Memorable (lengthy) Cold Spells of old

Wibbler

Maybe it's climate change, maybe it's because I'm getting older, but in the last twenty years or so, no winter sticks in my mind as having good long spells of sustained cold.

I remember when growing up in Dublin 12 in the 80's that there seemed to be frequent spells of very cold winter weather, not necessarily with snow, but with many nights having severe frosts and days having low temps. On many mornings, the trip to school was preceded with de-icing the parent's car, which usually led to being late for class.

I remember at least one occasion when the Grand Canal was frozen over at Rialto, with the ducks skating on top of it. When was the last time that happened?

Were such spells really more frequent in the 80's, has the climate really changed that much, or is my memory faulty?

What are your most memorable cold spells from years gone by?

force eleven

January 82, January 87, Dec 2000. That's it for me - I remember snow in the 70's but these were 2 day events, nice but not long lasting. Even December 2000 was only a 3 or 4 day spell, but with a memorable snowfall. Nothing since then. Nothing in the nineties, maybe February 91, snow in Dublin.

Oh, I lived in County Limerick up until the early 90's, so maybe we weren't as favoured as others on here....

You really have to go back to 63 or '47 and not many posters can give us a first hand account of those spells, although the internet has some great sites about them.

DOCARCH

Even though I remember 82 vividly, I think this February (09) would have to be added to the list. There were a couple of big snowfalls and we had snow on the ground for over two weeks.

Wibbler

DOCARCH wrote: »

Even though I remember 82 vividly, I think this February (09) would have to be added to the list. There were a couple of big snowfalls and we had snow on the ground for over two weeks.

I remember Jan '82 for bring the best event for Dublin and the east. Last Feb wasn't particularly special for my location in Swords although Drogheda and north of it did well I think.

Elmer Blooker

Jan 82 and Feb 86 are the only lengthy cold spells in my lifetime, Feb 86 was snowless though.
Even the brilliant snowfall in Jan 87 was a let down, I clearly remember my disappointment when I lay in bed listening to the dripping drainpipes, a thaw set in as soon as the snow stopped.:mad:

Deep Easterly

Probably the most lengthy cold spells in recent memory that I can remember were:

Summer 2009
Summer 2008
Summer 2007.

nacho libre

Deep Easterly wrote: »

Probably the most lengthy cold spells in recent memory that I can remember were:

Summer 2009
Summer 2008
Summer 2007.

haha. good one paddy1:)

Elmer Blooker

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

Even the brilliant snowfall in Jan 87 was a let down, I clearly remember my disappointment when I lay in bed listening to the dripping drainpipes, a thaw set in as soon as the snow stopped.:mad:

Not here it didn't.
The river avoca froze with snow lying on it so there wasn't much dripping even in the river.

By the way last february heralded the return of icicles to sea level for the first time in a decade.

Winger_PL

I remember around the end of 80's/beginning on 90's how every winter was full of snow lying on the ground for long weeks, usually over a feet of snow... I barely recall any longer periods of time without snow between December and February. I remember that as I was getting older every next winter was getting more and more disappointing due to the more and more warmer weather and less snow... All of that was in Poland though; but it was happening everywhere in Europe from what I can see. One of the recent winters saw snow for no more than 2 weeks in my old town of Katowice.

However, in the last 2 years or so I've seen more and more snow, not sure if that's a temporary thing or if the cycle is reversing.

Wibbler

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

Jan 82 and Feb 86 are the only lengthy cold spells in my lifetime, Feb 86 was snowless though.
Even the brilliant snowfall in Jan 87 was a let down, I clearly remember my disappointment when I lay in bed listening to the dripping drainpipes, a thaw set in as soon as the snow stopped.:mad:

86 may have been the one I remember where the Grand Canal froze over. Don't remember there being any snow around, alright.

Deep Easterly

Wibbler wrote: »

86 may have been the one I remember where the Grand Canal froze over. Don't remember there being any snow around, alright.

My childhood memory recalls feb 86 very well. Everything was frozen. We had no running water for weeks on end. Gas was frozen to but I do remember a lot of sunshine but continuous hard frosts by both day and night.

1986 was the coldest year of the 20th century. It is a year I would love to experience again with a mature appreciation. What sticks out for me was the incredibly violent and prolonged thunderstorms in late June. Never before, or since, have I witnessed anything remotely close. Thunder rumbled day and night for 6 solid days in a row, and very often with no rain in a sky that was thick and undiscernable with an impenetrable haze.

A fantastic year!!!!

nacho libre

Deep Easterly wrote: »

My childhood memory recalls feb 86 very well. Everything was frozen. We had no running water for weeks on end. Gas was frozen to but I do remember a lot of sunshine but continuous hard frosts by both day and night.

1986 was the coldest year of the 20th century. It is a year I would love to experience again with a mature appreciation. What sticks out for me was the incredibly violent and prolonged thunderstorms in late June. Never before, or since, have I witnessed anything remotely close. Thunder rumbled day and night for 6 solid days in a row, and very often with no rain in a sky that was thick and undiscernable with an impenetrable haze.

A fantastic year!!!!

indeed paddy1. i remember that summer barely. one particular day there was a really intense thunder and lightning show overhead. i was a bit scared to tell you the truth. though, i was only 6 at the time:p

Pangea

Christmas 95 was imense , started snowing christmas eve evening, there was a lot of snow here ,its a memorable one for me. I think it was the most snow ive seen.
Dec 2000 was unreal too, it was really cold all christmas week, the frost didnt even defrost on christmas day, then on st. stephens day a huge dose of snow came and lasted nearly a week. Lakes were frozen solid!

