Wintry spell with Snow and Ice warnings week of 20-3-17

JCX BXC · 22-03-2017 5:02pm

mikeecho wrote: »

Ok ok.. I'll switch the shield off ...... Or do you want it back on. I dunno

Off off off

Forgive my jealousy.

aurora 527 · 22-03-2017 5:40pm

So so jealous of all of you that got to see some snow.. Have barely seen a flake all winter in Waterford.. Enjoy lads and lassies!!

LEIN · 22-03-2017 7:03pm

Very wet evening here in Greystones.

5.1C

highdef · 22-03-2017 7:42pm

Lumi wrote: »

Driving back from Dublin at the moment and there's plenty of lying snow around the M4 Toll plaza and Enfield

There's still lying snow in the area around here right now. If you are on the M4, you can see some at the sides when you go through the cutting near the toll plaza. The hill above has a half decent covering in the grassy areas. Surprised considering all the rain today but then again there was a very good cover on the hill this morning

Mountainsandh · 22-03-2017 7:55pm

Still a good bit around here too, West Waterford higher up, lots in fields alright.
It's not great at this stage, the yard is drownded, but still with a good few deep enough patches, that you're going to get wet anyway. The road is much better, but I have to check MT's forecast, are we due frost tonight ? If so it's going to be lethal (still lots of patches of that transparent, half thawed snow).

RobertKK · 22-03-2017 7:58pm

Still snow on the north Kilkenny hills. there was a bit of a thaw but here it got to 3.8C briefly, but most of the day it was around 2.8C.
It was the heaviest snow we had in years, we get snow every year, but today it was enough to close schools which I don't think happened for a number of years.
My lovely daffodils are destroyed as they are all flattened, not something Wordsworth would write about, the snow caused some small branches to break on some trees, had a power cut.
So it was a proper snow event.

Mountainsandh · 22-03-2017 8:06pm

Yeah very heavy, loaded sort of snow. We often get the little showers, but nothing like this since 2010 anyway.

There is a wild box tree hedge outside my house, that was completely flattened by the weight, and a good few broken branches here too. Even my polytunnel was flattened on top by the weight, thankfully it's bounced back up now (the structure is some sort of plastic tubing). (it's left open as it had run wild and I actually wanted to kill all the spiders and weeds, so hopefully last night did the trick !).

Gaoth Laidir · 22-03-2017 8:30pm

Schools closed for a few cms of snow. Laughable. Health & Safety gone mad.

LEIN · 22-03-2017 8:31pm

This is turning into a significant rain event for my location.

pad199207 · 22-03-2017 8:48pm

RobertKK wrote: »

Still snow on the north Kilkenny hills. there was a bit of a thaw but here it got to 3.8C briefly, but most of the day it was around 2.8C.
It was the heaviest snow we had in years, we get snow every year, but today it was enough to close schools which I don't think happened for a number of years.
My lovely daffodils are destroyed as they are all flattened, not something Wordsworth would write about, the snow caused some small branches to break on some trees, had a power cut.
So it was a proper snow event.

Sounds like a report from the US

RobertKK · 22-03-2017 8:56pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Schools closed for a few cms of snow. Laughable. Health & Safety gone mad.

More than a few cms of snow on the higher ground.
On my road it is very steep in parts, the school bus for the secondary school didn't come today, this morning only 4 wheel drive vehicles were using it.

I didn't use my car today, there is still snow on it.

Chris_5339762 · 22-03-2017 9:18pm

I drove up as far as the Lookout near Cruagh Woods in Dublin today. Didn't go up the Sally Gap road but there was at least 2cm of lying snow on either side of the road and the temperature was near freezing for most of the day up there.

Reckon the mountains have had a decent dumping, I wish the weather would clear so we could see it.

Rock Lesnar · 22-03-2017 9:26pm

Rain Rain and more Rain, roads, fields, and streams flooded this morning, must have been a lot of rain last night

JanuarySnowstor · 22-03-2017 9:35pm

Funny day for us in Cork today.
Looked out at 6 am and nothing then around 630 it bucketed snow non stop for about 4 hours. Grass in hilly areas was covered yet most roads remained clear.
As soon as it stopped the snow vanished in less than an hour. Imo this was down to high ground temps as the sun hadn't even come out.

So all in all great fun to look at but snow at end of March is like eating gone off easter egg....still enjoyable but a bitter taste afterwards lol

blackbird99 · 22-03-2017 10:36pm

Galtees 1pm today, there was about 6 inches of snow in glencush,
the black spots are from dirty/broken phone lens.

Danno · 22-03-2017 10:37pm

Calculated the precipitation from the measurements taken in the official gauge... 3.8mm fell as rain and a whopping 21.8mm was from snowmelt.

Snow measured 8cm this morning, however it was the wet nature meant it compacted under it's own weight with additional thawing underneath from the mild soils that were between 4c and 6c.

Such was the weight in the snow that a door in an outhouse that usually closes in under the roof beam couldn't as the roof dipped a cm or so!

