'The big snow of 82'

[A Face like Thunder]

Very short notice but there is a programme on Ch 5 at 9.30pm tonight on 'the big snow of 82' I shall be interested to see this since they seem to be talking about 40 years ago in December 1982 and January 1983, and neither month was memorable for snow if my recollections in S London are correct. Perhaps they should be talking of 41 years ago in Dec 1981 and January 1982 instead, both of which were noted for heavy snow. We shall see!  

[Sunny76]

1 hour ago, A Face like Thunder said:

Very short notice but there is a programme on Ch 5 at 9.30pm tonight on 'the big snow of 82' I shall be interested to see this since they seem to be talking about 40 years ago in December 1982 and January 1983, and neither month was memorable for snow if my recollections in S London are correct. Perhaps they should be talking of 41 years ago in Dec 1981 and January 1982 instead, both of which were noted for heavy snow. We shall see!  

82-83? Lol.

No, they are discussing the winter of 81-82.

[Don]

Just watched it and found it very enjoyable, but should have been called 'the big snow of 81/82'?!

[Scuba steve]

I remember it  it was impressive for the snow even on the Lancashire coast  

[Arch Stanton]

The best winter of my life, sub -20c was recorded on the deep snowfields near the Welsh / English border, snow drifts up to my back bedroom window and everything paralysed for a month (no school from Dec 21st(ish) to Feb high up in the South Wales valleys.

I doubt that will ever be repeated again but I feel so lucky to have experienced it.

[Don]

1 hour ago, Arch Stanton said:

I doubt that will ever be repeated again but I feel so lucky to have experienced it.

Same here and although I was only 5 years old, I remember it surprisingly well!

[John88B]

The 36 hour blizzard starting on January 8th,1982 brought the heaviest snowfall I've ever seen in this area. At sea level this side of the Bristol channel it dumped 40cm of level snow with 20ft drifts with more over the hills.

Our friends across the bridge in South Wales were also hit hard with up to 70cm of level snow reported in hillier areas around Newport.

We were snowed if for a week down the lane we lived in as freezing weather followed.

As a 12 year old I loved every minute of it🙂

Edited January 8 by John88B

[Summer8906]

13 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

82-83? Lol.

Well they may have had a point in February, to be fair. 🙂

[Summer8906]

My main memory is a shopping, I think, trip to one of the local large towns on Saturday 9th and there being large quantities of snow, with the snow falling all day.

I do remember this snow persisting for a long time. The Monthly Weather Report suggests that it turned milder from the 16th, however I am fairly sure that patches of snow, at least, persisted for around 2 weeks. I can only assume that the milder air was dry and not damp, with low DP, which helped maintain the snow for quite some considerable time.

Proper thick snow in much of southern England in January 1977*, 1978*, 1979*, 1982, 1985 and 1987. Those were the days. 6 years out of 11; we only managed 3 out of 35 (and one of those 3, 1994, it was transient) from 1988-2022! Just imagine if Southern England failed to reach 30C in 32 out of 35 Julys, which must be the approximate summer equivalent to heavy snow.

(*didn't experience first hand as didn't live in the south, but have heard about the snow from MWR and posts on here).

Edited January 8 by Summer8906

[old walshy]

We had left Ireland too move too England, Started snowing as the Boat arrived in Liverpool, Heavy snow as we left Lime Street. We had booked to London, But with heating and lights on train gone, we shuddered too a halt just outside New Street Birmingham, in the middle of nowhere, Emergency services rescued us after a long two hours, and we were put up in Hotels in Birmingham After Two day we continued our journey too Londo, very very frightening

[Don]

9 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

Just imagine if Southern England failed to reach 30C in 32 out of 35 Julys, which must be the approximate summer equivalent to heavy snow.

I think that's exactly what we would be seeing now if the climate was cooling rather than warming?!

[Arch Stanton]

20 hours ago, Don said:

Same here and although I was only 5 years old, I remember it surprisingly well!

I think the record low was somewhere near you in Shropshire 

[Don]

1 minute ago, Arch Stanton said:

I think the record low was somewhere near you in Shropshire 

Yes it was recorded at Shawbury, the other side of Shrewsbury.  However, I was living down south back then.

Edited January 8 by Don

[*Stormforce~beka*]

22 hours ago, Don said:

Same here and although I was only 5 years old, I remember it surprisingly well!

I was a few months old lol. 

[Don]

Just now, *Stormforce~beka* said:

I was a few months old lol. 

See, being an old git does have its advantages when it comes to remembering winters of old!! 😜

[Sunny76]

Too young to remember this one, so January 1987 and 91 are my childhood snow memories. 
 

Have vague memories of snow in the courtyard in January, before we moved in November 1980, which must have been either January 80 or 79. And I can’t remember the snow of 81/82 lol.

I do remember the severe storms of August 81 for some strange reason.

[Jbeesfan]

I was sorting out some old photo’s a couple of days ago and came across this. I don’t know the actual date but i do remember taking this in early 1982. We lived in Teddington in West London at the time, i do remember waking up being absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer volume of snow. So i reached for my camera. Around about this time i walked from Teddington to my(then) boyfriends house in Coombe Hill Kingston, it took well over two hours. When he answered the door to my chagrin he fell about laughing because my normally long brown hair had turned completely white. It hadn’t snowed on my journey so it must have frozen. Within ten minutes of being inside it melted and soaked me. Somewhere I will still have some more photo’s of our garden taken at the same time.

I can only really remember another winter in London which was so snowy -1978 (the ‘winter of discontent’). It was my last year at school and they closed the school down due to cold and strikes. Unfortunately  i had my mock o’levels and had to attend with the other girls in my year! Left London in 1989. 

 

[hillbilly]

On 08/01/2023 at 21:41, Don said:

Yes it was recorded at Shawbury, the other side of Shrewsbury.  However, I was living down south back then.

Not quite Shawbury,not far away at Harper Adams college,Newport at -26.1 deg,10th January 1982.