Cold week ahead, change is on the way ............

Weathering

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

Crazy temps yep (though only crazy in relation to time of year rather than actually being so) but crazy weather I would disagree with. If anything, extremes of weather (wnd/rain/snow/thunderstorm events etc) are becoming far less extreme IMO. I don't think I have ever witnessed such a continunial run of insipidity as I have over the last few years.

Yeah to be fair there has been a lot of mundane weather too. I think -18 in December is crazy for Ireland in every sense and -19 was reached in Castlederg. Wind events are few and far between. Definitely up in Donegal in this past 5 years there has been a lot less than usual. Anyway,I'll stop these off topic posts now

rilz

Managed today to go up Antrim hills - Fook 15 foot snow drifts. Going to go back to take pics haven't seen snow like it.

I just feel for the farmers and the livestock they have lost.

I tried to walk up hill no chance it went up to groin- chest area the depth!

Just sink in it!

This is in Ballyboley!

M.T. Cranium

I don't wish to derail the thread but the topic has been addressed, so here's my brief response ...

It may be the case that weather extremes have become more frequent in parts of western Europe in the past five years, but the general perception among weather enthusiasts in North America is that the 1970s were a time of exceptional extreme weather events.

This raises the question, could there be any sort of co-ordinated study of such perceptions around the globe to see what recent (within living memory, let's say) decade struck weather-conscious onlookers as more extreme than other decades?

Without having much data at hand, it is difficult to compare. Perhaps in Japan they thought the 1990s, in South America the 1960s, etc etc. At random, some part of the globe is bound to be having more variable weather than usual in any given period. I was not old enough to be weather watching in the 1950s (although I was barely alive) but my impression of the data would be a less variable period with fewer extremes in the same part of the world that the 1970s were more extreme.

Just ballpark figures, but my subjective impression of frequency of extremes (from data in most cases rather than memory) in east-central North America would be something like this


1890s ... 8
1900s ... 6
1910s ... 7
1920s ... 4
1930s ... 8
1940s ... 7
1950s ... 4
1960s ... 6
1970s ... 9
1980s ... 7
1990s ... 6
2000* ... 5 (to present)

It would be interesting to compare those to Ireland or UK; however, I am somewhat familiar with historical weather in those places too and would say it's not a lot different for many of those decades, the 1920s were a rather bland decade in terms of weather records at least, and the 1950s not overly exciting. Of course there's always some counter-example, the region I was talking about had Hurricane Hazel in Oct 1954 and that was a major event, but it rather stands out in contrast to all the blandness of other years.

The 1970s win out in my estimation for sheer onslaught of high variability, the temperature always seemed to be well off the normal range (in both directions) and there were a few exceptional storms such as the 1974 super-tornado outbreak and the 1978 Great Lakes blizzard. The years 1975 to 1977 in between those had multiple top ten anomalies.

Wibbler

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

The 1970s win out in my estimation for sheer onslaught of high variability, the temperature always seemed to be well off the normal range (in both directions) and there were a few exceptional storms such as the 1974 super-tornado outbreak and the 1978 Great Lakes blizzard. The years 1975 to 1977 in between those had multiple top ten anomalies.

I was curious and Googled that Great Lakes storm of '78. This link has the storm in pictures. All I can say is 'Wow!'.

http://www.wcvb.com/weather/-/9850416/11808266/-/cn2q17z/-/index.html

Red Pepper

Mr Cumulonimbus wrote: »

Light snow shower here in Murrisk at the moment.

How is the reek looking today Mr C? Any chance of a picture?

furmi

ksimpson wrote: »

Way more snow in Swords than Donabate.

I think thats been the trend in recent times. but why ?

sunbabe08

"@snowinformation: Looks set to stay cold with no heat up in sight for at least 15-20 days. Charts show widespread sun over next few days but frost at night..."

This is from Twitter, does this the same for us?

