Winter 20/21 - General Discussion

Lovely sunny, dare I say spring like day in Cork. Plenty of sun and the spring bulbs are starting to jump out of the soil. Looks like they'll have to go back into hiding from Sunday.

Edit: just as I say that, we've had a shower.

redsteveireland

Gonzo wrote: »

The thing is for most of us here on this forum, northerlies are not much good for the vast majority of the republic. Donegal, parts of Sligo and perhaps Mayo can do well from them but the showers die out over Northern Ireland on their way here and much of Leinster, Munster and even large parts of Connaught remains dry. A northerly with polar lows is a completely different story however and unfortunately these more unstable northerlies are rare as hens teeth.

The republic usually does better overall from an easterly or north-easterly as it can affect large parts of Leinster into Munster, the midlands and the north-west can tap into this too.

I have watched the radar in despair during Northerlies as the showers die during their long trek down from Mayo and Sligo.

Thelonious Monk

Davaeo09 wrote: »

yes because good weather will reduce peoples activity?

Can do gardening, enjoy our 5km walks etc, in more pleasant circumstances. Gardens and parks are full on swamps at the moment in Dublin.
Not to worry it looks like the sh*t's going to hit the fan in a couple of days so no one will be going anywhere.

Tyrone212

Just seen my first glimpse of the sun in , I can't remember when I saw it last.

Captain Snow

I bought a new Snow Shovel today.

nacho libre

I still have not seen it(I mean the Sun) I believe you bought a Snow Shovel Captain Snow.

weatherfiend

Captain Snow wrote: »

I bought a new Snow Shovel today.

Oh no don’t jinx it!!! 😬

Captain Snow

nacho libre wrote: »

I still have not seen it(I mean the Sun) I believe you bought a Snow Shovel Captain Snow.

weatherfiend wrote: »

Oh no don’t jinx it!!! ��

The old one wore out from living in Northern Alberta. I brought it back with me....:rolleyes:

There,ll be no jinxing this snow event. Peeps are going to get buried.

Donegal Storm

Gonzo wrote: »

The thing is for most of us here on this forum, northerlies are not much good for the vast majority of the republic. Donegal, parts of Sligo and perhaps Mayo can do well from them but the showers die out over Northern Ireland on their way here and much of Leinster, Munster and even large parts of Connaught remains dry. A northerly with polar lows is a completely different story however and unfortunately these more unstable northerlies are rare as hens teeth.

The republic usually does better overall from an easterly or north-easterly as it can affect large parts of Leinster into Munster, the midlands and the north-west can tap into this too.

I wouldn't agree with that really, from my ~15 years on this forum I've found easterlies in general are massively over hyped while anything that affects the north or west is almost dismissed as a waste of time.

The majority of our easterlies give light coastal flurries in east Leinster and dry sunny weather elsewhere. Obviously population wise more are affected but in land area I'd say a standard NW'erly can give more widespread snowfall

A good strong easterly is a different story of course but then as you say, so is a good strong northerly. Both unfortunately about as rare as each other!

snowstorm445

Donegal Storm wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with that really, from my ~15 years on this forum I've found easterlies in general are massively over hyped while anything that affects the north or west is almost dismissed as a waste of time.

The majority of our easterlies give light coastal flurries in east Leinster and dry sunny weather elsewhere. Obviously population wise more are affected but in land area I'd say a standard NW'erly can give more widespread snowfall

A good strong easterly is a different story of course but then as you say, so is a good strong northerly. Both unfortunately about as rare as each other!

The problem with a northwesterly is it's almost never cold enough for the snow to stick around after a few hours of sunlight, even in mid-December (although there have been more sustained ones over the years). Even if easterlies deliver very little snow it can still be cold enough for the snow to settle for a few days even.

Donegal Storm

This has to be one of the longest spells of slate grey skies I can remember in recent times, honestly can't recall seeing the sun even once since two weekends ago. Another dank drizzly day today

appledrop

Donegal Storm wrote: »

This has to be one of the longest spells of slate grey skies I can remember in recent times, honestly can't recall seeing the sun even once since two weekends ago. Another dank drizzly day today

We have been exact same here on NCD.

However about 10 minutes again sun started peaking out of clouds. We actually didn't know why room was getting bright because it has been so dull.

I'm sure it will disappear again in 5 minutes but lovely to look at out the window!

Edited: Yep it only lasted 5 mins, ah well bring on snow + hopefully some sunshine.

Dazler97

Weather advisory for Eastern counties from Sunday till Wednesday

Oneiric 3

From reading this forum for the last 10/12 odd years or so, it has become clear that easterlies, while they tend to bring more snow to the more highly populated areas of the country than northerlies would, is also snow that tends to be very localised. (a dusting in Bray; 2 foot a couple of miles away). Northerlies and all their varying components bring heavier snows that cover a lot more of the country. We get snow from the east here occasionally here in Galway, but in terms of quality and intensity, it isn't a patch on snow from the north. However, after saying all of that, snow from the north has pretty much become a thing of the past.

Nqp15hhu

There is unbelievably STILL multiple patches of snow lying about above 200 metres! Unbelievable given the constant rain we have had.

Tyrone212

Nqp15hhu wrote: »

No.. winds move from west to east.

What do you mean no. Its a cold water current which runs down the Canadian east coast and has a moderating effect on the climate of the coastal lands in its path, making the summers there cooler, and winters more severely cold. Just like gulf streams keeps us mild. Anyway I'll say no more about it.

