These articles were originally posted on TWO by Mr Data

December 2000 and December 2001 wintry spells

The first half of December 2000 was exceptionally mild and at times very windy and wet but  the last week of December 2000 was cold and wintry. A number of places saw falling snow on Christmas Day 2000, however the snowiest spell came on the 27th and 28th.

 http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2000/brack/bracka20001225.gif

 An active trough moved into the west of Ireland on the 27th bringing heavy snowfalls here and this reached Ulster during the evening bringing very heavy snowfalls to the province, conditions in Belfast were severe at one stage. The trough reached the mainland of UK just before midnight and the trough began to pivot around SW Scotland with the southern portion of trough sweeping through quicker than further north. Heavy snowfalls hit many areas, although snowfalls from the trough missed the very far SE and parts of NE England and eastern Scotland.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2000/brack/bracka20001228.gif

The snowfalls caused severe disruption to travel especially in Ulster and SW Scotland where snow depths were the greatest, 33cm in the Southern Uplands, 18cm in Belfast and Glasgow. Elsewhere snow depths were 11cm at Birmingham, 9cm at Manchester, 8cm as an average across Wales and 6cm as an average across southern England.
 Severe frosts occurred on the subsequent night with minima dipping below -10C in a number of places and daytime maxima were generally sub-zero.
 By New Year's Eve, a deep depression moved into the west bringing with it at first snow before the milder weather arrived to all parts by New Year's Day.

The period 26th-31st December 2000: 0.1C

December 2001 was the driest December for England and Wales since 1971 with an EWR of 43.5mm. It was also the coldest since 1996 with a CET of 3.6.
High pressure dominated the central part of the month but very gradually the position of the high transferred from east of the UK to west of UK as the days went by. This allowed winds with a northerly component to push down across the UK, reinforced each time as low pressures dived southwards across Scandinavia and their frontal systems crossing the UK.
 The frontal systems brought short lived milder spells whilst colder air in their wake brought frosts and wintry showers.

 http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011222.gif

 There was a northerly spell during Christmas Day with snow showers in some areas

  http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011225.gif

but the really wintry weather came after the 28th with snow showers  to places exposed to the wind and through the Cheshire Gap.  Sharp night frosts lasted into the start of the New Year as high pressure sat over the UK.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011230.gif

The period 29th December 2001 - 5th January 2002: 0.1C

December 2001 was the driest December for England and Wales since 1971 with an EWR of 43.5mm. It was also the coldest since 1996 with a CET of 3.6.
High pressure dominated the central part of the month but very gradually the position of the high transferred from east of the UK to west of UK as the days went by. This allowed winds with a northerly component to push down across the UK, reinforced each time as low pressures dived southwards across Scandinavia and their frontal systems crossing the UK.
 The frontal systems brought short lived milder spells whilst colder air in their wake brought frosts and wintry showers.

 http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011222.gif

 There was a northerly spell during Christmas Day with snow showers in some areas

  http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011225.gif

but the really wintry weather came after the 28th with snow showers  to places exposed to the wind and through the Cheshire Gap.  Sharp night frosts lasted into the start of the New Year as high pressure sat over the UK.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/2001/brack/bracka20011230.gif

The period 29th December 2001 - 5th January 2002: 0.1C

1948: The cold wintry spell of late February

In a such memorable year with amazing weather, the November of 1947 is almost virtually overlooked but itself was a remarkable month with large temperature variations in a short space of time.

 The month began very mild with tropical maritime air pumping up over the UK with maxima into the mid teens

The month became much colder with snowfalls and severe frosts mid-month

With a snow cover and slack gradients, the 19th was a very cold night over Scotland with a minimum of -17.2C recorded at Dalwhinnie but the following day, tropical maritime air flooded NEwards on the 20th and it became exceptionally mild with 17.2C recorded at Dunoon and Hawarden. The following 2 days were exceptionally mild as high as 18.3C due to the fohn effect at Hawarden and Llandudno

But on the 24th, the colder Arctic airflow was back and it became cold again with frosts and wintry showers and it remained cold to the end of the month

Data for November 1947
CET: 7.2 (+1.0)
Highest CET daily maximum: 15.7C (21st)
Lowest CET daily maximum: 1.9C  (30th)
Highest CET daily minimum: 13.5C (22nd)
Lowest CET daily minimum: -3.2C (27th, 28th)

9th-12th: 12.1C
17th-19th: 1.9C
21st-23rd: 13.8C
26th-30th: 0.7C

19th November lowest min: -17.2C
20th November highest max: 17.2C

From the 21st November 1947 edition of the Times

1948: The cold wintry spell of late February

The winter of 1947-48 had been largely wet and mild with a CET of 5.1

During the second half of February 1948, there was a notable wintry spell as a Scandinavian high developed and pulled in a very cold easterly flow across many parts.

Chart for 13th February

The chart for the 19th

A very cold pool moved across many southern parts bringing sub zero maxima, heavy snowfalls and blizzards

The month ended on a milder note as the winds became southerly.

The great snowstorm of February 1941

There was a significant snowstorm that affected NE parts of England especially. A low pressure moved up from the Azores and was over the English Channel on the 16th, its central pressure was 958mb.

This allowed a cold Ely flow across the UK. Snow began to fall in the east of England and over southern Scotland as an easterly set in between the anticyclone over Greenland and the low to the south. The weather became somewhat milder in the south as the low drifted NEwards allowing a westerly flow to set in here but in the north, cold air was drawn in from the east and the weather remained cold and snowy.

Conditions became severe as the snow piled up causing severe disruptions blocking roads, causing train cancellations, bringing down telegraph lines and households running short of food. Sunderland and Durham were completely cut off, Durham recorded 105cm of snow whilst Newcastle recorded 70cm

Cold January/Very Mild February: 1945

January and February 1945 could not be any more different. January was cold and snowy, whilst February was exceptionally mild

Early January 1945 began with a northerly across the UK and this gave snow and frosts

An easterly flow developed across the south and this was not especially cold but it did give wintry showers in the flow

A vigorous low swung across the UK on the 18th bringing severe gales to the south and as it pulled away to the east it dragged a very cold Arctic flow across the UK and the start of the coldest spell of the winter

With cold air entrenched and low pressure across the UK, snowfalls were widespread. Frosts became very severe with minima below -10C at times

At the end of the month,  Atlantic systems pushed through and it became milder.

The weather was then mild with a zonal flow with maxima into double digits into February

The weather became exceptionally mild as tropical maritime air flooded NEwards with maxima widely getting into the teens and high as 18.3C on the 18th

The rest of the month was mild