Brrr its feeling cold

Hello weather blog post fans!  

So the SNOW is coming. The first snow of winter has hit the south of England, as forecasters warn more is expected to fall during this week.  Snow, has already fallen in parts of Scotland, Wales and the north of England in recent days, and reached as far south as Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire on Sunday night.

Charles Powell, forecaster at the Met Office, said: “Colder winds will be pushing their way through from the east from Scandinavia on Wednesday. This will bring rain and a bit of snow along the eastern coast, possibly as far south as East Anglia.”

Temperatures are expected to dip to around 28F (-2C) overnight on Wednesday and Thursday, with light winds forecast.   Friday rain is expected to return to much of the country, and there is a risk of widespread ice.

Severe weather warnings for much of the UK have been issued by the Met Office, with alerts for ice, hailstorms and thunder across much of the country as rain continues and temperatures start to fall.   Environment Agency has issued more than 140 flood alerts and 10 more serious flood warnings in the south west, which mean flooding is expected and immediate action is required.

In Oxford, I imagine it is not time to reach for a sleigh, but maybe just some warm gloves!

Image: Laura L Orchard

First weather related blog post of 2014!

The weather has certainly been dominating the news lately.  I have been gripped by the 'Polar Vortex', which has hit the US.  And I have been all about the stormy weather in the UK.  In particular, I have been fascinated by the huge waves which have been battering the coastline.  

However, the weather in the UK is set to change.  We will move away from the rainy weather of recent weeks to wintry conditions.  Monday will see the start of the wintry conditions with cold air coming in from the US.  However, do not panic forecasters have stressed we will not experience the sub zero temperatures which have hit the US.

The Met Office predicts an increasing risk of snow, mainly over hills, and ice.

Spokesperson Laura Young said: “Into the weekend and next week we are going to see temperatures return to normal levels for this time of year which will make it feel a lot colder and bring a risk of frost, fog, and wintry showers."

December 1 is officially the beginning of winter, but the last six weeks have proved unseasonable, with temperatures in double figures and last month the eight warmest December on record.

“We have had a very mild start to our winter and I think that people might get a bit of a shock next week,” Young said.

The temperature is expected to drop to average for January – around 4C.

So it is time to (hopefully) put away those waterproof trousers and wellington boots and time to reach for the woolly hat and socks.

Please feel free to be in touch with your British weather related experiences, we would love to hear them!

Weather blog post!

It has been a while since the weather has been in the blog spotlight.  I would say far too long.  And today's post comes with a little warning - get your mittens at the ready.  Yes, it is looking like we are going to have a rather chilly few days ahead!
  
Weather forecasters have warned of snow on the way for parts of the UK as a blast of Arctic wind sweeps across the country.

Nicola Maxey, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said lower-than-average temperatures for December would move across the country towards the end of the week, with some northern areas not getting much above freezing and southern regions significantly colder than usual.

“With the Arctic wind blowing across from cold maritime air, people will really feel the cold," Maxey comments.

The severe weather warning is in place across everywhere north of East Anglia between midnight and 6pm on Thursday (I would recommend not venturing north of Oxford).

Over the weekend, conditions are expected to become milder, with a greater likelihood of rain than ice and snow. Temperatures are not expected to be below average in the coming weeks, however the big question remains will we have a white Christmas? 

Source: The Telegraph, The Independent 

Winter Weather

Grab your mittens, get your woolly hat at the ready and your hot water bottle out. Winter weather is heading our way!

Britain is set to see the first low-level snow of the year this week as bitter Arctic winds bring decreasing temperatures accompanied by rain, sleet and snow.  We are expected to have at least two weeks of near-freezing conditions, making November up to 3C colder than last year. Temperatures through the week will be much lower than recently and generally below the November average.  It will struggle to get up to four or five degrees and during the nights temperatures will be below zero quite widely, meaning frost across most places.

Scotland is most likely to see snow today.  Further wintry showers are expected to move south as the week progresses.

A metrogroup forecaster has said: "Into the week ahead, it will remain cold but there will probably be dry weather in most areas. At the moment we're not seeing much snow; there may be some but not any significant amount of that would settle. It will be cold for quite a long prolonged period, certainly through to next week."

The Met Office has sought to play down concerns regarding an impending 'Snowmaggeddon', explaining calmly that a bit of snow at the end of November into December is not unusual.  In recent years Britain has seen its fair share of snow, but nothing to really compare with the awful winters of the past.  Perhaps the last example of a really landmark awful winter was the December of 1978 and early months of 1979.

To feel positively warmed by this week's weather, check out winters of the past as selected by 'The Independent' here.

Brrrrr!

So it does seem that this week summer might have truly ended and as we face the cool evenings we are reaching for blankets and woolly socks. The balmy summer has left us struggling to adjust to cooler weather with gas usage up 15% compared with same time last year despite temperatures only being marginally cooler than 2012. September this year is just 0.25C cooler than last, leading to suggestions that homeowners are experiencing a "faux winter" that appears colder than it actually is.

According to energy company Npower, energy usage surged by 65% over the weekend as homeowners turned up the heating to battle with the 'cold'. Npower predicts that demand will drop again at the end of the week, with the "big switch-on" likely to take place in the last weekend of October, when the real despair of the long British winter begins. According to the company, around 60% of Britons will make the switch to regular central heating before the leaves have fully dropped, around the evening of Saturday 26 October.

Npower's managing director of energy services, Simon Stacey, recognised Britons' pain. "We've had such an amazing summer, but because it's been so good with hot, sunny weather for months, now that it's dropped off a little people think it's colder than it really is," she said.

In good news, it is set to get warmer this weekend. Get those summer shorts back out!

 Source: The Guardian

Don't pack away the woolly jumpers yet!

Despite the fact that all the clothes shops are full of spring/summer clothing, it really is not the time for embracing these new trends as Britain is on course for the coldest March in 17 years.  Forecasters are predicting that temperatures will struggle below average for the rest of the month.

Monday was the coldest March day in almost 30 years as temperatures dropped below -9C.
Whilst in Aberdeen almost 2inches of snow fell, where in some areas on the east coast had around an inch.

Leon Brown, meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said that as it was looking unlikely we would see above normal temperatures for the rest of the month is was “likely to be the coldest March since 2006 and perhaps 1996.

The Met Office has placed the whole of England on amber alert until midnight tonight, meaning that there is a "100 per cent probability of severe cold weather or icy conditions".

There are yellow warnings for snow in place across large parts of Scotland, the North East and the East Midlands and the east coast which last into tomorrow.

Forecaster Helen Chivers said: “Most places overnight are going to have quite a heavy frost, with temperatures between -5C and -7C. There is a risk of ice.”  Time to get the hot water bottle out!

It is too early to predict the temperatures over the Easter weekend, but the Met Office’s long term outlook looks bleak.  The cold is set to remain at least until April 10, with conditions "wetter than normal" in the South and West of the country.  Oh groan - I think personally I would prefer the cold to rain...

However, on a happy note the temperatures are likely to pick up tomorrow, but will hover around three degrees below average at 6C...so still keep that scarf and hat at hand!

Photograph: Sheep graze on a snow-covered field in Teesdale, the North Pennines

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9926437/Britain-on-course-for-coldest-March-in-17-years.html