Gonzo

Certainly for me there is far less thunderstorms and high temperatures over the past 8 years than there used to be, infact we do well now to see temperatures break the 23C barrier any summer.

pad199207

Wicklow Mountains are standing out quite brilliantly today! Antenna on Kippure can also be seen coated in snow and ice!

rainbowdash

sunbabe08 wrote: »

This is from Twitter, does this the same for us?

Well from what I have learned this winter anything past 4-5 days is a complete guess.


Even aside from that every day the sun is getting higher in the sky, so things must be getting warmer as the days get longer and the suns heat more intense.

ardmacha

Look at road temperatures, up around 18C, as an indication of the heat in the sun
http://www.nratraffic.ie/weather/default.asp

snaps

ardmacha wrote: »

Look at road temperatures, up around 18C, as an indication of the heat in the sun
http://www.nratraffic.ie/weather/default.asp

wish the air temps were like that. It looks lovely looking outside, then you go out and it hits you like a dagger, freezing. Can't afford any more heating oil this year until October.

Elmer Blooker

pad199207 wrote: »

Wicklow Mountains are standing out quite brilliantly today! Antenna on Kippure can also be seen coated in snow and ice!

they looked stunning alright, I can see the mountains from my attic window and they were glistening like silver in the strong spring sunshine, much different than the light you get in winter from the low sun.
I'm in no hurry for spring to begin, I'm prepared to wait
nice chart



12z ECM quite similar at +144

Oneiric 3

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

I'm in no hurry for spring to begin.

Just out of interest, why would you say that? This (or any) cold is uncomfortable at best to downright crippling and soul destroying at its worst. Despite the sunshine this afternoon, nearly cried with the cold today while trying to a few odd jobs out the back garden. Brutal wind chill coupled with RH value < 50% . This would be fun weather in the winter, as you would expect it, but at this time of year it ceases to be enjoyable.

patneve2

As long as its cold and sunny I'm happy, but cold and grey is horrific and depressing. Spring will eventually come.

bb1234567

patneve2 wrote: »

As long as its cold and sunny I'm happy, but cold and grey is horrific and depressing. Spring will eventually come.

Cold and sunny weather makes me want to cry Either mild, dark and wet, sunny and warm or cold and snowy. Theyre the only weather types I can bear. I dont mind cold and sunny if theres snow on the ground though.

Birdnuts

Gonzo wrote: »

Certainly for me there is far less thunderstorms and high temperatures over the past 8 years than there used to be, infact we do well now to see temperatures break the 23C barrier any summer.

They lack of any heat for so long is starting to get a little worrying allright - even for what passes as summer in this country.

Calibos

We've had the worst of all worlds to be honest. Yeah, last year we didn't get the snow while Europe and a good part of the UK got a good covering...again, but at least it was unseasonably warm and the heating bills were positively springlike for most of the Winter as a form of compensation.

This year, neither sun nor mildness, biting cold, huge heating bills, head wrecking model watching for 5 months, jealousy at the multiple snow events only a couple of hundred miles to our east, but SFA to show for it and make it all worthwhile.

Neither the coldies nor mildies happy this year, bunnies or otherwise....

compsys

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

Just out of interest, why would you say that? This (or any) cold is uncomfortable at best to downright crippling and soul destroying at its worst. Despite the sunshine this afternoon, nearly cried with the cold today while trying to a few odd jobs out the back garden. Brutal wind chill coupled with RH value < 50% . This would be fun weather in the winter, as you would expect it, but at this time of year it ceases to be enjoyable.

I think you and a lot of other people are forgetting that once this 'blocking' breaks down there's a 99% chance we'll be back to windy, wet, cloudy and pretty much miserable Atlantic-dominated weather. And perhaps for weeks on end.

So my questions is: why would anyone want THIS current weather to be replaced?

Yes, it would be nice if it was far warmer or far snowier. However, my favourite type of weather is simply the sun! So as long as it's sunny I'm happy enough. There is nothing more miserable and depressing than dark, dreary, cloudy days (in summer or winter).

Plus, even on cold days like this the strength of the sun can still make it feel relatively warm away from any breeze and positively roasting if you're sitting beside a window. Plus, everything looks far nicer and cleaner in the sun too.

