Winter 2022/23 - Moans, Ramps & Chat

[TheOgre]

Just now, MP-R said:

... and even more annoyingly, it then snowed on Boxing Day night lol.

I don’t remember that to be honest but I distinctly remember it also snowing on Boxing Day in 2014

[summer blizzard]

In all the excitement of early month I forgot to read, what did the December Copernicus update look like for the remainder of winter.

[RJBingham]

I see model analysis is being replaced by "feelings" from some posters in the MAD thread,

amazing how the feelings always correlate with wishes.

[okidoke]

This morning in Great Yarmouth,  Norfolk We have 4oc .. almost warm compared to rest of UK currently.. we have had no snow, yesterday we had an ice day and freezing rain .. but I fear that's it coming to end and zonal or southerly winds coming for rest of month

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by okidoke

[ItNeverSnowsInWindsor]

With the Eastern seaboard turning colder it usually spells trouble for us in the UK with mild and wet weather.

 

Might be a longer wait into the new year for anything wintry unfortunately.

[The real Lomond snowstorm]

Finally some snow overnight here. Probably around 10cm starting about 03:00.

Amber snow warning on Met Office for this morning.

It was still around -5C overnight so it seems quite "fluffy" but it has started warming up and it now looks though that it is going to be washed away by several hours of rain.

It was nice while it lasted.....

[Dusk1983]

Depression in the model thread, but here in the real world, I’ve had the boiler on for 2 weeks solid, my entire road is still an ice rink after 5 days, bins still haven’t been collected and I’m tired of just being cold.

A two week cold spell is quite exceptional and more than sufficient, if you want more then move to Scandinavia.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Dusk1983

[Weather Enthusiast91]

3 minutes ago, Dusk1983 said:

Depression in the model thread, but here in the real world, I’ve had the boiler on for 2 weeks solid, my entire road is still an ice rink after 5 days, bins still haven’t been collected and I’m tired of just being cold.

A two week cold spell is quite exceptional and more than sufficient, if you want more then move to Scandinavia.

Makes a change to have some cooler than average conditions after all the above avereage months we have had. 

[ribster]

Fantastic 2 weeks of deep cold, it's looked like a winter wonderland. Brief relaxation and return to average or just below and possibly something a bit more interesting, nice!

[johncam]

Back to usual,  cloudy damp bloody miserable 

[Sunny76]

13 hours ago, 78/79 said:

As much as I've enjoyed this cold spell, I need it to warm up a bit now.  Not been able to work for a week, and I need to push a job on .

No work = no money coming in. 

Yeah. My partner can’t work this past week in the garden, because once it’s below 5c the ground is too cold to work on.

She usually packs up at Christmas time and doesn’t go back fully until February, if weather permits. 

16 minutes ago, ribster said:

Fantastic 2 weeks of deep cold, it's looked like a winter wonderland. Brief relaxation and return to average or just below and possibly something a bit more interesting, nice!

I have a feeling this is just an indication for some more snowy as we move past Christmas and into the first week or two of January. Possibly something very cold in Feb.

[Beanz]

Well I enjoyed the cold snap, made this winter feel somewhat seasonal.  At least we can look back on 2022/2023 and say it wasn’t a complete failure.  

Spring on the horizon now? 

[78/79]

29 minutes ago, Sunny76 said:

Yeah. My partner can’t work this past week in the garden, because once it’s below 5c the ground is too cold to work on.

She usually packs up at Christmas time and doesn’t go back fully until February, if weather permits. 

I have a feeling this is just an indication for some more snowy as we move past Christmas and into the first week or two of January. Possibly something very cold in Feb.

I wouldn't be surprised to be honest. 

The weather impacts me more during Autumn, and Winter. Freezing temperatures and mortar isn't a good combination, neither is incessant rain. 

If it's a succession of low pressure systems it isn't any better, ok, it might be warmer, but it still puts the kibosh on things work wise. 

If I have to stay at home, I'd much sooner look at clear blue skies and frost rather than the alternative. 

At least, so far, this year some poor devils have been spared the trauma of being flooded out. 

