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Winter 20/21 - General Discussion

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  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,651 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    sryanbruen wrote: »
    Fine, thought you were trying to indicate something along the lines of "unusual atmosphere" that we've seen many a time in recent years. Just my personal fatigue kicking in from all these reoccurring patterns like mild and dry winters, these extreme plumes, high latitude blocking in the autumns etc. It all gets old after a while.

    Completely agree.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,797 ✭✭✭✭hatrickpatrick


    I'm kinda in two minds about it this year I must admit. While I would absolutely love a repeat of the Winters of 2009 or 2010, or the Beast in 2018, I'm sort of half way split between "an event like this would make the Corona Quarantine more bearable and provide something interesting around being stuck indoors all the time", it would obviously also further increase the isolation of people who live alone etc. Some of them would find that alleviated by the beauty and interest of a major snowfall, while others would probably find themselves feeling even more isolated in that atmosphere.

    One of those conundrums in which it helps to remind one's self that the weather will do what the weather will do. What we hope for has absolutely no bearing on the eventual outcome and therefore one shouldn't feel bad for hoping for one kind of weather even if it's a kind of weather someone else is hoping to avoid, like the summer clash between wanting warm hot weather while not wanting to see harvests decimated.

    On balance, I think a nice snowfall this Winter would add some level of interest to the otherwise exceptionally boring quarantine era. I don't reckon it would increase people's isolation that much more than it already will be under Level 5 and whatever comes after that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,668 ✭✭✭SleetAndSnow


    Friend from Minnesota just sent me these, have to say I am very jealous. All fell within a matter of hours

    n3pZF4t.jpg

    sBMy6AC.jpg

    Heres to hoping we get something similar!


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,651 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Some weather expert in Kent in the UK is predicting snow in the UK on the 19th of December and 22nd of December but none for Christmas Day.

    It's laughable he was able to give exact days this far out.

    I was chatting to a weather expert on Twitter last night and he said most weather forecasters don't even bother forecasting Winter for UK & Ireland anymore as it's the same every year, wet, windy and mild.

    He said the ones that predict snow do so to get into newspapers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Loved ones in Canada ( east coast) are buried in snow.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 15,216 ✭✭✭✭Beechwoodspark


    Loughc wrote: »
    Some weather expert in Kent in the UK is predicting snow in the UK on the 19th of December and 22nd of December but none for Christmas Day.

    It's laughable he was able to give exact days this far out.

    I was chatting to a weather expert on Twitter last night and he said most weather forecasters don't even bother forecasting Winter for UK & Ireland anymore as it's the same every year, wet, windy and mild.

    He said the ones that predict snow do so to get into newspapers.

    Very much so.

    When I lived in England I would say The express and daily mail along with the red tops are the worst for it.

    If it’s a slow news day they will have something along the lines of :

    “Snow bomb to freeze Britain for a month”

    Or “storm (random name) to completely batter Britain”

    99.9% of the time it is Completely over hyped and not much to back it up when you actually read the article.

    My British colleagues in work etc laughed at the headlines by the way. People are not taken in.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,126 ✭✭✭screamer


    I think given that 2020 has been such a write off of a year, we shouldn’t expect anything but disappointment weather wise for winter.
    I certainly don’t see any snow this side of Christmas with the Atlantic conveyor belt fully powered up, we’re just going to get mild, wet and windy weather. A couple of mornings with frost yes, but no snow. In the new year we may be lucky to get a dust of snow feb/ March but it’ll be short lived I’d think.


  • Registered Users Posts: 689 ✭✭✭bazlers


    20ft snow drifts this winter.


  • Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭lostweekend3


    bazlers wrote: »
    20ft snow drifts this winter.

    Do you honestly believe it will be a colder than average winter? Hard to see the Atlantic regime relenting,especially in December.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 16,677 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gonzo


    Do you honestly believe it will be a colder than average winter? Hard to see the Atlantic regime relenting,especially in December.

    November is now shaping up to be very mild and the warming trend begins this week. This Friday has the potential to reach 16C, even 17C isn't out of possibilities if there are decent sunny breaks. We haven't seen those temperatures since mid September and here we are almost in November. It will cool down slightly on Saturday but temperatures more average while still being fairly mild. During the 1st week of November we may see another push of very mild south-westerlies with +10C uppers possibly pushing up across the country. Of course we are still in Autumn, winter is still a month away but once we get these mild south-westerlies and Atlantic driven zonality on steroids, it can prove a very difficult and annoying pattern to get rid of.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,960 ✭✭✭mcburns07


    Ever the optimist Gonzo!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,239 ✭✭✭Jimbob1977


    Just a novice question...

    The lowest Irish temperature record was Markree Castle in Co. Sligo.

    Has Met Eireann ever placed a weather station on the top of Carrauntoohil or Lugnaquilla, even temporarily for 24 hours as an experiment? I know it's not feasible long term as it would be destroyed and it couldn't be manned or maintained.