Photo: Nr Durrow, South Laois. 89m ASL.

Rougies · 22-03-2017 11:12pm

A few pics from the Dublin hills today. Patchy laying snow on grass started at about 400m. Light rain.

At 440m ASL, snow coverage was a bit better, starting to cover the trail. Still raining lightly.

480m ASL, getting some depth to the snow about an inch on the trail, rain turning heavier and sleety.

520m ASL, wet snow falling and getting heavier. A bit more depth to the snow, about 2 inches. Nice to look at but everything was very wet and slushy, none of the nice crunch underfoot. I was setting soaking wet at this stage and visibility was closing in so time to turn around.

Gaoth Laidir · 22-03-2017 11:18pm

RobertKK wrote: »

More than a few cms of snow on the higher ground.
On my road it is very steep in parts, the school bus for the secondary school didn't come today, this morning only 4 wheel drive vehicles were using it.

I didn't use my car today, there is still snow on it.

How many cms and above what altitude? I can't imagine there are many schools above the snowline. I know Mountsaindah is a good bit up the mountains in Waterford but was there really so much snow at more populated levels that schools couldn't open?

Europeans laugh at us when we react like that.

Danno · 22-03-2017 11:24pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

How many cms and above what altitude? I can't imagine there are many schools above the snowline. I know Mountsaindah is a good bit up the mountains in Waterford but was there really so much snow at more populated levels that schools couldn't open?

Europeans laugh at us when we react like that.

I'd imagine he's on about the bus couldn't collect kids who live at such elevations bringing them downhill into the schools in the small towns below.

I've heard that a few secondary schools around closed alright owing to many kids being bussed in from the hinterlands and surrounding villages.

A secondary school with 500~1000 pupils in a town of ~1000 population would see the majority of it's students arrive by designated buses. And Castlecomer is in a valley in the pleatau, all but one road is a steep hill to climb out of that place - it'd be a great place for a weather station.

Kermit.de.frog · 23-03-2017 2:44am

blackbird99 wrote: »

the black spots are from dirty/broken phone lens.

Damn I thought they were UFO's:(

Gaoth Laidir · 23-03-2017 8:48am

Danno wrote: »

I'd imagine he's on about the bus couldn't collect kids who live at such elevations bringing them downhill into the schools in the small towns below.

I've heard that a few secondary schools around closed alright owing to many kids being bussed in from the hinterlands and surrounding villages.

A secondary school with 500~1000 pupils in a town of ~1000 population would see the majority of it's students arrive by designated buses. And Castlecomer is in a valley in the pleatau, all but one road is a steep hill to climb out of that place - it'd be a great place for a weather station.

Yes, but exactly how many cms are we talking about up where these Alpine kids live? The vast majority of people in Ireland live below 200 m amsl. I don't think any kids are bussed down from Mount Leinster or Lugnaquilla. So the majority of kids would have experienced a couple of cms of snow, or did this event dump a few feet of snow and we just didn't hear about it?

My point is it's all too easy to close a school because people go mad with a dusting of snow and they can use the H&S guidelines as a reason. Schools didn't close like that in my day...

MJohnston · 23-03-2017 9:42am

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Yes, but exactly how many cms are we talking about up where these Alpine kids live? The vast majority of people in Ireland live below 200 m amsl. I don't think any kids are bussed down from Mount Leinster or Lugnaquilla. So the majority of kids would have experienced a couple of cms of snow, or did this event dump a few feet of snow and we just didn't hear about it?

My point is it's all too easy to close a school because people go mad with a dusting of snow and they can use the H&S guidelines as a reason. Schools didn't close like that in my day...

They definitely did in my day, and not because of snow blocking roads, but because they were too stingy to provide heating.

Gonzo · 23-03-2017 12:41pm

glad this doom and gloom of the past 2 days is finally over, we received over 33 continuous hours of rain here, fields waterlogged and side roads partially flooded, garden is like a swamp. Rained all the way from Tuesday evening to the small hours of this morning.

Oneiric 3 · 23-03-2017 3:22pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Schools didn't close like that in my day...

NufcNavan · 23-03-2017 4:12pm

Gonzo wrote: »

glad this doom and gloom of the past 2 days is finally over, we received over 33 continuous hours of rain here, fields waterlogged and side roads partially flooded, garden is like a swamp. Rained all the way from Tuesday evening to the small hours of this morning.

It missed have just missed you then.

I was on the M3 for work yesterday morning and between Garlow Cross to just before the Dunshaughlin exit was all covered in snow.

Nothing in Navan though. Strange how it can fall in some areas and not in others in such close proximity.

RobertKK · 24-03-2017 11:35pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

How many cms and above what altitude? I can't imagine there are many schools above the snowline. I know Mountsaindah is a good bit up the mountains in Waterford but was there really so much snow at more populated levels that schools couldn't open?

Europeans laugh at us when we react like that.

