Major cold snap is on the way.

Well, it looks (and feels) like the cold has arrived and while there are little signs of snow about the country, I should imagine a lot of you are waking up to a frosty scene this morning.
All the computers that handles the long range weather calculations all seem to agree on keeping this cold weather going for "as long as the eye can see" (up to 15 days - anything beyond that would be anyone's guess). It looks we'll be getting most of our weather in from the continent rather than our usual source that is the mild and stormy Atlantic.
The longer the cold stays around, the risk of snow increases.
Sod's law that our utility bills are at their highest and we probably end up with the coldest January in years!
 
Yup, we had Mr Frost visit us this morning. I saw him working his magic when I went to bed :D
 
Would have been colder (and brighter) If it weren't for them damn clouds!
 
Just popped into the town center to get a new diary for 2009, Jeez, it's FREEZING cold, that wind was very cutting.
It looks like staying that way (bitterly cold but mainly dry and bright during the day and clear at nights with frost) for the whole coming week with even worse yet to come with risk of snow shortly after New Year's Day (Friday and into the weekend). The south and east of the UK are areas that will get the best of it - or worse of it, depending how you look at it!
It's occasions like this when I'm so glad to be a greenhouse worker.
 
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It's occasions like this I'm glad I'm fat :D
 
Cold snap??? :( I shall continue the overtime then! Work is a warm place and they pay me to be there!!!! :D


Hot water bottle on stand by for the nights when I got no heating! :(
 
Cold snap? Pah! It's only windchill. Where's all the crunchy grass and half inch thich ice on the windscreen?

That's a cold snap! :D
 
Simmotino said:
Cold snap? Pah! It's only windchill. Where's all the crunchy grass and half inch thich ice on the windscreen?

That's a cold snap! :D
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Well I think I will stick with windchill and let you have the crunchy grass and half inch thich ice on the windscreen! Cold is fine as long as the ground thaws out during the day :lol:
 
clear skies at night ,,,,out with tripod and leave them shutters open for a long time ...and remember to point the camera up
 
donutagain said:
clear skies at night ,,,,out with tripod and leave them shutters open for a long time ...and remember to point the camera up
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Not to mention wrapping up warm as temperatures are likely to fall as low as -5 C under any clear skies during the night - not to mention the possibility of frost forming on the lens! :eek:
At least the frost and ice that persisted during the day (at least at this end) is having the effect of keeping the soil and mud on them country lanes nice and hard. Saves me having to wash the car every week!
 
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It warmed up to -3 C with us today, -8 just now :(
 
-20C were a cold snap when I were a lad.
 
I remember going to school when it was -15°C to -20°C and I am only 26! In my short lifetime I have seen major changes in our seasons. I remember cold, icy and snowy winters now all we get are warm, wet, windy winters
 
It sure ain't tropical in Kendal tonight, just let the dog out for a pee and didn't see her reverse back in and pee on the kitchen floor, wondered what the steam was, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, she happily had her nose out the door though !
 
Wow Ian I am impressed! The weather here on the North East coast is exactly like you said it would be! The snow is starting right now though.
I am off to shoot a graveyard on Friday night so please can we have clear skies and no wind? :)
 
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Thanks for the positive comments so far! Indeed it is true that the cold spell as predicted by my good self had arrived. Temperatures fell down to as low as -13 C (impressive for a "modern winter", and we're still only in December) and indeed, frost and ice has been a regular feature in the past week.
But, it's still missing one thing . . . widespread snow. It's failing to materialise and we seem to be "losing" this cold spell as winds start to originate in from a maritime source (the Atlantic). The upper air temperatures has been too high to support snow, all we've had was this pool of surface cold air under an inversion layer of less cold air (think of a fart trapped under a duvet and you might have an idea on what I was talking about).
It is still going to be cold for a few days, but it's of the damp cold type. Fog, haze and low cloud will become a more common feature to our weather over the next three or four days.
There are still signs of sleet and snow trying to muscle in over the UK by Tuesday but my confidence isn't as high as it once was.
But I'm still hanging onto my prediction of a colder than normal January overall. And all the time it stays cold, then the snow risk will still be there.
 
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Ian, forgot to say, I am also a weather fanatic. Not too hot on the really technical stuff but have bneen going through the educational stuff on the Illinois university website which is very in-depth. Just curious as to what equipment you use?
 
BigLoada said:
Ian, forgot to say, I am also a weather fanatic. Not too hot on the really technical stuff but have bneen going through the educational stuff on the Illinois university website which is very in-depth. Just curious as to what equipment you use?
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:D inaneredstripe . . . but you're not too far off there, though!
I'm using a WS2300 for recording my local weather conditions, the data is fed into my computer so I can make my observation from the comfort of my hobby room (don't miss the days of trudging outdoors to check up on mercury thermometers!), the rest is good ol' fashioned weather-knowhow.
I have 28 year's worth of weather data in the form of newpaper cuttings and handwritten records. However the last five year's has been done on a PC - god 'elp me if the hard drive and all my back ups all fail at the same time!. :) I also have lots of books on the subject - all 35 of them. :eek:
Now, thank to the marvel that is the interweb, I can gain access to some of the computer model data directly from the "big boys" of the meteorological world (The Met Office, NOAA and USA's GFS).
And the great thing about meteorology is that it is unending and I'm always finding and learning new things about it.
 