 

[The real Lomond snowstorm]

I like cold weather in winter though what I really crave year round is dry weather with some blue sky, which is understandable really given the amount of rain we get in this area.

So I like cold,however  I do think many of the cold enthusiasts on this forum who claim to want extreme cold would rapidly get fed up of it. When you get (for example) two or three weeks of ice days with minus double digit temperatures overnight, then snow does get compacted into an ice rink. And below -10C the grit doesn't do much if you're commuting by car. Winter tyres help but not if most other people have summer tyres.

And doing anything outside becomes difficult because the pavements become ice rinks and taking off your gloves for a minute gives you the hot aches.

Then external drain pipes on older properties start to freeze from the bottom up with potentially unpleasant results when you flush. As do external (and sometimes internal) gas boiler condensate pipes. Being without heating for several days when it is minus 15C overnight and the gas engineers are overwhelmed is not nice.

Spending 20 minutes trying to get your car windows clear every morning rapidly changes from a novelty to a pain and as the days go on gets harder. Plus the chances of a problem with the car (battery usually) increases. 

And de-icer and concentrated screenwash becomes more valuable than toilet paper during the pandemic with queues forming outside when deliveries are due.  Supermarkets get less frequent deliveries as their lorries get held up.

Public services have more people sick, injured, unable to get to work etc.

And then the thaw comes and the pipes burst...

And did I mention the heating bills ?

I realise this comes across as negative but in Britain away from areas which regularly experience a proper winter and are prepared for it, extended spells of real cold do after a time lose their appeal and a winter wonderland becomes an unpleasant experience.

I'm still hoping for snow at Christmas though  

 

[snowblizzard]

What ever happens throughout the remainder of winter, I'm happy to have experienced a decent spell of wintry weather here in the SE.

We had snowfall (about 2 inches) early Sunday evening and since then the temperature has hardly risen above zero degrees even during sunny daylight hours!

The snow & ice is still on the ground and on the tree branches, looking very seasonal.  

A massive change coming from this Sunday, but I'm ready for some milder temperatures.

Then, it's back to the models to chase the next potential cold spell. 

And, exciting times ahead for my Cousin who lives in the East of USA! 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by snowblizzard

[Summer8906]

I guess it's now certain that next week will be a dark, damp, humid write-off. At least, as it's also the darkest week of the year next week, the only way will be up after that; next week will likely be the worst week of the whole winter due to a combination of maximum darkness and very poor weather.

Some hope on the latest GFS of a cold northerly outbreak around Christmas, though it does revert to grot a few days after that.

Do people think that there is any realistic chance of improvement before, say, late January now? I ask because if zonality takes over just before Christmas it seems to get locked in until late Jan, and if you're really unlucky,  longer.

I do now feel that Jan will be mild and wet but hope I'm wrong - and I'm not using any expert knowledge here, just basing it on what has happened historically. Maybe more of a chance of something interesting in Feb - thinking here of some other seasons such as 2003/4 here in that Dec 2003 had interesting cold at times, Jan 2004 was mild and wet, and February progressively anticyclonic and, later, cold.

Is there a possibility now (particularly if the attempt at cold around Christmas fails) that Dec might end up about average temperature wise, or even above average in the southwest? I can see that it's possible (though not certain) that the south might see 10-12C maxima, and no cold nights, every day from Sunday onwards, which would mean the final two weeks could end up 3-4 degrees above average.

Just glad we'll have had this three-week break after the miserable damp autumn! Imagine how miserable it would have been if we'd have had Sep-Nov as they were, then nothing but zonality in Dec and Jan.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[Andrew Hurcomb]

It is too bloody cold!

Local station yesterday -11.3 today -10.6

Edited December 16, 2022 by Andrew Hurcomb

[Summer8906]

24 minutes ago, The real Lomond snowstorm said:

I like cold weather in winter though what I really crave year round is dry weather with some blue sky, which is understandable really given the amount of rain we get in this area.

True, but this time of year dry weather with blue skies tends to be very strongly correlated with cold! I suspect we'll get little in the way of clear blue skies for the rest of the year from Sunday onwards, maybe another couple of days if the Christmas cold spell shown in some models comes off.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[The real Lomond snowstorm]

Yes, and I'm happy with cold weather.