Missed this.
Around 10 cms @ 220 metres above sea level.
Buses do travel in rural areas to collect children. The higher elevations that the bus goes around here would be around 300 metres asl.
The Hills around here were white for all of Tuesday, despite a thaw.
Where I live is rural, and high ground, the road is steep, in the past I had to get the tractor to pull the milk lorry up the road when it had a bit of frost as the lorry was skidding due to the slope of the road.

Europeans may laugh at us, but the local council does nothing about roads on high ground in the county.
Back in 2010, over a foot of snow on the road, told if there was an emergency that the army would have to be used.
Back in the 1980s the snow plough of the local council would clear the snow.

We got many days off school in the 1980s and 1990's due to snow on the Castlecomer Plateau.

highdef · 25-03-2017 2:35am

NufcNavan wrote: »

It missed have just missed you then.

I was on the M3 for work yesterday morning and between Garlow Cross to just before the Dunshaughlin exit was all covered in snow.

Nothing in Navan though. Strange how it can fall in some areas and not in others in such close proximity.

I would imagine that Gonzo did have snow during the night when he was asleep but perhaps it didn't stick or it was melted when he got up. The line between lying and non-lying snow was extremely abrupt in many areas.
There is a bit of variance of height ASL in the general Dunshaughlin area. It's quite possible Gonzo does not live in the town itself. The town resides at about 100m, give or take 10m. If the snowline was the same as where I am (not a million miles away), then 100m was around about the point where you would transition from slushy mess to something much nicer. Bear in mind that the section of the M3 between Garlow Cross and Dunshaughlin rises to over 130m so I would be in complete agreement that there was plenty of lying snow in that area. The 30m or so drop in altitude in Dunshaughlin may well have made the difference for Gonzo.

From experience here at home, 30m made the difference between a slushy mess and proper accumulating lying snow. Think of it as a 10 storey building where now accumulates on the roof and at the front floor, it's just slush and horrible wetness.
The photo of the Galtees by Kermit.de.frog shows it very well. I zoomed in and noticed that there was one field where it was basically green at one corner but the opposite corner at a very slightly higher altitude had a very reasonable cover.

As for you saying there was nothing in Navan, Navan is lower lying again. The town itself is generally between 30 and 50m ASL. The M3 which passes to the west is at about 70m or so......this would explain the lack of lying snow around there

Gonzo · 25-03-2017 12:08pm

highdef wrote: »

I would imagine that Gonzo did have snow during the night when he was asleep but perhaps it didn't stick or it was melted when he got up. The line between lying and non-lying snow was extremely abrupt in many areas.
There is a bit of variance of height ASL in the general Dunshaughlin area. It's quite possible Gonzo does not live in the town itself. The town resides at about 100m, give or take 10m. If the snowline was the same as where I am (not a million miles away), then 100m was around about the point where you would transition from slushy mess to something much nicer. Bear in mind that the section of the M3 between Garlow Cross and Dunshaughlin rises to over 130m so I would be in complete agreement that there was plenty of lying snow in that area. The 30m or so drop in altitude in Dunshaughlin may well have made the difference for Gonzo.

From experience here at home, 30m made the difference between a slushy mess and proper accumulating lying snow. Think of it as a 10 storey building where now accumulates on the roof and at the front floor, it's just slush and horrible wetness.
The photo of the Galtees by Kermit.de.frog shows it very well. I zoomed in and noticed that there was one field where it was basically green at one corner but the opposite corner at a very slightly higher altitude had a very reasonable cover.

As for you saying there was nothing in Navan, Navan is lower lying again. The town itself is generally between 30 and 50m ASL. The M3 which passes to the west is at about 70m or so......this would explain the lack of lying snow around there

as it turns out I wasn't in Dunshaughlin on Tuesday night, was in Dublin where it lashed all night and returned to Dunshaughlin early Wednesday morning and it was lashing rain in Dunshaughlin with no evidence of any lying snow. It wasn't untill I checked here that I realised other parts of the country had lying snow. My home is exactly 100 meters above sea level, parts of Dunshaughlin rise to 102 meters while other parts are around 90 to 95 meters.

highdef · 25-03-2017 12:28pm

Gonzo wrote: »

as it turns out I wasn't in Dunshaughlin on Tuesday night, was in Dublin where it lashed all night and returned to Dunshaughlin early Wednesday morning and it was lashing rain in Dunshaughlin with no evidence of any lying snow. It wasn't untill I checked here that I realised other parts of the country had lying snow. My home is exactly 100 meters above sea level, parts of Dunshaughlin rise to 102 meters while other parts are around 90 to 95 meters.

That explains everything so

Plus my altitude figures I gave for the town seem to be pretty spot on.... Go me

Elmer Blooker · 25-03-2017 5:12pm

There are still large patches of snow on Kippure much to my surprise. Of course I am seeing it from the north and the nights have been cold and clear.
I doubt if there's any left on the south side.

Wintry spell with Snow and Ice warnings week of 20-3-17

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