January

23-01-2004 5:45pm #1

Ok , now that every forecaster from London to Dublin is talking about it and on met Éireanns website there is now a warning about it:

Wintry weather expected!
Becoming bitterly cold through the weekend with some significant snowfall likely in places Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday.

It's worth a mention on this board.
The great North Wind straight from the pole is about to blow, with a good chance of a lot of snow showers up north.
A slight veering of that wind to the NorthEast and thats a risk of lots of the white stuff onto the East coast too.

celticfc · 23-01-2004 5:48pm

Get your toboggans at the ready

DapperGent · 23-01-2004 5:59pm

A bit more detail than the fairly terse statement on the website:

Cold weather is expected to set in across Ireland over the next 24 hours and last for several days.

On Saturday and Sunday there will be scattered showers in West Munster, Connacht and West Ulster, elsewhere it will be largely dry. The showers will be mostly of rain or hail, but could give a covering of snow on mountains. Snow cover is very unlikely at lower levels.
Nights will be frosty at times, with the risk of icy roads.

Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday will be even colder still, with a continuing risk of frost and ice, and also with falls of snow down to sea level in at least some parts of the country – these could occur anywhere, but at the moment the areas at greatest risk are : North Connacht, Ulster and East Leinster.

Have fun now! Look after yourselves and each other.:)

Mothman · 23-01-2004 6:15pm

There's such a big buldup, something major had better happen.

sunbeam · 23-01-2004 8:07pm

Originally posted by DapperGent
Have fun now! Look after yourselves and each other.:)

And if you have elderly neighbours don't forget to make sure that they are ok.

I'm charging vast quanties of batteries for my camera as I write. A few sunsets/rises over the snowcapped hills would look nice on my wall.

Walter Ego · 23-01-2004 8:28pm

Garda Report:
Snow with a street value of €2 billion found in Dublin next week.:p

Mossy Monk · 23-01-2004 8:55pm

i look forward to a week of no white stuff

. we get snow here maybe once every 4 years

gurramok · 23-01-2004 10:03pm

4 years since some sticky snow in dublin, historic moment!!
Looking forward to having excuses for not getting to work even though i live 1.5 miles away

Gonzo · 24-01-2004 5:26am

more than likely it'll be the usuall case of Ireland staying frosty, sunny and no snow wotsoever with England getting snowed under:(

24-01-2004 9:44am

Originally posted by Gonzo
more than likely it'll be the usuall case of Ireland staying frosty, sunny and no snow wotsoever with England getting snowed under:(

Actually snow is very likely in the Dublin area.
It all depends on wind direction.
There is going to be a lot of showers up north, for sure, and I would be surprised if Dublin escaped some of them.
With temperatures predicted to get to only freezing by day, that snow will settle, even in Dublin.
A slight change of wind direction to the north east and that could mean very nasty conditions and more snow accumilation along the East coast.

This is because while the very cold northerly unstable airstream will cause heavy snow showers to develop in the Irish sea, you would need an on shore wind to blow them in to eastern counties.
If the wind stays purely north, then what showers they are will be travelling in a straight north south direction.
The heaviest ones out to sea will stay there, but some will un doubtedly make their way further south overland from the north.

Thats just my opinion/guess though.

Mothman · 24-01-2004 12:02pm

No doubt that it'll be cold, but I'm starting to think that the highish pressure to the west may keep precipitation levels down. Certainly over the northern half of country, anything that falls early in the week will be snow and is likely to accumulate. Even in the rest of country the slighest fall will make non national routes treacherous, but the gritters will probably leave the main routes in reasonable order. All this is completely subjective, and as Man points out, an easterly element to wind will bring any showers in Irish Sea onshore with interesting results.

Looks like there'll be a fair share of sunshine to help keep spirits up!!

seamus · 24-01-2004 12:47pm

Wintry weather expected!
Becoming bitterly cold through the weekend with some significant snowfall likely in places Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday.

Arse. I have a driving test on Monday.....fingers crossed it doesn't snow

mike65 · 24-01-2004 12:49pm

I predict a big damp squib. Or a dry one anyway. Lots on the mountains but nothing to worry drivers except for the ice of course!

Mike.

Guy:Incognito · 24-01-2004 1:21pm

yay sssssssssssssssssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

phaxx · 24-01-2004 1:29pm

/me looks out the window

Looks warm and sunny.

What gives?

Heathen · 24-01-2004 1:30pm

sweet!! snow!

im in work sat, sun, mon, tue nights!! that means snow in an empty private car park... oh boy im gonna have some craic in the car

later
Macker

24-01-2004 5:57pm

Originally posted by seamus
Arse. I have a driving test on Monday.....fingers crossed it doesn't snow

probably safe enough on monday, the REAL fun may begin into monday evening and on Tuesday

originally posted by mike65

I predict a big damp squib. Or a dry one anyway. Lots on the mountains but nothing to worry drivers except for the ice of course!

Ah you'll probably escape the worst in the heart of the sunny south east alright

as met éireann say " at the moment the areas at greatest risk are : North Connacht, Ulster and East Leinster. "

DMT · 25-01-2004 7:15pm

I predict one of those lame 40 minute snow showers followed by sleet and rain. It'll make everywhere look white for about an hour or so, but that's it....

