Snow/Ice warning: 26 / 27 / 28 Jan 2020

Gonzo wrote: »

It seems like Knock Airport area was the place to be for snow with this event with a proper fall of snow, looks at least 4 or 5 inches deep, most likely being well inland along with the elevation being the key with this. Seems inland parts of Donegal, Mayo and parts of inland Galway received some lying snow, about 1 or 2 inches perhaps. , but doesn't seem to be much snow anywhere else with very little snow east and south of the Shannon.

But fear not, there is an increasing chance of the east seeing some flakes at some stage over the next few weeks, winter ain't done yet!

It's worth keeping in mind that Knock Airport is at 200m asl, so it is always more prone to seeing greater amounts of snow under these sort of conditions than other parts of country, which isn't to say that lower lying parts of Mayo, Donegal etc didn't see a nice amount. For us in Galway though, this was a poor showing even for a polar westerly with regards snow amounts, but that is just the way the proverbial cookie crumbles I guess.

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Hit and miss is the nature of a showery regime unfortunately - had it lasted even a day longer you may have got the goods.

I think the last half-decent polar westerly was back in something like Feb or March 2015 or 2016, can't remember exactly but much of the country seen a covering at some stage of the other, even as far as the east coast.

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

I think the last half-decent polar westerly was back in something like Feb or March 2015 or 2016, can't remember exactly but much of the country seen a covering at some stage of the other, even as far as the east coast.

16 January 2018 was very good for a westerly and was associated with “Storm” Fionn. Brought my first snowflakes since March 2016 and even managed a bit of a dusting. Biggest flakes I’ve observed too.

Artane2002 wrote: »

You're thinking of March 2016 (4th March?). It brought a dusting of snow here in Dublin 5. As Sryan said though, the last good westerly was January 2018.

I struggle to remember January 2018 to be honest.

It was March 2015 I was thinking of. I complied this video for 'IWO' at the time using its followers photos:

https://www.facebook.com/IrishWeatherOnline/videos/1067692126580501/

Love how the media last couple of nights have used the words plunge and plummet wrt temps going to -1.

Was looking through my rather messy 'OneDrive' archive and came across this satellite animation for afternoon January 29th 2015 (5 years ago tomorrow) when we had 'Polar Low' form to our near north. Did bring some snow showers I think with some thunder to the NW. There also seemed to be lying snow across much of the north at the time of the satellite capture.




Edit: Another sat image as the PL closed in on N. Coast later that evening:



Probably the last time we had a Polar low come this close to us. They are rare beasts at the best of times anyway.

Edit again. Met Eireann chart for 9pm that eve showing PL moving down through the NE of the country. Quite a deep feature with central pressure of 971 hPa.

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

I just can't remember this event at all, so must have largely missed here or else my memory have just faded away into oblivion.

Certainly a more potent westerly stream that this current one.

Just had a look through the event thread at the time and you reported unusually fine and small flakes for a westerly like that in the mid-afternoon period of the 16th.

Thread here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057828884

Traveled to/from Limerick last night, from Sligo. Snow cleared from the roads, but plenty still in the fields, ditches, and hard shoulder, on the roads around Knock Airport, and the Knock Bypass.

Traveled though Knock it's self today, and still plenty shoveled up against walls, and in the corners, etc, etc. Very evident that they got a good dump of it.