ZX7R

I totally agree with COMPSYS, today was a beautiful day went for a spin on the motor bike, lovely sun cool breeze good drying for land and cloth's was able to do a bit in the mothers garden i would live with this weather for another month or two ,this weather is so much better than mild, wet,dull westerly we usualy get.Enjoy this weather because it wont be long before we are posting in the summer tread wishing we had this dry sunny weather...

Oneiric 3

compsys wrote: »

I think you and a lot of other people are forgetting that once this 'blocking' breaks down there's a 99% chance we'll be back to windy, wet, cloudy and pretty much miserable Atlantic-dominated weather. And perhaps for weeks on end.

So my questions is: why would anyone want THIS current weather to be replaced?

Cold, whether it be in sunshine or nay, is joyless.

My question is, why do you call wet, cloudy and windy weather 'miserable'? what exactly is miserable about it?

Rebelbrowser

Just looking at nae and gfs there, central midlands predicted to see snow on Sunday. plenty precipitation around from a line south of Sligo to Waterford but at present it will be rain elsewhere...marginal though.

Pangea

-3.5 here at the moment.
It was -6 in Castlederg last night :eek:

Anyone catch the rte news? Worth a watch on the player for the piece about Belfast zoo being closed because of the snow, still loads of snow lying there unbelievable.
http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10126819/ Link especially for all those who said snow cant last long at this time of year..

Birdnuts

Pangea wrote: »

-3.5 here at the moment.
It was -6 in Castlederg last night :eek:

Anyone catch the rte news? Worth a watch on the player for the piece about Belfast zoo being closed because of the snow, still loads of snow lying there unbelievable.
http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10126819/ Link especially for all those who said snow cant last long at this time of year..

I too was suprised by the amount of snow still on the ground - the zoo must be on high ground

mike65

compsys wrote: »

I
So my questions is: why would anyone want THIS current weather to be replaced?

Yes, it would be nice if it was far warmer or far snowier. However, my favourite type of weather is simply the sun! So as long as it's sunny I'm happy enough. There is nothing more miserable and depressing than dark, dreary, cloudy days (in summer or winter).

Its not been that sunny down here.

compsys

mike65 wrote: »

Its not been that sunny down here.

Lovely sunshine in Dublin past 3 days.

Speak Now

mike65 wrote: »

Its not been that sunny down here.

We had more sun the days of the frequent snow showers. Since the showers died out its felt colder plenty cloud as well. At least it keeps the frost at bay during the night.

Tindie

I just very,very , very Light snow shower around after 8am, Is stick in black lines of the pavement! and some flakes are falling even with Sun out!

In the west Midlands (Could this be the last snow shower this winter! )

It's bee one GREAT winter for people in Midlands for sure!, This winter had even more snowier then 2010 (Jan/Den put together)

(I hope this year is a repeat of 2010, where we had 2 huge winter in one year start and the end!!)

(I don't think there was one snow in flake in 2011 in west midlands at all) This winter had made up for it!

bb1234567

Calibos wrote: »

We've had the worst of all worlds to be honest. Yeah, last year we didn't get the snow while Europe and a good part of the UK got a good covering...again, but at least it was unseasonably warm and the heating bills were positively springlike for most of the Winter as a form of compensation.

This year, neither sun nor mildness, biting cold, huge heating bills, head wrecking model watching for 5 months, jealousy at the multiple snow events only a couple of hundred miles to our east, but SFA to show for it and make it all worthwhile.

Neither the coldies nor mildies happy this year, bunnies or otherwise....

As a coldie i was can actually say I was quite pleased with this winter :pac: we got a good few days of a bit of snow throughout the winter, I thought it was nice. It maybe not have been like 2010 winter but it was still more exciting snow wise than the avg winter.:pac:

Pangea

So what was the coldest temperature last night recorded?
Recorded -5.1 on one of my thermometers, my other thermometer only recorded half that temperature, but seeing as it was -4 in sligo at one time I looked online I think I will tend to believe the colder one.