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Ian do you use 137mhz receivers and wxsat software too? I am getting quite good sat images off a simple homemade quadrifilar helix antenna.
 
BigLoada said:
Ian do you use 137mhz receivers and wxsat software too? I am getting quite good sat images off a simple homemade quadrifilar helix antenna.
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Hi Dean. I remember my old college place being able to do that and found myself wishing I could have that in my own home, unfortunately I didn't have the technical know-how to try that for myself . . . and I still don't.
But now I can receive decent hi-resolution satellite images on the internet on nearly an hourly basis, I won't need to cobble together my own reciever. However, I probably am missing out on a sense of self-achievement if did something like that by myself.
I wonder if that broken Sky satellite dish dumped in an alleyway near me might do it? :D :D :cuckoo:

Actually, I could show you a link to an amazing web site that lets you view all four corners of the world - clouds and all. It gets updated daily but you may need a fast broadband connection as most of the images are huge: http://www.fvalk.com/day_image.htm. but at least the web site is simple, clean and straight to the point.
Just click on the thumbnails to view the bigger pictures.
 
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Well there were some really lovely frosty trees and scenery on the penines today, shame I did not have the camera with me although I doubt they would have looked as good in pictures as in reality.
If its not too foggy tomorrow and the frost is still around I may take the camera for a walk :)
 
susie said:
Well there were some really lovely frosty trees and scenery on the penines today, shame I did not have the camera with me although I doubt they would have looked as good in pictures as in reality.
If its not too foggy tomorrow and the frost is still around I may take the camera for a walk :)
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Will still be worth keeping an eye out for that kind of thing as high pressure continue to dominate our weather, especially if you live well inland and the sky is still clear and winds are very calm (best places seem to be the north of England and most of Scotland over the next couple of days). Even better if you experience freezing fog (provided you're not driving!) as that will coat everything in rime frost (frost that has a furry appearance and will stick to anything, twigs, branches, metal bars, etc).
I've been seeing some breathtaking frosty pictures on the net lately, can't get enough of them. :)
 
Great link Ian I will be checking that everyday! Using homemade antennas and a receiver with software is fun but the results are a bit patchy really. Its more the buzz of seeing the images using home constructed kit rather than them being of much use.
Cheers for the link:)
 
Just thought I'd do an update. Here's the weather commencing for the week ahead from 3rd Jan.

With high pressure continuing to rule the roost, it is looking set to be another fine and cold week for nearly all parts of the UK.
There will be a few minor exceptions though; tomorrow and Monday, a weak weather front will be skimming down the eastern side of the UK. That front might just have enough punch to produce light sleet and snow down along the eastern side of Scotland and England and even the S.E. of England.
So don't be surprised to wake up to a dusting of snow on Monday morning (2 to 5 cm over high ground). But, that's pretty much about it as far as snow is concerned! :D
One thing for certain though, we will continue to have these freezing cold frosty nights as temperatures falls to -10 C somewhere around the country almost every night for the week ahead.
So, when are things going to get milder then, I hear you cry - especially if you don't like the cold? Well, the long range forecast is suggesting that winds will gradually turn in from the west as we go towards the end of the weekend and into the weekend. However, the good news is that it won't be one of those stormy-type return to milder conditions since high pressure will continue to have an influence over the UK.
So, next weekend really does look like being a VERY pleasant one for England, Wales and the south of Scotland with milder temperatures and yet it will be remaining bright. It's the far north and west of Scotland is where things are likely to turn wet 'n' wild 'n' windy as the Atlantic "wakes" up and the weather comes in from there.
So, all in all, fine and settled for the week ahead but continuing cold with widespread and hard night frosts in many places. Small risk of light snow to the east on Monday. Gradually turning less cold by the weekend.
I should think it'll be another excellent photogenic week if you ask me. :)
 
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I had a feel of my seeweed this morning(they did this in the old days to forecast the weather)..felt real good :D..:naughty:

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Damn, my seaweed's frozen up.
Those living in England and Wales, brace yourselves for what is going to be the coldest night in years tonight. I could see a -15 C being recorded somewhere. It's already -1.2 C here at Folkestone, very rare for a coastal location - and it's only gone past 6 pm. It's exceeded -5 C in the middle part of Kent. Very low dewpoints and low humidity is making it feel even colder.
Thicker cloud over Scotland is preventing temperatures from falling too sharply over there, although from what I've heard, snow is falling around the Edinburgh area.
 
Ian D J said:
Damn, my seaweed's frozen up.
Those living in England and Wales, brace yourselves for what is going to be the coldest night in years tonight. I could see a -15 C being recorded somewhere. It's already -1.2 C here at Folkestone, very rare for a coastal location - and it's only gone past 6 pm. It's exceeded -5 C in the middle part of Kent. Very low dewpoints and low humidity is making it feel even colder.
Thicker cloud over Scotland is preventing temperatures from falling too sharply over there, although from what I've heard, snow is falling around the Edinburgh area.
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Not got above freezing all day according to my car -7 when driving through Grasmere at 9am this morning and it was trying to snow in Carlisle this afternoon, to complete my loop I came back over Shap Summit on the A6 and it looked like snow had fallen last night, road clear though and a tropical -2 !

I understand from local radio ( Cumbria ) that it hit -11 on Shap last night !

I like your forecasts, thank you and keep them up !
 
Well it seems that Ian got it right pretty much right :thumbs:
better than those paid "liars" snow? what snow? :D
Nice one Ian :thumbs:
 
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