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Snow Watch 2009/10 Season (Merged)
BigOrange
Posts: 59,674 Forum Member
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With the weather set to turn colder from Friday and potentially snowy next week, I thought it was time to bring back Snow Watch for another season. As ever, a place to discuss snow prospects and also post snow reports for your location to help build the national picture! Here's the latest long range forecast from the UK Met Office which strongly indicates a change to colder conditions is on the way:
Source & more: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html
And the latest White Christmas odds by city:
Source: Paddy Power
Let the fun and games commence!
UK Outlook for Thursday 10 Dec 2009 to Tuesday 22 Dec 2009:
Generally fine and chilly on Thursday, though breezy and showery in the far northwest. Mainly fair but colder on Friday and Saturday, with frost and patchy fog morning and night. After a cold and frosty start, this Sunday will be dry and fair across much of the United Kingdom, although patches of fog are likely to linger for much of the day across some inland areas. From Monday to Wednesday, the mainly dry, cold and settled weather is expected to continue in the south and west, while it turns increasing breezy and showery towards the north and east. For the rest of the period, it's likely to turn even colder with widespread frost at night and a mix of sunshine and scattered wintry showers by day. The showers should be generally most prevalent towards the north and east of Britain, where they are likely to fall increasingly as sleet or snow, even to low levels by next weekend.
Updated: 1255 on Tue 8 Dec 2009
Source & more: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html
And the latest White Christmas odds by city:
Glasgow 3/1
Belfast 7/2
London 7/2
Dublin 7/2
Manchester 4/1
Cardiff 5/1
Cork 6/1
Source: Paddy Power
Let the fun and games commence!
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Comments
Oh, and we had snow last week.
(not because I didn't think it interesting though - more because of fear of 'not another weather thread' type comments!!)
Here's the latest temperature graph for London. There's quite a steep drop next week you'll notice:
http://209.197.11.184/c9s4a5k3/cds/ensimages/ens.20091208/12/t2mLondon.png?dopvhost=charts.netweather.tv&doppl=0f36092b4428cf444478cf1495bdc45f4478cf23&dopsig=4dc46dc00b935e71500d07ea8f3d6b18
It would definitely be lovely to have a White Christmas. Here in Northants you'd have to go back as far as the 80s or even the 70s to find the most recent example. But I do accept it could play havoc with people's travel plans!
Am I right in thinking the relevant line on that graph is the bright green one?
Yes, the end of December became snowy over most of Central & Eastern England. If you remember, the Winter of 2005/06 was very cold over much of Europe, and we just missed it in this country by a hair's whisker.
That was the Winter where a couple of public places (in Germany & Poland, I think) had roofs fall in owing to the weight of snow, and people were hurt as a result.
We might have a white Christmas. It would be the first proper (snow falling) white Christmas in the South since 1970. The others last century were 1927 & 1938. The 1927 not being picturesque, but a severe disruptive blizzard with many places cut off, and strong Easterly gales.
I think this year has the best chance of a white Christmas in the South for a number of years. Although it will still probably be green.
I recall one year since - probably either 1980 or 1981 - when it was cold and there was a bit of snow lying on Christmas Day from falls on previous days, but none actually fell on the day itself.
I agree, i can't remember the last time it snowed significantly in December.
I once had a thunder storm on Christmas Eve years ago (the better part of a decade if not more).
It did snow on News Years Eve for 2/3 minutes last year (2008) but it was that small snow that melts as soon as it hits anything.
I remember last year we had loads of snow on....... 22nd November according to some of the pictures I took.
Also has anyone noticed we've had hardly any storms this autumn? Seems like ages ago since we had lightning.
Seriously, given it's a moderate/strong El Nino winter we're going into, we probably shouldn't get our hopes up.
Interesting statistics - thanks. I agree that the potential definitely presents itself this year, with very cold air currently forecast to be near or directly over the UK in the run up to Christmas. IF the cold & snow arrive as planned, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it could set in for a while with wintry conditions persisting up to the big day itself.
The most notable Christmas Day thunderstorms were in 1947, when exceptionally mild air had undercut cold air along a slow moving trough, and caused some notable thunderstorms over much of the South East, and 1990, when a well marked cold front caused thunderstorms lasting about 30 minutes to move East along a very wide band over England. There was thunder that day from West Yorkshire to Dorset, and all points East.
2008 & 2009 have been the most thunderless years I personally have ever known.
I agree, but you never know. Occasional seasons confound trends and statistics.
read more here - (I'm dreading more of the same this year - the houses just aren't built for it!)
http://hubpages.com/hub/Extremes-of-weather-on-the-Costa-del-Sol
Can we also have the betting prices for the second city as well please - Birmingham?
Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html
The odds seem to indicate a high confidence among punters that there will not be a white Christmas in any one of the locations listed. :rolleyes: at the thread.
Where? Cairngorm summit? Snake Pass?
Now might be a good time to put a bet on if you fancy a flutter!
No, the time to place a bet would have been last week, or at least last weekend when the change in weather type was first being widely discussed and the odds were better.
I always assume that threads like this are mostly promoted by punters who did just that and who wish to help drive down the odds even further without actually spending any more cash. I shall endeavour to put it in perspective...