Last february in Letterkenny was pretty unreal, 7 inches of snow came in the space of 2/3 hours, I thought it was too wet for snow to lie yet it defied me ,had to stay in letterkenny that night in a hotel because i was snow bound! But it was gone the next day, snow seems to go away fast nowadays.

Heres a picture from DEC 2000 , tempetures went down to -14 in some places if i recall correctly.

fryup

yes it was january 82, that there was a huge snowfall that covered the entire island..i also remember it happened on the week we were due back in school so we got an extended xmas break:) happy days

homersimpson

I remember in December 2000 having a reeally long cold spell and getting heavy snow on the 29th that lay for over a week.

It was that cold that the harbour in Killybegs had froze over in places :D

Mobhi1

Wibbler wrote: »

Maybe it's climate change, maybe it's because I'm getting older, but in the last twenty years or so, no winter sticks in my mind as having good long spells of sustained cold.

I remember when growing up in Dublin 12 in the 80's that there seemed to be frequent spells of very cold winter weather, not necessarily with snow, but with many nights having severe frosts and days having low temps. On many mornings, the trip to school was preceded with de-icing the parent's car, which usually led to being late for class.

I remember at least one occasion when the Grand Canal was frozen over at Rialto, with the ducks skating on top of it. When was the last time that happened?

Were such spells really more frequent in the 80's, has the climate really changed that much, or is my memory faulty?

What are your most memorable cold spells from years gone by?

The Royal Canal was frozen over at Phibsborough in Jan 1982, the only time I remember the canal freezing over; there was also about a foot of snow; never seen anything like that before or since in Dublin but then I was out of the country between 1986 and 1997.

K-9

Pangea wrote: »

Christmas 95 was imense , started snowing christmas eve evening, there was a lot of snow here ,its a memorable one for me. I think it was the most snow ive seen.
Dec 2000 was unreal too, it was really cold all christmas week, the frost didnt even defrost on christmas day, then on st. stephens day a huge dose of snow came and lasted nearly a week. Lakes were frozen solid!

Last february in Letterkenny was pretty unreal, 7 inches of snow came in the space of 2/3 hours, I thought it was too wet for snow to lie yet it defied me ,had to stay in letterkenny that night in a hotel because i was snow bound! But it was gone the next day, snow seems to go away fast nowadays.

Heres a picture from DEC 2000 , tempetures went down to -14 in some places if i recall correctly.

I'd forgotten about 95, think it started Christmas evening. Can remember the Derry girls getting of the bus for the Grill in their mini skirts!

2000 was bloody cold alright, lay for days and 82 is one of my best childhood memories.

irish1967

I remember travelling from Dublin to Lifford Christmas Eve 95. Left Dublin in bright sunshine but around Monaghan snow started. By the time we reached Lifford it was a white out. Must have been a good 12 inches even on St. Stephens Day.

Remember having a week off school in 1976 and listening to radio each night for the list of schools closed the next day. Think it was down to minus high teens most nights. Vaguely remember seeing a -23 on a weather map but I could be imagining that.

Mobhi1

irish1967 wrote: »

I remember travelling from Dublin to Lifford Christmas Eve 95. Left Dublin in bright sunshine but around Monaghan snow started. By the time we reached Lifford it was a white out. Must have been a good 12 inches even on St. Stephens Day.

Remember having a week off school in 1976 and listening to radio each night for the list of schools closed the next day. Think it was down to minus high teens most nights. Vaguely remember seeing a -23 on a weather map but I could be imagining that.

I think the lowest ever recorded in Ireland was -19C.

kincsem

The winter of 1962/1963 was cold. Horseracing in England was cancelled for ten weeks.

I remember seeing newsreel film in the cinemas of thousands of birds dead on the snow, and men using blowtorches on footpaths trying to unfreeze the pipes below.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/teens/casestudy_severe_winters.html#p02

nacho libre

The 2000 event is my most memorable event because it was the most lieing snow i've ever seen. Just to hear the words "significant accumulations likely" from the met eireann weather forecaster at the time was bliss. It would be great to hear those words uttered again this winter.

Blizzerthj8

Hello.. We're setting up a Big Snow 1982 Fan Page on Facebook, and thought you might be interested in posting your stories or photos there. Check it out anyway: It's a competition where you can win a stove for your house...http://www.facebook.com/tos.php?api_key=9aaadc859a1c4c4ea7ef625c9b0c82ab&next=%3Ftoolbarid%3D867b3bb9-a66f-7423-08a1-4383b844a926&v=1.0&canvas#/pages/The-Big-Snow-January-1982/229933821825?ref=ts

Thanks!

stooge

Deep Easterly wrote: »

My childhood memory recalls feb 86 very well. Everything was frozen. We had no running water for weeks on end. Gas was frozen to but I do remember a lot of sunshine but continuous hard frosts by both day and night.

1986 was the coldest year of the 20th century. It is a year I would love to experience again with a mature appreciation. What sticks out for me was the incredibly violent and prolonged thunderstorms in late June. Never before, or since, have I witnessed anything remotely close. Thunder rumbled day and night for 6 solid days in a row, and very often with no rain in a sky that was thick and undiscernable with an impenetrable haze.

A fantastic year!!!!

I always wonder if the extreme weather in 1986 was anything to do with Chernobyl which occurred in april of that year.

Coldest year/violent thunderstorms and the worst nuclear disaster couldnt be a coincidence could it?