According to tables etc available at

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pafg

Valdez, a low-level station in Alaska currently has a snow depth of 75
inches or 190.5 cm, which is down a touch from 12th Jan when they were
reporting 84 inches or 213 cm, that's 7 feet of snow. Imagine that in
southern England!

Peter

"Peter" wrote in message
...

According to tables etc available at

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pafg

Valdez, a low-level station in Alaska currently has a snow depth of 75
inches or 190.5 cm, which is down a touch from 12th Jan when they were
reporting 84 inches or 213 cm, that's 7 feet of snow. Imagine that in
southern England!

Peter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep! January 1963. Mid Hampshire. Over 12 feet (144", 365cm) [in the
drifts].

jim, Northampton

"jbm" wrote in message ...
"Peter" wrote in message
...

According to tables etc available at

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pafg

Valdez, a low-level station in Alaska currently has a snow depth of 75
inches or 190.5 cm, which is down a touch from 12th Jan when they were
reporting 84 inches or 213 cm, that's 7 feet of snow. Imagine that in
southern England!

Peter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep! January 1963. Mid Hampshire. Over 12 feet (144", 365cm) [in the
drifts].

I'm sure I read somewhere that in the 1920s (or perhaps the Great SW
Blizzard of 1899) an entire valley 200ft deep was filled with snow.
The tops of the hills were scoured clean of snow by gale force winds,
depositing all the snow in the valley.
Although evidence was anecdotal, I don't think that the possibility of
this happening was entirely discounted.
--
Col

Bolton, Lancashire
160m asl

In article ,
jbm writes:
"Peter" wrote in message news:c2cd6c32-1b95-40ca-9307-45845e19
...

According to tables etc available at

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pafg

Valdez, a low-level station in Alaska currently has a snow depth of 75
inches or 190.5 cm, which is down a touch from 12th Jan when they were
reporting 84 inches or 213 cm, that's 7 feet of snow. Imagine that in
southern England!

Peter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yep! January 1963. Mid Hampshire. Over 12 feet (144", 365cm) [in
the drifts].

jim, Northampton


Yes, but I imagine the 7 feet was "level" snow. Even in this country
drifts greater than 12 feet occasionally occur. mostly in upland
locations of course.

ISTR that some location in Wales measured somewhere around 6 feet of
level snow at one pint during the winter of 1947.
--
John Hall
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who have not got it."
George Bernard Shaw

"John Hall" wrote in message
...

SNIP

Yes, but I imagine the 7 feet was "level" snow. Even in this country
drifts greater than 12 feet occasionally occur. mostly in upland
locations of course.

ISTR that some location in Wales measured somewhere around 6 feet of
level snow at one pint during the winter of 1947.

Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor (Between Princeton and Tavistock) was filled to
the top with snow in 1963.
It was 160 feet deep and did not thaw completely until June of that year.

Phil
Marooned in Tavistock at that time

"Phil Gurr" wrote in message
o.uk...

"John Hall" wrote in message
...

SNIP

Yes, but I imagine the 7 feet was "level" snow. Even in this country
drifts greater than 12 feet occasionally occur. mostly in upland
locations of course.

ISTR that some location in Wales measured somewhere around 6 feet of
level snow at one pint during the winter of 1947.

Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor (Between Princetown and Tavistock) was filled
to the top with snow in 1963.
It was 160 feet deep and did not thaw completely until June of that year.

Phil
Marooned in Tavistock at that time

Sheesh, I know Merrivale very well.
COME ON! :-)

http://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Hayt...antage_Pro.htm
Will Hand (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
---------------------------------------------

In article ,
Phil Gurr writes:
Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor (Between Princeton and Tavistock) was filled to
the top with snow in 1963.
It was 160 feet deep and did not thaw completely until June of that year.

Phil
Marooned in Tavistock at that time

Thanks. That's very similar to the earlier case of Tavy Cleave (IIRC),
also on Dartmoor, which was also supposed to have been completely filled
and not to completely melt until June, I think after the Great Blizzard
of March, 1891. It's strange that the more recent instance doesn't seem
to be nearly as well-known as the earlier one.
--
John Hall
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who have not got it."
George Bernard Shaw

"John Hall" wrote in message
...

Yes, but I imagine the 7 feet was "level" snow. Even in this country
drifts greater than 12 feet occasionally occur. mostly in upland
locations of course.

ISTR that some location in Wales measured somewhere around 6 feet of
level snow at one pint during the winter of 1947.
--

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was difficult to work out what the "true" depth was. The middle of all
the fields were under wellington boot depth, but there wasn't a visible
hedgerow anywhere. And all the bungalows up our lane were invisible. By the
time we dug our way out to the lane three days later, we just stood in awe.
Every single bungalow was covered to the top of the roof. They looked like
big white bell tents. The houses didn't fare much better. They were up to
their bedroom windows in drifts. The rabbits had a field day. They just
walked over all over the fences and hedges and ate all the bark off the
fruit trees. Those that didn't die as a result never bore fruit again. Some
of the drifts at the top of the lane (300 feet ASL) were still there come
mid-summer's day.

jim, Northampton

"John Hall" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Phil Gurr writes:
Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor (Between Princeton and Tavistock) was filled
to
the top with snow in 1963.
It was 160 feet deep and did not thaw completely until June of that year.

Phil
Marooned in Tavistock at that time

Thanks. That's very similar to the earlier case of Tavy Cleave (IIRC),
also on Dartmoor, which was also supposed to have been completely filled
and not to completely melt until June, I think after the Great Blizzard
of March, 1891. It's strange that the more recent instance doesn't seem
to be nearly as well-known as the earlier one.

I visited Merrivale Quarry at Easter 1963 as it was one of our regular stops
on our annual Dartmoor field trip (geology). The quarry was still largely
filled with snow at the time but the quarry was working normally as
sufficient granite blocks had been stockpiled the previous autumn so that
slab cutting was able to continue through the winter. I would think that
snow infill was fairly common at Merrivale and winter slabbing was normal
practise - but their stock must have been getting thin that year!

Phil

On Jan 26, 10:28*pm, "jbm" wrote:

Every single bungalow was covered to the top of the roof. They looked like
big white bell tents. The houses didn't fare much better. They were up to
their bedroom windows in drifts. The rabbits had a field day. They just
walked over all over the fences and hedges and ate all the bark off the
fruit trees. Those that didn't die as a result never bore fruit again.

That bit about the fruit trees becoming barren doesn't make sense.

They wouldn't have died from losing bark high on the trunk or from the
branches. They might have died from cold though the temperature under
the snow would have been no lower than 0C.

The trees might have benefited from cutting to their bases but it
seems they were grubbed up or allowed to sprout from the root stock.

Any ideas?