Snow

16-23 November 2024 Cold Spell

Just a compilation of posts to my new Blue Sky account of this week long early cold spell across the country.

15 Nov 2024
1500-2100 UTCUTC Coordinated Universal Time or UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean solar time (such as UT1) at 0° longitude (at the IERS Reference Meridian as the currently used prime meridian) and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Temp changes
I generated this chart to see how the cold air was progressing into the NW behind the cold front. Then I noticed just how quickly this evening had cooled across S England under near perfect radiation conditions.

15 Nov 2024
06-20 UTC
Precipitation Totals
Estimates from weather radar.
Just 0.6mm of rain from cold front in StrathpefferStrathpeffer Strathpeffer (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469..

16 Nov 2024
1112 UTC
1097 M Snow already starting to accumulate on the Cairngorms at 1097 M.
It’s -3°C at 1245 M so freezing level ~500 M 🤔

16 Nov 2024
2153 UTC
Some snow in these heavier showers on the Velux windows in Strathpeffer.

18 Nov 2024
1610 UTC
Looking down from the Nevis range over Ft William & the top end of Loch Linnhe if I’m not mistaken.
It looks like the SW end of the Great Glen has been in fog all day.

18 Nov 2024
NASANASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Worldview
You can see the extent of the snow cover across the N of Scotland this lunchtime.
Loch shin stands out very sharply.

18 Nov 2024
21 UTC Surface analysis
An absolutely fascinating chart, I wish I had more time to analyse it more properly.
It’s already -8.3°C at Glascarnoch, beating this mornings -7.8°C at Tulloch Bridge, and it’s on[y 21 UTC.😮
Heavy snow at Waddington 🤔

16-19 Nov 2024
12 UTC Temp anomalies
The cold air has slowly extended further and further S each day since Saturday.

19 Nov 2024
1445 UTC
The sky has grown very dark in Strathpeffer as it fills in with CBCB Cumulonimbus cloud. Well-developed cumulonimbus clouds are characterized by a flat, anvil-like top’s coming down from the N.
It’s an active trough and deep convection, with thunderstorms in the Moray Firth.
It’s just started to snow – big flakes – vis down t0 800 M.

20 Nov 2024
0855 UTC
Strathpeffer
A good ~4 cm level snow cover from overnight snow showers which continue this morning.
The old wives tale that temperatures increase when it starts to snow are true this morning 🤔

20 Nov 2024
12 UTC
Strathpeffer-Knockfarrel
Plenty of CB coming down from the N but moving fairly rapidly.
An icy wind & a little drifting on the top. Still sub-zero this lunchtime 5 cm of snow lying.

20-29 Nov 2024
12 UTC
2M Temp anomalies
ECMWFECMWF The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom; Bologna, Italy; and Bonn, Germany. It operates one of the largest supercomputer complexes in Europe and the world's largest archive of numerical weather prediction data.
Its lasted a full week in N Scotland not bad for an early cold spell.
It’s a winter wonderland in Strathpeffer today, with a max of just 0.2°C so far.
I imagine the kids will be sledging down the golf course shortly.

20 Nov 2024
1630 UTC
Snow showers all day long in Strathpeffer, despite the fact that we’re 100 km away from the N coast of Scotland.
I’ve just measured 10 cm of lying snow by the traditional Met OfficeUKMO The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy method of the mean of 3 measurements. 😉

20 Nov 2024
2345 UTC
Quite sharp pressure falls & an ominous blob of cloud on the IR satellite imagery, combined with a lot of mod/heavy ppn across the N of Sutherland at the moment.

21 Nov 2024
08 UTC
Snow Depths
Certainly much deeper than 14 cm just after midnight, but temps rose from -3°C to 1°C and the snow turned sleety from 02 UTC.
Still only 0.7°C with some light snow in Strathpeffer.

21 Nov 2024
09 UTC
Surface analysis
This cold warm front solution seems to kind of fit the weather we’ve seen in Strathpeffer overnight.

21 Nov 2024
07 UTC (31 hr total)
Total precipitation
Estimates from weather radar
Most of this, inland at least, fell as snow. Estimates look a bit too high.

