The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

deecom · 20-02-2012 4:51am

What a difference a week makes here, heavy rain, temp of 0c at present, and daytime temp of 8c. It has snowed on higher ground but nothing close to what we have seen before. Dusting off my flip flops!

darkman2 · 04-03-2012 7:57pm

I suppose the Winter in Eastern Europe can be summed up

M.T. Cranium · 21-03-2012 6:12pm

This WMO report on the winter of (2011-)2012 late Jan into Feb severe cold in Europe gives a good overview and appears to rank the winter about equal with 1956 at least for southern and central France.

http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/documents/dwd_2012_report.pdf

The enduring highlights of this outbreak would be the exceptionally high pressures observed in northern Russia, probably the highest sea-level pressures seen in Europe since Jan 1907, and the severity of the snowfalls in southeast Europe, plus the exceptional spell of winter weather in the south of France. The effects on southeast England, while significant, were more of a routine type of cold spell and west of about central Yorkshire to the west Midlands to Hampshire, the effects of this pattern were largely secondary, a dry and more normal (in temperature) anticyclonic intrusion that mainly slowed down the otherwise rampant mild southwesterly regime of the winter.

Deep Easterly posted on the March contest thread about the significantly high average pressure observed this past winter season, taking Jan to Mar he found that the average is likely to be similar to the previous highest on record in 1953. Although the pattern may have been colder this winter in Europe than in that winter, the upstream similarity was considerable, as North America has just come through a very mild and snow-free winter that is breaking or matching records set in 1952-53.

The current spell of extreme warmth in central and eastern North America may also be a by-product of the European cold spell, in that the massive cold outflow into northwest Africa in early February could be seen enhancing the trade wind circulation (northeast winds heading away from Africa into the subtropical Atlantic) which appears to have contributed to the development of a very strong flow of subtropical air into the Gulf of Mexico region and swelling up the Bermuda high. Temperature anomalies are running +10 C or higher for the past week in many parts of the U.S. and Canada east of the Rockies.

I continue to think that this anomalous pattern is likely to lead at some point in April to a higher latitude blocking high near Greenland and Iceland, which may mean that there are some wintry surprises in store for the spring despite this rather bland and docile beginning to the season. I would say the most likely time for such a development would be mid to late April.

desolate sun · 23-03-2012 1:16am

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

there are some wintry surprises in store for the spring

:eek:

My Mum has a 'feeling' that we'll see something wintry before May comes. She thinks we were let off way too lightly this winter. She's not a meteorologist or a scientist but as a mother has a degree in Instincts!

Elmer Blooker · 23-03-2012 7:54pm

I was thinking the same yesterday, this winter was similar to 91-2 - a nothing winter with high pressure close by. I have some old photos (pre digital era) taken on April 4th '92 showing heavy snow lying in Glencree in the Dublin mts.
I also remember a fairly heavy fall in mid April 1998 after a winter also similar to this nothing winter.
Your mum may be right? (sure aren't mammies always right!)

Deep Easterly · 24-03-2012 12:10am

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I also remember a fairly heavy fall in mid April 1998 after a winter also similar to this nothing winter.

Can remember getting some heavy snow showers as recently as either April 2007 or 2008 (bad memory). I think as a month though April is probably one, if not the most boring month of the year for weather in this country. Any warmth you might get in it is as fickle as any cold it may deliver.

Roll on a hot 40c + summer with plenty of warm, healthy showers.

Gonzo · 24-03-2012 12:48pm

conditions here already feel more summer like and warmer than anything we saw during the height of the summer last year and it's still March. Finger's, toe's everything crossed that this summer will be decent in terms of sun and warmth with a few spanish plumes for good measure, we truly deserve it after a countless run of bitterly crap summers.

Elmer Blooker · 24-03-2012 6:34pm

FI I know but a northerly blast has been showing in recent charts.
Bring it on! who wants summer in March? Darkman might reappear soon?

Lucreto · 24-03-2012 6:55pm

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I was thinking the same yesterday, this winter was similar to 91-2 - a nothing winter with high pressure close by. I have some old photos (pre digital era) taken on April 4th '92 showing heavy snow lying in Glencree in the Dublin mts.
I also remember a fairly heavy fall in mid April 1998 after a winter also similar to this nothing winter.
Your mum may be right? (sure aren't mammies always right!)

What temperatures would that bring?

Another thing, I was looking at some old photos and I came across a picture of me at the Dublin zoo in 1990 with a heavy coat with snow. The camera recorded the date on the actual picture and it was the first week in June.

Doesn't anyone remember it happening or do you think its an error with the date on the camera?

Elmer Blooker · 25-03-2012 12:42am

It was an error with the date on the camera.
June 1990. TM = max, Tm = min

http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Dublin_Airport/06-1990/39690.htm

Gonzo · 25-03-2012 1:05am

i dont remember the 1992 April cold event but i do remember one around the late 80s where we woke up to almost a foot of snow during first or second week of April, however the sun came out around 10am and most of the snow was melted by sunset.

blackius · 25-03-2012 10:22am

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I was thinking the same yesterday, this winter was similar to 91-2 - a nothing winter with high pressure close by. I have some old photos (pre digital era) taken on April 4th '92 showing heavy snow lying in Glencree in the Dublin mts.

Glencree is in county wicklow...

The winters from 91-92 onwards was the start of a roll of mild snowless for most winters,with the exception of the last week of december '95 iirc.

nilhg · 27-03-2012 1:54pm

"Experts" are predicting that the European freeze may have cut up to 5 million tons of wheat from this years harvest,

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-22/european-crops-damaged-by-winter-freeze-now-face-drought.html

And now drought threatens to deliver a followup blow.

http://www.noggersblog.co.uk/prices/blog/EUdrought.png

Paris wheat is up close to €40 a ton since early December

The Continental Cold Snap, Updates and News Reports

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