Winter 2023/24 Chat and Discussion

[SussexSnowman]

4 minutes ago, johncam said:

Even that will gone soon , used to love winter as an older member you were always guaranteed at least one good cold spell with snow on the ground and a few transient shorter spells,  now it's high 5's all round if we get a few frosts. Back in the day 8C was termed mild in winter now some think this is cold , sad times. Forgive the ramblings of an old git

Don't even get the 1 day snow events much these days neither. Becoming rarer and rarer and hence why there is so much excitement when we do get some  me Mum bless her says Autumn is a 6 month season as Winter's aren't becoming of their name 

[Freeze]

41 minutes ago, SussexSnowman said:

Don't even get the 1 day snow events much these days neither. Becoming rarer and rarer and hence why there is so much excitement when we do get some  me Mum bless her says Autumn is a 6 month season as Winter's aren't becoming of their name 

Especially down here aswell, dropping below 0 is hard to come by these days. This week there is only a couple of -1 mins forecast for here.

[Froze were the Days]

Years ago this 'cold' spell we're in would be a standard thing for late November...we've seen so few frosts and relatively cold air in past Novembers the bar has been completely reset. Then again model watching can get your hopes up which was never the case back in the 80's/90's...sometimes wish we were back in those times without all this technology.

[Froze were the Days]

1 hour ago, Methuselah said:

We might moan about the Beeb and the Met. Office, but GBeebies is surely setting the bar at an all-time low: 

 

'We might get a white Xmas or we might not' - hmmm I think I'll know which side I'm leaning on and as for bookmakers and a white Xmas, doesn't take a lot for them to reduce the length of the odds even though towards the south we haven't had a proper one since 1970. More Hype! yawn!

[Summer Sun]

1 hour ago, Methuselah said:

We might moan about the Beeb and the Met. Office, but GBeebies is surely setting the bar at an all-time low: 

 

If they removed the - they might be a bit closer to reality at the end of next week

[stainesbloke]

3 hours ago, AderynCoch said:

I consider late November here to be winter. In any case I'm just venting about the terrible luck which has continued from last winter, as is my prerogative.

At least we have the whole winter ahead of us to enjoy. It’s been a wintry week in the Czech Republic with a lot of snow falling, but like in Slovakia, temperatures have been a bit marginal and the ground is still too warm with hard frosts lacking, so far. Shame as could have been notable. Next week looks cold with nighttime temperatures falling to -10°C or lower and some ice days forecast too

Am back in the UK for work and it’s a chilly but beautiful day today with plenty of sunshine 

[johncam]

1 hour ago, SussexSnowman said:

Don't even get the 1 day snow events much these days neither. Becoming rarer and rarer and hence why there is so much excitement when we do get some  me Mum bless her says Autumn is a 6 month season as Winter's aren't becoming of their name 

She is correct sad to say 

[joggs]

Save on bills££££

[Polaris]

49 minutes ago, Froze were the Days said:

Years ago this 'cold' spell we're in would be a standard thing for late November...we've seen so few frosts and relatively cold air in past Novembers the bar has been completely reset. Then again model watching can get your hopes up which was never the case back in the 80's/90's...sometimes wish we were back in those times without all this technology.

Ah the good ole days. 
Agree, this cool spell would have been a fart in the wind in the 80s/90s 

Then social media and technology took over and we are now naming 50mph wind gusts calling it a storm. 

[Methuselah]

30 minutes ago, joggs said:

Save on bills££££

Well, I still recall January 1987; my heating was on its highest setting, running virtually non-stop. I think that that was the most expensive ten days, weatherwise, I've ever known! 

[*Stormforce~beka*]

4 hours ago, danm said:

I was never invested in this cold spell, having been burned so many times before. Two decades of model viewing has taught me that until we get to within a few days max, nothing is close to being guaranteed, at least from a snow perspective. 

Too many variables are at play to deliver snow on these Isles. Once one variable downgrades we often see the whole lot collapse like a pack of cards. 

The positive is that it is cold, and will remain so for the next 4/5 days, and a lucky few might see the odd wintry flurry, but unlikely to be too much more than that over the next 10 days. Would love to be proved wrong. 

Same! I wasn't in it. Last time it was all ripped away at 48 hours notice and the same this time.

3 hours ago, johncam said:

Even that will gone soon , used to love winter as an older member you were always guaranteed at least one good cold spell with snow on the ground and a few transient shorter spells,  now it's high 5's all round if we get a few frosts. Back in the day 8C was termed mild in winter now some think this is cold , sad times. Forgive the ramblings of an old git

But the old git is right lol ...