    I'd expect the nights in the winter 2009 and 2010 on mountain tops would have been -25c to -30c.

    Do temperature records have to be taken at the official weather stations?


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,355 ✭✭✭Cluedo Monopoly


    Jimbob1977 wrote: »
    I'd expect the nights in the winter 2009 and 2010 on mountain tops would have been -25c to -30c.

    Do temperature records have to be taken at the official weather stations?

    I did a fair bit of climbing in the 2009/2010 cold snaps. Some of the ice formations were spectacular. Foot long horizontal icicles on rocks made from the biting wind.

    I remember one particular day on Galtymore. Around Dec 27th, not sure which year. The roads were icy enough getting there, the temperate at the base was probably around -5C.
    Without a doubt the temperature at the windy peak (917m) was at least -25C but probably closer to -30C or below. The wind chill was incredible, quite scary in fact. You simply could not stop moving or you started to get very cold. I had the best gear and I had experienced cold in the mountains before but that was a different world.

    What are they doing in the Hyacinth House?



  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,250 ✭✭✭Seamai


    I did a fair bit of climbing in the 2009/2010 cold snaps. Some of the ice formations were spectacular. Foot long horizontal icicles on rocks made from the biting wind.

    I remember one particular day on Galtymore. Around Dec 27th, not sure which year. The roads were icy enough getting there, the temperate at the base was probably around -5C.
    Without a doubt the temperature at the windy peak (917m) was at least -25C but probably closer to -30C or below. The wind chill was incredible, quite scary in fact. You simply could not stop moving or you started to get very cold. I had the best gear and I had experienced cold in the mountains before but that was a different world.

    A few if us always do Galtymore via the Black Road over the Christmas break. I can remember 4 or 5 years ago heading up there on what seemed like a pretty benign sunny but cold day, there was heavy snow from about 400m up.By the time we got to the saddle between Galtymore and Galtybeg the weather had taken a turn for the worse, with low cloud, snow and winds of up to 100km an hour and temps well below minus 10 degrees, we were determined to get to the top but the wind was so bad we had to turn back, by the time we reached the air crash memorial the sun was back out. The next day I was down in west Cork sitting out in the sun having lunch.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,355 ✭✭✭Cluedo Monopoly


    Seamai wrote: »
    A few if us always do Galtymore via the Black Road over the Christmas break. I can remember 4 or 5 years ago heading up there on what seemed like a pretty benign sunny but cold day, there was heavy snow from about 400m up.By the time we got to the saddle between Galtymore and Galtybeg the weather had taken a turn for the worse, with low cloud, snow and winds of up to 100km an hour and temps well below minus 10 degrees, we were determined to get to the top but the wind was so bad we had to turn back, by the time we reached the air crash memorial the sun was back out. The next day I was down in west Cork sitting out in the sun having lunch.

    It's a great mountain really but quite exposed. The key in the cold is good goggles. The wind and ice can really hurt the eyes and face.

    We often climb the steep "north face" from the lake and it can be daunting on a snowy/cloudy day. The icicles on the metal cross can be spectacular after a few days of cold and wind.

    What are they doing in the Hyacinth House?



  • Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Gonzo wrote: »
    November is now shaping up to be very mild and the warming trend begins this week. This Friday has the potential to reach 16C, even 17C isn't out of possibilities if there are decent sunny breaks. We haven't seen those temperatures since mid September and here we are almost in November. It will cool down slightly on Saturday but temperatures more average while still being fairly mild. During the 1st week of November we may see another push of very mild south-westerlies with +10C uppers possibly pushing up across the country. Of course we are still in Autumn, winter is still a month away but once we get these mild south-westerlies and Atlantic driven zonality on steroids, it can prove a very difficult and annoying pattern to get rid of.

    All sounds very good indeed! Thank you


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,235 ✭✭✭Oneiric 3


    Live cam from Illinois showing snow falling there already:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXuWLlalCZo

    New Moon



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,023 ✭✭✭Donegal Storm


    Jimbob1977 wrote: »
    Just a novice question...

    The lowest Irish temperature record was Markree Castle in Co. Sligo.

    Has Met Eireann ever placed a weather station on the top of Carrauntoohil or Lugnaquilla, even temporarily for 24 hours as an experiment? I know it's not feasible long term as it would be destroyed and it couldn't be manned or maintained.

    I'd expect the nights in the winter 2009 and 2010 on mountain tops would have been -25c to -30c.

    Do temperature records have to be taken at the official weather stations?

