That graphic sums up perfectly the sick, disgusting joke that the UK climate has become. Nearly six weeks of winter up and there has been a total of three air frosts here - the same as I recorded in less than a fortnight at the end of April/beginning of May 2015. Only difference was that period produced more snow than there's been in the last six weeks 

Today in the world's most boring climate there's more cloudy, mild nothingness. 8C, grey rubbish and this is what we've had almost constantly for the past six weeks. Even the snowless winters of the 90s were not as bad as this. It's more like the dire winters of the early to mid 70s but at least back then summers were reasonable.

Good morning to you too Richard!

Dear oh dear.  

Youve clearly not paid attention to the WI LRF, which states clearly that the coldest weather of the winter will occur in the period 20 Feb - 12 March.

The snow season is in full swing in 6 weeks time.  

I'm not so sure about that anymore Essan? Well you would not get consistant snow cover throughout winter anyway.

Look at any of the mountain webcams around the UK and there is very little snowcover. There are nearly 300 mountains in Scotland over 3000ft, and yet there is little snow cover on these today in the middle of winter! Look at the Snowdonia Mountains, they struggle to hold snow cover for a week let alone right through the winter.

In a proper UK winter these mountains above 3000ft should be white from late November through till at least March. Instead there is a constant snow/thaw/snow thaw pattern. 

Lying snow (even falling snow) is non existant in many low lying parts of the UK in a modern winter. December 2010 was the last proper full on widespread winter event and that was over six years ago!!

As I type this Italy, Greece, Turkey and many other parts of south eastern Europe are getting a really good dumping of snow!!

Almost midnight and it's ridiculously mild yet again, at 8.7C, here in the land of eternal October Kinloss is even milder with 10.7C at 11pm. It's beyond a joke.

Latest temperatures in Cyprus: Paphos: 11C, Limassol: 9C, Larnaca: 8C, Nicosia: 7C.

So not even true that Cyprus is the only warmer part of Europe any more 

To have three frosts all winter, at 57 degrees North, and not even be colder than a Mediterranean Island, at 33 degrees North, where winters are normally as warm as our summers is worse than a sick joke.

There was never ever such extreme differences between UK and continental Europe in the past. We just got modified cold. We certainly did not miss out on cold spells entirely, getting stupidly mild temperatures instead

It will be a one day snow 'blip'. Really can't see why people are getting exited. Back to ridiculously warm temperatures by Sunday.

When the whole of Europe is suffering from mild, I can understand why the UK gets the same dross. When Italy, Greece and Turkey are buried in snow and are getting ice days, I just want to tear out what remains of my hair.

The UK snowshield is working overtime this winter and it is infuriating!

Those that wrote the whole of the January off back on the 1st Jan might be getting a little sweaty between the back legs 

.....horses for courses.

Fair points Essan, but I think many forum members would agree that our winters are getting warmer and thus the chance of decent cold and snow is diminishing. I sure you are familiar with this link which gives a potted history of British winters? We are definitely getting fewer "severe" winters and less snow. Yes there have been bad years before, but to say that th current winter is normal for the UK is wide of the mark!!

 http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=winter-history;sess=

I'm almost 45 and, whilst there've been a couple of clusters of colder winters during my lifetime, I don't feel that, overall, winters have changed that much for my area.

There was a spell from the mid-80's to the end of the 90's when we had a particularly poor period for snow, but since the turn of the century/millennium, it's been like my childhood in the 70's and 80's - snow most years, but some with none/nearly none (and my childhood memories are littered with events that took place in winter where I distinctly remember it raining). And within the post-2000 era, we've had some great cold spells that have compared to pretty much anything in my life.

What I think has changed is, as Retron has detailed, one of those cold & prolonged easterly flows. Thing is, these more often than not delivered little to MBY save for cold temps and a chunky dose of the green-eyed-monster when seeing reports of heavy/deep snow in the SE/E.

When you look at the sea temps around Cyprus that go down to 17C by winter did not stop them having snowfall as low as seal level for a short time.  Yearly low maxes day time temps are ranges from 6-8C against the 17C temps.  it show it an be done at 17C sea temps so in here regardless how big the sea around here with 6-7C minimum by Feb should not stop the snow reaching down to the sea level and subzero maxes.

It the set-up that are preventing us from getting real snow and cold.  The sea are there to provide us heavy snowfalls when bitter cold air travel over it.  Same applies to US lake affect snow as the lake temps.

Our generally blocked and decidedly average winter continues. While it has not been zonal and the lack of wind and rain has been welcome here, overall this is turning into an extreme borefest and, for us down here, this looks set to continue after a bit of a cool down later this week. I strongly suspect that HP will become anchored to our SE after the NW'ly and that we'll be back to murk and average temperatures, possibly warmer than average at times.

Of course it's foolish to rule anything out and we're still not at the midpoint of winter 2016/17, but I'm already looking forward to spring. Late January or February may well deliver the SE a wintry surprise but, like Darren Prescott, all I want is just one more long-fetch midwinter easterly before I give up the ghost!

Me too Justin. 

..And me.

I know Feb has been a very good month for snow in past Winters but for me when we get into Feb I start to really looking forward to Spring and the days getting longer.

Of course if snow does arrive in the SE in Feb then I'll enjoy it but I don't chase it as much as Dec and Jan.

I just really hope we don't end up with a cold spring and a lot of wasted nothing days, just my personal choice.

Nearly half way in to a 3rd winter in a row with no snow. 

And the charts are as crap as the last 3 winters have been for snow.

I hope Summer is a good one for storms but they have been poor of late to