[Methuselah]

I don't want to embarrass myself with a winter forecast. . . But I am eagerly awaiting the forum's response to the upcoming GFS run. 

  

[Metwatch]

A bit of a shame there isn't more snow for inland areas with this spell, but the drier and sunnier conditions that are brought with the colder airmass is still well needed / nice to see after the very wet autumn! Lengths spell of mild and dry with sunshine won't be an option until early spring (February 2019 the rare exception), so this is the next best weather type in winter for me i'd say with snow on top of course!

Majority of the time it's the shorter cold snaps that bring the most snow in recent years. End of November 2021, end of January 2021 and December 2017 etc, which didn't last more than a week here for all of them, as the Atlantic tries to introduce milder air which brings good amounts of snow for central areas rather than showers, but the cold often doesn't last long after those events.

For anyone confused about my weather preferences during winter in order from most to least preferred it would be like this:

snow

mild, dry, sunshine

cold, dry, sunshine

mild, no, sunshine, worse with rain

cold, no sunshine, worse with rain

Edited November 29, 2023 by Metwatch

[TheOgre]

6 hours ago, mathematician said:

A thing that always amuses me is the amount of people who say "let's get the cold in first, once it's here it's very hard to displace it "

 

Like we lived in Canada...  It literally takes ONE DAY for the uk to go from, say -2, to 12!!!   It's hilarious

Like literally last year in mid December

[SussexSnowman]

12 minutes ago, Metwatch said:

A bit of a shame there isn't more snow for inland areas with this spell, but the drier and sunnier conditions that are brought with the colder airmass is still well needed / nice to see after the very wet autumn! Lengths spell of mild and dry with sunshine won't be an option until early spring (February 2019 the rare exception), so this is the next best weather type in winter for me i'd say with snow on top of course!

Majority of the time it's the shorter cold snaps that bring the most snow in recent years. End of November 2021, end of January 2021 and December 2017 etc, which didn't last more than a week here for all of them, as the Atlantic tries to introduce milder air which brings good amounts of snow for central areas rather than showers, but the cold often doesn't last long after those events.

For anyone confused about my weather preferences during winter in order from most to least preferred it would be like this:

snow

mild, dry, sunshine

cold, dry, sunshine

mild, no, sunshine, worse with rain

cold, no sunshine, worse with rain

For me I like winters to have a chillier feel with a mix of dry spells and the odd snow event. Can't say you'll see me pining for a 62/63 type of winter. The winter of 2010/11 was exceptional and I know those are rare life events for sure. If there is to be snowless winters, I'd rather cold and dry days. Nothing worse than mild and wet dross and that really brings out the SAD in me. 

[cheeky_monkey]

6 hours ago, mathematician said:

A thing that always amuses me is the amount of people who say "let's get the cold in first, once it's here it's very hard to displace it "

 

Like we lived in Canada...  It literally takes ONE DAY for the uk to go from, say -2, to 12!!!   It's hilarious

i live in Canada ..and i find this saying somewhat bizarre about cold being hard to displace..i have seen it go from -40c to +6c in the space of 48 hrs here In Edmonton and -40c is tremendously cold..if you live in Calgary for instance when a chinook rolls in it can go from -25c to +5c in a matter of minutes 

[raz.org.rain]

Widespread frost here overnight, it actually survived until sunset too.

[knocker]

Game over.....just as well close the mod. thread for the rest of the winter 

[Mapantz]

I've read quite a few "Enjoy the cold spell" posts in the last couple of days. That'll be two days for here..

1962/63 needs to be banned on here. 

[Metwatch]

Coldest November max in Eastern England since 2010!

[Robin2012]

2 hours ago, knocker said:

Game over.....just as well close the mod. thread for the rest of the winter 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

ZZZZ

[Freeze]

2 hours ago, Mapantz said:

I've read quite a few "Enjoy the cold spell" posts in the last couple of days. That'll be two days for here..

1962/63 needs to be banned on here. 

Here we are forecast Fri and Sat highs of 5c then it gradually rises after, so it's 2 cold-ish day really.. 

[HighPressure]

Its currently snowing over the Pennines if that helps 

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[Mapantz]

1 hour ago, Freeze said:

Here we are forecast Fri and Sat highs of 5c then it gradually rises after, so it's 2 cold-ish day really.. 

Yep - two day cold snap ends on Monday for here. Best start to Winter since 2010, they said.. 

[RabbitEars]

The BBC  reports that the overnight temperatures in Cumbria were the lowest for November for some years. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67564025