No, but neither does anywhere in France. every winter

Nor was there in the Alps until this week



You should have seen them in 1989

Why?   Its not the ice age .....



That is more normal. Its usually not till Feb that persistent snow cover can be expected over higher ground.    March is often the best month for snow sports.

As it was in many pre-modern winters. 



And unusual

They are also a long way from the Atlantic    

Now, if Turkey or the Balkans didnt see much snow for several winters in a row.  That would be strange!



The problem is that we have the idea that unusual weather is normal and when we dont get unusual weather its unusual. 

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Don't I know it. I was on a cricket pitch when it snowed. It was the coldest I've ever been playing cricket. And it was horrendous and hopefully won't be repeated. Snow in April is about as much use as a mudflap on a turtle.

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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

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

No reason to be cheerful for me. Just the prospect of watching others get a load of snow while we are dry as a bone. Nothing worse.

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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!

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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.

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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.

 

 

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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!

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Me too Justin. 

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..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.

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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  

Can I have this whole thread to myself please. 😜

Don't worry Nick, if I could I would send any snow shower that came within the vicinity of me over to your area. 

Anyway it is looking like an interesting event coming up. Snow showers in the north and west, and a band of more persistent snow in the south and east. Hope those in the south enjoy it though. They really have been waiting a while now.

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Bone dry here I Exeter . I thought I'd wake up to heavy rain and strong winds ...!

What's gone on or wrong? Bit behind?

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Hopefully a good thing 

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Having all the interesting weather in the near term (rather than out in FI) has disrupted my morning routine. Much of the interesting stuff is coming out before my 10am cuppa.

 

 

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Apart from GFS, the hi-res models don't offer much snow prospects for MBY

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Horrible drizzle here and it's getting warmer! Unless it changes drastically in the next few hours, there won't even be any sleet. And this was supposed to be a 'sweet spot', even if for an hour or so.

Hope that tonights' showers deliver at least a sprinkling for the morning. 

 

And the Met Office website forecast for MBY has been downgraded, with only sporadic single snowflake symbols from this evening into the night.

Then, to cap it all, the MO thread is chock-full of the south-eastern contingent squealing delightedly at the prospect of blocking to the east aligning to give them the best potential wintry conditions.

It all reminds me why I much prefer a Greenland High.

 

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If it's any consolation I just had a bit of sleet and we've one symbol for moderate to heavy snow at 9pm. I still think most of us will end up disappointed Saint then we can all look forward to a bone dry easterly whilst the SE gets buried. 😕

 

I do feel rather cheated, you know. Just a few days ago, this region was looking one of the more favoured spots, and with the cold & unstable flow from the north, there was the chance of a disturbance developing in the flow. Since that bloody disturbance popped up in the W-E flow in the south, it's all gone tits-up for us.

 

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Easterlies are pretty crap unless you live in Kent or Essex. Almost always they are cold but dry and cloudy affairs in this part of the world. It's why the only people you see on weather forums reminiscing about January 1987 or February 1986 are from the SE.

 

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