Gonzo · 26-01-2004 11:56am

so far they've gotten the weather completely wrong as usuall, here in meath its been raining solidly all morning and the suns after coming out and it aint nearly as cold as it was at the weekend with the hard frost of last nite long gone. well see wot happens over next 24 hours.

26-01-2004 12:14pm

Relax now

I did say wait untill monday evening and tuesday if you read back in the thread.
The artic air hasnt actually arrived yet , it is making it's way down through Scotland at the moment.

And just to update on what i expect to happen.
It looks like the wind is going to stay in the north, so what snow there is, will mainly affect the north and northwest of the country.
What the rest of us get will be their leftovers.

Weather is very volatile and subject to change very quickly though.
All you can say with certainty at the moment is that from this evening the airmass over the country will be artic in origin and very cold.
So precipitation will be in the form of hail sleet or snow.

26-01-2004 12:21pm

If you look at the image, below, which is copyright of the BBC and the U.K met office.

The cold air is behind the cold front currently over the north of Scotland and shaded in white to indicate snow.
Follow the lines south and you can see where it is headed.

Of course the weather on it will be very little by the time it gets down over Ireland, but the significant thing is that, the cold artic air means any showers during its passing and behind it will be increasingly of snow.

Lafortezza · 26-01-2004 12:26pm

It *almost* snowed as I was walking past merrion sq this morning. It was kind of a hail/sleet hybrid, still a bit crunchy underfoot though. Saw one poor sod in a light grey suit snot himself and get big cold wet patches down his side. The language out of him would have made a sailor blush

I don't mind the cold, but if it gets snowy and wet and windy then I'll be grumpy.

super_furry · 27-01-2004 10:47am

Just cold at the moment, and I don't think we'll get anything worth shouting about. A shame really because I love snow, it always brings out the kid in me.

Gonzo · 27-01-2004 11:33am

know this wud happen really, its Ireland. The forecasters have never goten it so wrong, For past week all we heard on Tv was 'worst cold spell for 3-5 years', 'heavy snow effecting the north and east on monday, tuesday, wednesday', The BBC even had colour profile charts for snow warnings till last sunday, these sorta charts are usually only issued for blizzards/hurricanes etc. Its now Tuesday mid-morning and all we've goten is a nights frost and rain/sleet showers and from the sound of the new revised TV3 forecast thats as good as it gets. TV3 this morning gave mainly a dry sunny day with a few showers effecting northern coasts and isolated rain/sleet showers in the east, tomorrow milder and sunny, temperatures 4deg - 7deg.

27-01-2004 1:09pm

Might get some snow tonight, but probably not on coasts and probably only on the higher ground.

The cold air is coming down all the time, and considering its origin, being the greenland shelf, it should bring snow in january.
The ideal conditions for snow in Ireland have always been when the wind direction is sourced from the east and the air originates in Russia or siberia.
that air in winter is much colder than what we have now from greenland and travels over les warmer sea to get to us.
That hasnt happeneed in a while and is usually brought about by a large area of high pressure over scandinavia.

But then, this part of the world was a degree warmer overall last year and a degree is a lot when deciding snow or rain.

Temperatures in my humble opinion have to get to two degree's and lower for continious dry snow.
Any higher than that and its wet snow or the mix in the athmosphere from sea breezes causes the snow to be rain/sleet.

But snow lovers shouldnt give up the ghost yet, it's currently cloudy in Dublin for instance and only 1 degree at dublin airport.
And there is an active weather front spreading down from the north which may give some action this evening.

Whatever falls is not going to be too significant though.
Weather forecasters do have a tough call forecasting snow or rain when temperatures are borderline, as a degree does make a difference.

For example, take a drive from the coast into the dublin or wicklow mountains where there has been snow and look at the temperature clock on your car and you will notice it is a degree or two colder there and that is the difference.

DMC · 27-01-2004 5:41pm

I'm disappointed at this let-down. Cold yes, but to hear some of the news reports late last week, you'd have tought we'd be able to set up a ski run for a few months!!

27-01-2004 6:00pm

Nope unless you head for the Dublin mountains ski-ing possibilities in Dublin will be limited to certain nokia phone games at the moment

However as I posted in the other thread today is a good, two to three degree's colder than yesterday on the thermometer and theres a system still to move down from the north.
So snow is still a strong possibility, even at sea level in the next 36 hours in the Dublin area and down here.
but theres not going to be enough if it falls to cause too much disruption, methinks.

DMT · 27-01-2004 6:05pm

Originally posted by DMT
I predict one of those lame 40 minute snow showers followed by sleet and rain. It'll make everywhere look white for about an hour or so, but that's it....

I truely am a genius.... for my next prediction, I predict that it will take at least 30 to 50 years before Dublin is again hit by 1983 style week long blizzards - this is how long it will take for the gulf stream to creep sufficiently southwards to allow for these conditions to occur...

27-01-2004 6:09pm

lol DMT it was actually 1982 though.
and only three years ago Dublin airport was shut down for the day due to snow.

It's not that unusual

DMC · 27-01-2004 6:16pm

hmmm....

DMT · 27-01-2004 6:39pm

Originally posted by Man
lol DMT it was actually 1982 though.
and only three years ago Dublin airport was shut down for the day due to snow.

It's not that unusual

You dare disagree with the great genius...? ww) ww)
It doesn't take much snow to shut Dublin airport down.
The current weather fronts will bring nothing and there will be no blizzards in Dublin for 30 to 50 years..

I'm great....

January

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