UKC

With southwesterly air returning to dominate the UK weather I can't remember a winter like this season guys - so fustrating.

Need to swing some tools soon.

The question is...when will the cold return?

Feel free to share any previous experiences of equally as crap starts to a winter season!

Cheers

In reply to SpartanOne:

The start was fine, it's what's happened since that is the problem!

In reply to SpartanOne:
Just looked at the 15 day weather forecast for the far South East.

It's going to stay like this ie about minus 3 at night to plus 4 during the day until at least the weekend, then gradually warm up to about plus 5 degrees at night to plus 9 degrees for the first week in February. Thereafter not much change indicated.

January has been a lot colder than it has for several years. This year I've had to scrape the ice off my windscreen every morning. Haven't had to do that for several years. The SE is getting a lot of cold air off the continent, but it's not extending much further north than the Watford Gap. I drove up to London at the weekend and it was minus 5 degrees in the Kent countryside near Robertsbridge at 10 am.

Beautiful clear days, apart from freezing fog the day before yesterday, but no precipitation. It's making country walking very good for a change with lots of frost and no mud. The ponds have been frozen which is confusing the water birds.

So it's all a bit topsy turvy for the UK, but still plenty of winter left.

In reply to Trangia:

Thanks for the reply mate.

I'm based on the Scottish West Coast just short of the highland boundary and this has been the mildest Dec/Jan I can remember in about 10 years!

Shocking start!

In reply to Trangia:


Bastard park workers keep breaking the ice on the edge of Regents Park lake. You can tell it is getting really thick by the chunks they break off and scatter all over the surface, but how are you supposed to walk across it if the edge is broken every day and won't take your weight to get to the solid stuff further into the lake, that they can't reach?

Daschtein mitts and warm clothing needed every morning in the hard frost, haven't yet resorted to long underwear. Not much ice to climb in London, even though it is cold enough.

Still, very pretty when the sun comes out onto the frost and ice sheets.

In reply to SpartanOne:

I hve 2 separate weeks booked in Scotland to hit the mixed routes. I'm dreading them being thin conditions. Can't remember a winter this warm. Shocking state of affairs, I blame the National Trust.

In reply to Trangia:

Had about a dozen frosty mornings since Christmas in the Macclesfield area but none have been below about minus 2. Lots of murky low cloud last week when the SE was sunny and cold. One day of snow a week ago Thursday/Friday I think it was. Lasted about 24 hrs before it went. So not great.

Heading to Scotland next month so hoping the winter arrives a bit more by then.

Had two good winter days in the Lakes in November, another on 14th Jan and a wintry day on the tops yesterday also in the Lakes. The latter two didn't amount to much in the way of snow/ice. Apart from that very little.

In reply to SpartanOne:

February is the coldest month.
Winter may not start until March.
Remember a couple of years back, winter ended on June 1st and in April it was so cold the ice on Carrock fell's Trough was too brittle to climb.

In reply to Dave Cumberland:


But April is the cruelest month.

In reply to Dave Cumberland:

the Met office mid term forecast for the next month is looking quite stormy mild and wet for the North. I guess this could lead to either freeze thaw or predominantly thaw for the mountains.

In reply to Simon4:

And 2 is the loneliest number since the number 1

Seems like there is a big north/south divide. It's certainly been very mild up here in the north for the last couple of months! I've had to scrap the car twice, and one of them was only just about ice...

In reply to SpartanOne:



It has been stunning for hill walking though

In reply to subtle:

Would have been much more stunning with some snow on the hills...

In reply to NottsRich:


Been an expensive winter for you already.

In reply to Michael Gordon:


Do you get the same cloud inversions when the ground is carpeted by snow?

And snow can be rather unhelpful at times when hill walking, especially when deep and fluffy.

In reply to subtle:


Temperature inversions occur when there is snow on the ground too.



Much more memorable days out though!

In reply to DaveHK:

And quite ingenious, if he had to scrap the same car twice.

In reply to Trangia:

So is it in yet - the downpipe at King's Cross...?

In reply to DaveHK:

Tell me about it, I've put two different cars in ditches due to the crazy amounts of snow!

In reply to TheFasting:


But 3 is the magic number.

In reply to SpartanOne:

Weather in the next week is looking potentially much better for building conditions on the ben atleast

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gfh7n5qpt#?fcTime=14859...

In reply to SpartanOne:

FYI at 900 feet here in Lakes, the ground is fully frozen (in the shade).
There is virtually no snow anywhere.
Things have dried out quite significantly in the wind.
In the sun, nothing is frozen. The sun is already quite powerful, we are almost six weeks past the solstice, obviously not as much as it will be next month and March.
Winter hasn't started yet, long way to go, but everyone should be responsible and wait for proper conditions - otherwise go climb a dead tree.
DC

In reply to SpartanOne:

Snow lying now at Tyndrum on A82 and Drumochter on A9)(See Traffic Scotland Live Cams.) Only a dusting - but it's a start!

Why is the Cairngorm sumit weatherstation webcam telling me that someone has build a housing estate up there since I last visited. Also no snow....

http://cairngormweather.eps.hw.ac.uk/webcam.htm

In reply to bpw666:

I know I've away from Strathspey for a while but didn't realise it had changed that much, why didn't anyone tell me?