Agreed. We need to look to Europe for a significant freeze. Most of our significant and sustained cold spells involve easterlies.

It's down to blocking.

If you get signifiicant Greenland blocking then both side's of the Atlantic can be cold (happened as recently as March 2013)

The current cold being experianced in America is being caused by a ridge sitting close to Alaska driving cold air out of Canada into the States.

^ what that man said.

Depending on the actual synoptics of course, when the US freezes, NW Europe rarely does. One reason for that of course, is that the temperature contrast between a cold continental landmass in north America and the warmer Atlantic, breeds cyclogenesis in the Atlantic. Couple that with a roaring jet, enhanced by the temperature profile across the States and we get the zonal muck currently being experienced.

Any hope? I don't see any hope myself for this winter in the UK for January at least. Until and unless things equalise across the Pond, the zonal drivers will persist. If we are to get a decent cold snap of any duration, I would not anticipate it until February at the earliest, although there may be a couple of short lived Polar maritime incursions before then.

I think the last time proper cold air crossed the Atlantic from N America to reach Britain was about 10,560BC?  

But we've just had the remnants of the storm that caused the New Year blizzards in the USA.  So we do sometimes get their weather, and just a few days later.....   But if we want it to still be cold, we'd need to shut off the Gulf Stream and ideally freeze half the North Atlantic to do so

A snowstorm in the US, tends to be wind and rain over here unless there was a cold pool on top of the UK, where it would be a snow/rain event.

It is amazing how so many people believe in the myth of snow in the US "coming here a few days later". In fact, since this morning I have spoken to 3 people who repeated the same nonsense.

I've given up trying to explain it to them!

it can happen, but is no different to throwing a paper airplane out of a window and expecting to land on the same patch of grass 100m away - EVERYTIME.

it may not come directly over, but there does seem a little truth in it. weather moves west to east.

Indeed , absolute garbage, I had the same conversation with my Mother , I tried explaining about a great area of water....it didnt work

It might be the same area of LP but rarely gives the same version of ppn..................yes 2 x W's

1 W= White ( USA) and the other W= Wet ( UK)

But it does, and it just did.

Sadly the snow melted en route

Technically, we did have bitter cold N American air over the UK, but after the passage through warm Atlantic, the cold air was confined to midde and upper layers of troposphere. Only the lowest layers has been warmed up extensively, especially during last 2 days (it became rPm airmass), becoming very moist and even having little Tm airmass properties. The surface air being very unstable, rose vigorously like helium balloons, producing widespread heavy showers and even thunderstorms, which even persisted and developed far inland (had thunder over E Anglia yesterday morning).

The only true very cold, snowy weather over the UK comes from 3 sources:-

1. From the E and NE, from Scandinavia and NW Russia. This occurs when a high pressure settles over Scandinavia, or when there is a pan Arctic high pressure, the latter that occurred in late March 2013. This produces the coldest weather in UK in Winter, and can be very persistant.

2. From the N, from the Arctic. This often occurs briefly as Atlantic depressions moves away to the E and passes over N Sea, but sometimes last much longer if a high pressure settles over Greenland. This condition usually produces the earliest and latest snowfalls in a year in UK (i.e, say April, May or even June, or October)

3. In Situ, when a high pressure settles for a while over the UK, although it helps to have a initial polar airmass to encourage clear skies at night. The persistant night time cooling cancelling out any feeble daytime warming produces very cold, dry conditions. Snow usually occurs when fronts encroach from the Atlantic, when the rain turns to snow over the cold ground. It often occurs only briefly; the snow turning to sleet then rain as mild conditions move in from the Atlantic. However, the bitter cold weather can persist if the Atlantic low moves to the SE and dives into Europe (the easterlies then, of course, develop).

The only closest we have to this myth, is when a bitter cold, wintry spell occurs in N America, and then the weather system changes over here, say, bringing E'sterly type conditions; something which appears to be on the forecast according to latest GFS charts (although, whether this will actually materialise, only time will tell). But the true cold, snowy weather does not arrive here from N America (the only true cold, wintry conditions, of course, occurs on top of Scottish Mountains).

It might be the same area of LP but rarely gives the same version of ppn..................yes 2 x W's

1 W= White ( USA) and the other W= Wet ( UK)

not quite what i meant. i mean the weather pattern e.g cold there now , cold here in a fortnight . ought to have a look to see how often this happens, i expect someone here knows .