21 Nov 2024
1040 UTC
It’s snowing again in Strathpeffer, although you can’t see it so well in this webcam image.
Temperature dropped back to 0.3°C.
It’s a rather nasty day out there all in all.
But it’s not over to the fat lady starts to sing.
Apologies to any fat ladies out there 😉

November 21, 2024

November, Snow, Strathpeffer

16-23 November 2024 Cold Spell Read More »

Monday, 2 June 1975 – The day that snow stopped play

I’m guessing, but it looks like the snow that stopped play at Buxton was from heavy snow showers over high ground, enhanced by that trough close to Liverpool at 12 UTCUTC Coordinated Universal Time or UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean solar time (such as UT1) at 0° longitude (at the IERS Reference Meridian as the currently used prime meridian) and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).. I remember the day quite clearly because I was a window cleaner back then in Sheffield. Needless to say, I didn’t get many houses done that Monday. 😉

This PDFPDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992. of the day in question is courtesy of the UKMOUKMO The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

junesnowfall2june1975

June 2, 2024

June, Snow

Monday, 2 June 1975 – The day that snow stopped play Read More »

13-19 January 2024 | Cold Spell

I might fill this article out with some extra detail when I get the time. At the moment I am watching the slow thaw of 10 inches of snow in StrathpefferStrathpeffer Strathpeffer (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. which I find very distracting and rather depressing 😪

The Bermuda Triangle of Scotland

Although we’ve seen a number of snow showers this morning in StrathpefferStrathpeffer Strathpeffer (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469., they all proved light and were on their last legs before they managed to put a dusting down along the Strath. This is our sixth winter here, and I reckon that snow showers in a winter situation like this with a 30-40 knot N’NW gradient generally have a range of around 90 km as they come in land from the north coast before they simply just run out of steam, or should that be water vapor. Obviously with a stronger gradient, deeper cold air and increased instability, or change in wind direction that 90 km longevity might well increase.

Looking back to December 2010

Click to enlarge

December 11, 2022

December, Satellite, Snow

Looking back to December 2010 Read More »

December 2010 v 2022

Dear Diary
I thought I’d take a look back at how the start of this December (2022) compares with that of 2010, the coldest December in the UKUK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. in the gridded data series that extends back to 1884. I’m afraid it’s no contest so far, at least in the first eleven days of the month. It’s funny living in Devon as we did in 2010, it didn’t feel at all like it was going to end up the coldest December on record. We certainly had a couple of falls of snow, but the snow wasn’t as powdery, or drift as it did in the intense cold wave of January 1987. I’m beginning to sound like that episode of Vicar of Dibley now so I’ll stop.

December 11, 2022

Cold, December, Snow

December 2010 v 2022 Read More »

The Moray Firth hot spot

Hi Diary
The Moray Firth hot-spot is alive and kicking this morning! After dipping to -1°C by midnight, temperatures in StrathpefferStrathpeffer Strathpeffer (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. are close to 3°C by 8 am, after a moderate easterly wind picked up at 4 am and blew milder air into the ‘funnel’ that is the Moray Firth.
The rumours of a giant alien spaceship crashing into the Firth over 8,000 years ago and causing a massive Tsunami could well be true, and last night they must have fired up the engines.
The spread of anomalies across the country this morning is quite impressive across IONAIONA Islands Of North Atlantic. Yes I know there's an island called Iona, but this is so I don't have to use the term 'British Isles' when referring to the whole of Ireland and the UK. once again, from -12°C across the south, to +1°C across the NENE North East of Scotland. There’s a good covering of snow on the braes of Ben Wyvis above 200 M, but it’s just sleet or wet snow down in the strath, and very reminiscent of the last few winters in this part of the world.

December 10, 2022

Anomalies, Snow, Strathpeffer, Temperature

The Moray Firth hot spot Read More »

Wed, 7 Dec 2022 – 09 UTC analysis

Dear Diary
Not feeling particularly cold this morning here in StrathpefferStrathpeffer Strathpeffer (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469. with temperatures close to 3°C. No measurable rain since the second of the month, but a few spots of rain in what little wind there is this morning. There’s a coating of snow on Ben Wyvis, but nothing down here in the strath. Hoping for something from this second cold front later this afternoon, but not counting on it.

December 7, 2022

Analysis, Snow, Strathpeffer

Wed, 7 Dec 2022 – 09 UTC analysis Read More »

Friday the 16th of December

This looks far more of a threat of heavy snow than does tomorrow’s snow showers across the North of Scotland. Milder air pushing up against the cold block across the north, and a vigorous low moving eastward across the North of France. It’s always been the perfect set up for a lot of snow in the past, that is with the usual caveats; away from the coast and over higher ground; but maybe not exclusively in this case. Even at T+240 the GFSGFS The Global Forecast System is a global numerical weather prediction system containing a global computer model and variational analysis run by the United States National Weather Service. and ECMWFECMWF The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom; Bologna, Italy; and Bonn, Germany. It operates one of the largest supercomputer complexes in Europe and the world's largest archive of numerical weather prediction data. are in quite close agreement about it, but this is of course is in the realms of science fiction still at this range.

December 6, 2022

ECMWF, GFS, Snow

Friday the 16th of December Read More »

A cold front and the snowy Cairngorms

Dear Diary,
A lovely image of the first cold front that straddles the north coast of Scotland early this afternoon. The stratiform cloud marks the boundary between the colder, showery and cellular cloud to the north. The snowy Cairngorms are also clearly visible to the south of it.