worrall explained that "we are having particular problems with the type of snow, which is rare in the UK". Naughtie replied "Oh, I see, it was the wrong kind of snow," to which Worrall replied, "No, it was a different kind of snow". The exchange prompted a headline in the London Evening Standard saying "British Rail blames the wrong type of snow" which was swiftly taken up by the media and other papers.[2]

The cold snap had been forecast and British Rail had claimed to be ready for the coming snow. However, the snow was unusually soft and powdery and too deep to be cleared by snowploughs – it needed snowblowers. The snow found its way into electrical systems and caused short circuits and traction motor damage in trains.[3] For traction motors with integral cooling fans and air intakes pointing downwards – the type that is still common on British electric multiple units – the problem was made worse as the air intakes sucked up the loose snow. Meanwhile, the snow also became packed into sliding door mechanisms and into points, causing them to fail.[3][4] In addition, low temperatures resulted in problems with electric current collection from the third rail.

Many electric services had to be replaced by diesel haulage, and emergency timetables were introduced. Long delays were commonplace – up to eight hours in some cases. The disruption lasted over a week.[3]

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Blitzen

[Kirkcaldy Weather]

@Hawesy the 528 dam and colder 850 temperatures are sort of angled through fife and the 0C dewpoint similar, probably will be changing slightly from run to run til we get to then but maybe heavier precip could be favourable  

@Blitzen thanks for that report nope I was born in June 1996 hopefully me and @Hawesy can get some but I’m sure Blitzy will be the snow queen as is normally the case

[howham]

What constitutes a coastal district?  How many miles inland (notwithstanding altitude)?

[blitzen]

3 minutes ago, Kirkcaldy Weather said:

nope I was born in June 1996

Oh sh*t!.............I'm an AGED Snow Queen then!

[Cheggers]

15 minutes ago, howham said:

What constitutes a coastal district?  How many miles inland (notwithstanding altitude)?

The term 'Coastal' has no sharp definition. It varies with the field it serves.

For tourism, the city is considered coastal if the coast is a walking distance far from the city center, i.e. about 2-3 km maximum.

For agriculture, the region is considered coastal if the coast directly impacts the region's weather, i.e. less than 7-10 km from the coast line.

For environmental studies, the region is considered coastal if it is beside the coast (<200 m) and its altitude is less than 10 m above sea level.

For Urbanization studies, a region is coastal if it is located within 100 km of a shoreline and 100 m of sea level. 

Sorry but being a Saffer I don't do miles, inches etc lol

Edited January 31, 2021 by Cheggers

[Hawesy]

@Cheggers @howham Yes it’s an interesting discussion. In this case I suppose the warning map gives an indication of where snow may fall and where they aren’t expecting there to be a risk. It’s fine margins though. I’ve not had a snowfall this winter but places two or three miles inland from me and at 80m have had two falls of 2-3cm. The marginality we all fret about must be a forecasters nightmare!

[Kirkcaldy Weather]

Remember there will be changes with each run but that looks good and I believe that’s beasty entering on the right in the late stages