My previous post was more regarding the extreme cold that some like.

I've no problem with frosty mornings and normal UK cold weather for longer periods.

And the odd shorter spell of "extreme cold "

[Summer8906]

9 hours ago, cheese said:

I’d agree that dull cold weather is more common than sunny, mild weather. 

True, at this time of year.

Sunny mild weather does become common from about mid Feb but is certainly rare in midwinter.

Which is why I would always pick Feb to be the mildest, relative to normal, of the three winter months. Sadly I think it's Jan which tends to be, a month which is a miserable zonal grotfest about one year in two (e.g. recently, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020). We've got lucky with the last two Januaries (2021 coldish at times; 2022 anticyclonic) so I fear the grot will be back with a vengeance this year

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

7 minutes ago, The real Lomond snowstorm said:

Yes, and I'm happy with cold weather.

My previous post was more regarding the extreme cold that some like.

I've no problem with frosty mornings and normal UK cold weather for longer periods.

And the odd shorter spell of "extreme cold "

Exactly. I'd be quite happy with something dry, sunny and not that cold to see out the year. Two weeks of 7C max, -1C min and lots of sunshine would be fine. Instead down here I can seee 10-12C maxima, minima above 5C, rain almost every day, frequent low cloud, limited sunshine, humidity and damp - the far south of England sometimes seems almost as bad as Scotland for damp in late autumn and early winter!

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

1 hour ago, Beanz said:

Well I enjoyed the cold snap, made this winter feel somewhat seasonal.  At least we can look back on 2022/2023 and say it wasn’t a complete failure.  

Spring on the horizon now? 

Well the nights start drawing out next week, at least. But I suppose we have four or five challenging weeks to get through first before the snowdrops start coming out at the end of Jan and spring really is only just around the corner.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[The real Lomond snowstorm]

It rained for 29 days out of the 31 days in October here. And November improved but was still a typical Scottish November with a lot of rain.

Everything was saturated and the rivers and Lochs  were beginning to break their banks.

Now we have had some deep freeze with minus double digits and several consecutive ice days.

I do wonder what that will have done to the saturated ground around buildings and pipes in some places as the roads have had some pretty big pot holes. appearing

Anyway, this cold spell has had some bright sunny days which is very nice at this time of year (even if the sun is only 11 degrees above the horizon at noon).

Edited December 16, 2022 by The real Lomond snowstorm

[Summer8906]

10 hours ago, cheese said:

It was mild to very mild depending on where you live. Less mild further south relative to average, but still mild nevertheless (assuming a month with a deviation of >0.5C in either direction is no longer considered average/near average), 

In any case, the idea that mild weather in winter is always dull/wet, or that cold weather is always sunny/clear, is false. There are countless examples of cold, dull months too - January & March 2013, December 2010 in southern England (sunny further north), March 2018, February 2009, February 2010, February 1986 etc.

Cold and dull is certainly very possible, yes. Those who remember the first 10 days of January 1997 will remember the cold and dull weather which dominated that period. The end of Jan 1996 was another good example.

However mild and sunny is distinctly rare in mid-winter, at least, as I've said above. IMX it's very rare to get mild and sunny weather between around mid-Nov and early Feb, because mildness in winter is associated with Atlantic air which is associated with much moisture.

Once you get to mid Feb, mild sunny days become possible under anticyclonic conditions due to stronger heating and more hours of daylight.

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Summer8906

[Beanz]

16 minutes ago, Summer8906 said:

Well the nights start drawing out next week, at least. But I suppose we have four or five challenging weeks to get through first before the snowdrops start coming out at the end of Jan and spring really is only just around the corner.

Yes, I don’t mind the odd frosty morning or some snowfall.  

But, I can only imagine those that are desperate for prolonged and extreme cold probably don’t own their own house, and don’t pay their utility bills.  When I lived at home with my folks, or rented somebody else’s property I used to long for extreme winters, not sure I see the fun in it these days I’ll be honest.  

Edited December 16, 2022 by Beanz