    Mountain tops actually were likely warmer than low ground in 2009/10, the extremely low temperatures were caused by cold pooling over snow cover but the actual airmass temperature wasn't typically all that cold. Wind chill would obviously make the 'feels like' temperature significantly colder but I doubt a weather station would have recorded anything exceptional

    And it's definitely possible to have weather stations on peaks, I know in Scotland there's one on top of the Cairngorms as the tabloids usually quote the wind speeds for their over-dramatic storm headlines


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,235 ✭✭✭Oneiric 3


    Snow falling in northern Missouri now too. That ****ty, Irish type slop snow, but still...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQUGsUzWbE

    Remarkable considering temps were getting into the high 20s there just a few days ago.

    New Moon



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,661 ✭✭✭4Ad


    Oneiric 3 wrote: »
    Snow falling in northern Missouri now too. That ****ty, Irish type slop snow, but still...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQUGsUzWbE

    Remarkable considering temps were getting into the high 20s there just a few days ago.

    Denver getting plenty also.

    https://www.denverpost.com/2020/10/26/denver-weather-snow-cold-monday/


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,960 ✭✭✭mcburns07


    Mountain tops actually were likely warmer than low ground in 2009/10, the extremely low temperatures were caused by cold pooling over snow cover but the actual airmass temperature wasn't typically all that cold. Wind chill would obviously make the 'feels like' temperature significantly colder but I doubt a weather station would have recorded anything exceptional

    And it's definitely possible to have weather stations on peaks, I know in Scotland there's one on top of the Cairngorms as the tabloids usually quote the wind speeds for their over-dramatic storm headlines

    There's a weather observatory on the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It's 1917m above sea level.

    Until recently it held the record for highest recorded surface wind speed on the planet. 231mph :eek:

    https://www.nhpr.org/post/mount-washington-observatory-note-record-wind-speed-anniversary#stream/0


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,235 ✭✭✭Oneiric 3


    Mountain tops actually were likely warmer than low ground in 2009/10, the extremely low temperatures were caused by cold pooling over snow cover but the actual airmass temperature wasn't typically all that cold. Wind chill would obviously make the 'feels like' temperature significantly colder but I doubt a weather station would have recorded anything exceptional

    And it's definitely possible to have weather stations on peaks, I know in Scotland there's one on top of the Cairngorms as the tabloids usually quote the wind speeds for their over-dramatic storm headlines

    Would depend on the air mass as well. Very cold uppers like back in Feb 2018, or even a more common cold NW'ly, would bring probably mean lower mountain top temperatures than those on lower ground, especially given that winds were/would be quite strong, so no chance of 'cold pooling' in prone areas, as would happen more often during more typical anticyclonic, inversion type conditions.

    New Moon



  • Registered Users Posts: 16,553 ✭✭✭✭nacho libre


    The airmass that gave us the snow in mid December 2010 was quite cold, because normally airmasses over us would be modified fairly quickly, but this one wasn't. Perhaps the strong winds played a factor too. The snowfields as it went on did definitely cause the unusually low temperatures that we saw at the peak of it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,235 ✭✭✭Oneiric 3


    The snowfields as it went on did definitely cause the unusually low temperatures that we saw at the peak of it.

    I remember one night during this spell when few of us went the nearby countryside to absorb the spectacle of snow and moonlight. Everything was frozen white and as bright as day (only far, far more beautiful). If heaven exists, then this was the closest thing I have ever seen to it on this mortal earth.

    New Moon



  • Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    I was not out here in the island then, but up in the Bluestacks in Donegal. Stranded amid the snow.. Of course as I could not get to the shops, Christmas was rather bland.... It taught me that when living in remote places you stock well ahead... as I am doing now just in case...

    When I chatted with the ferrymen here ? The crossing was fine, but they had to dig snow out of the boat.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Gaoth Laidir


    What goes up must come down. The latest ECMWF seasonal forecast shows an overall warm North America, which would translate to cold further downstream. 2010?

    https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/1324373018748006409?s=19


  • Registered Users Posts: 16,553 ✭✭✭✭nacho libre


    Gaoth Laidir in ramp mode :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,979 ✭✭✭Slashermcguirk


    Parts of the USA mid west get such crazy fluctuations in winter. In places like Kansas and Missouri its not unusual for day time temps to go down around -10 degrees and within 24 hours you could have +10 to +15 degrees. A constant battle ground between very cold winds from the north and then the warmer air from the gulf of mexico. I am not sure but that is probably why they also get a lot of tornados with the big temperature clash coming from different directions.

    Oneiric 3 wrote: »
    Snow falling in northern Missouri now too. That ****ty, Irish type slop snow, but still...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAQUGsUzWbE

    Remarkable considering temps were getting into the high 20s there just a few days ago.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,008 ✭✭✭icesnowfrost


    Good evening folks, it’s that time of year again.


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  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 24,651 Mod ✭✭✭✭Loughc


    Good evening folks, it’s that time of year again.


    Good Morning... where the hell what you been icesnowfrost... I feel like I haven't seen you in a winter since 2010.


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