Nqp15hhu

Arduach wrote: »

These are ocean currents

Cold air is moved by advection (winds), not the ocean. Our air is primarily mild because the winds blow from the ocean.

Nqp15hhu

Tyrone212 wrote: »

What do you mean no. Its a cold water current which runs down the Canadian east coast and has a moderating effect on the climate of the coastal lands in its path, making the summers there cooler, and winters more severely cold. Just like gulf streams keeps us mild. Anyway I'll say no more about it.

The Gulf Stream isn’t directly responsible for our mild weather. It’s the winds.

Arduach

Nqp15hhu wrote: »

Cold air is moved by advection (winds), not the ocean. Our air is primarily mild because the winds blow from the ocean.

The ocean currents effect the temperature of the air where they pass.

If the gulf stream was pushed south and we had westerly winds our air temps would be a lot colder than at present with westerlies.

Nqp15hhu

Arduach wrote: »

The ocean currents effect the temperature of the air where they pass.

If the gulf stream was pushed south and we had westerly winds our air temps would be a lot colder than at present with westerlies.

The Gulf Stream has a small affect on our ocean temperatures. The ocean still reaches 8-9c just off the coast of this island in winter months.

https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/contour/global.fc.gif

If you look at charts of water to the west of the North Atlantic Current and to the east of the Labrador current, the water temperature is around 5c. So it wouldn’t be that much colder.

As stated earlier the mild weather is caused by a westerly wind blowing off the ocean. If it was caused by the Gulf Stream, next weeks easterly wouldn’t be possible.

Arduach

Nqp15hhu wrote: »

The Gulf Stream has a small affect on our ocean temperatures. The ocean still reaches 8-9c just off the coast of this island in winter months.

https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/contour/global.fc.gif

If you look at charts of water to the west of the North Atlantic Current and to the east of the Labrador current, the water temperature is around 5c. So it wouldn’t be that much colder.

As stated earlier the mild weather is caused by a westerly wind blowing off the ocean. If it was caused by the Gulf Stream, next weeks easterly wouldn’t be possible.

4C is a big difference Nqp when it comes to moderating air flows. Of course next week's airflow has far less ocean to travel over. But in general most weather coming from the other directions are being moderated by gulf stream ocean. Hence the difference between Labrador and Ireland being at the same latitude but their climate being much colder.

Arduach

Going very off topic but I know people from south and west Kerry who never saw lying snow until they came to the midlands. That's the gulf stream influence.

Nqp15hhu

The Gulf Stream is not the direct cause of mild weather. It is the source of the air mass and the direction of the wind.

Arduach

Nqp15hhu wrote: »

The Gulf Stream is not the direct cause of mild weather. It is the source of the air mass and the direction of the wind.

Ok if we didn't have the gulf stream what would our climate be like?

It doesn't influence 'weather' coming from the east, which is very occasional, but it effects our climate, big time.

Without it would we have more snowfall and cold, absolutely.

Bogwoppit

Nqp15hhu wrote: »

The Gulf Stream has a small affect on our ocean temperatures. The ocean still reaches 8-9c just off the coast of this island in winter months.

https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/contour/global.fc.gif

If you look at charts of water to the west of the North Atlantic Current and to the east of the Labrador current, the water temperature is around 5c. So it wouldn’t be that much colder.

As stated earlier the mild weather is caused by a westerly wind blowing off the ocean. If it was caused by the Gulf Stream, next weeks easterly wouldn’t be possible.

I’ve spent a bit of time working in the waters around Newfoundland, the temps there are 5-10 degrees below ours. That’s the difference between rare enough snow events here and sea ice and snow on the ground for 4 months in Newfoundland.

Nqp15hhu

Arduach wrote: »

Ok if we didn't have the gulf stream what would our climate be like?

It doesn't influence 'weather' coming from the east, which is very occasional, but it effects our climate, big time.

Without it would we have more snowfall and cold, absolutely.

It would be marginally cooler. But still mild because the wind is coming off the ocean.

Nqp15hhu

Bogwoppit wrote: »

I’ve spent a bit of time working in the waters around Newfoundland, the temps there are 5-10 degrees below ours. That’s the difference between rare enough snow events here and sea ice and snow on the ground for 4 months in Newfoundland.

It’s not. The prevailing wind direction in Newfoundland is off the North American continent.

https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/historyclimate/climatemodelled/gander_canada_5959335

Oneiric 3

NFL lies just off the NE edge of one of the biggest land masses on the planet. A common westerly to them is similar to a rare easterly for us. If NFL was located off the west coast of Canada but on the same latitude as it currently is, its climate would be almost as bleak as ours.

Seymour20

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

NFL lies just off the NE edge of one of the biggest land masses on the planet. A common westerly to them is similar to a rare easterly for us. If NFL was located off the west coast of Canada but on the same latitude as it currently is, its climate would be almost as bleak as ours.

A bleak climate similar to ours on the west coast of Canada would be Haida Gwaii. Believe it’s pretty bleak climate wise.

Oneiric 3

Seymour20 wrote: »

A bleak climate similar to ours on the west coast of Canada would be Haida Gwaii. Believe it’s pretty bleak climate wise.

From that article:
"Precipitation is typically extremely frequent (especially from autumn to mid-winter), occurring on around two-thirds of all days even in relatively shielded areas, and direct sunlight is scarce, averaging around 3 to 4 hours per day."

Sounds like home from home.