In message , Alan
Whitewick writes
Just a moment, if this is all because of Global warming, are we not
forgetting a few present facts, for example it is said the the Arctic
is already 5C warmer and from a non scientific view point, if the ice
is melting so quickly why should it suddenly turn up somewhere else.
What about all those other influences of Global warming, such as the
more frequent heat waves such as in France recently. Surely all this
extra heat must be thrown in the melting pot and not give such a
cooling effect that every one seems to believe.
Recently we had a low originating from Spitzbergen, which brought cold
air and some snow in the west, but it (in my opinion) was not anything
like as cold as we would have had maybe 40 years ago, and soon replaced
by the usual mild wet downpours (60mm) here in Somerset in December.

A less scientific view
Alan

I think you would find that snow on the ground at Penzance in November
was a pretty rare event even 40 years ago.

Despite the overall warming globally the situation is much more
complicated on regional and local scales. For example, in the immediate
vicinity of Spitzbergen sea surface temperatures are currently well
above the long term average. In contrast, over much of the sea between
Spitzbergen and the British Isles sea surface temperatures are currently
quite a bit below the long term average. This colder than average water
to the north may have been a factor in the detail of the recent cold
outbreak in the British Isles.

After a spell of sea surface temperatures well above the long term
average around the British Isles they have now returned much nearer to
average values. In the SW approaches they are a little below the long
term average while in the English Channel and much of the North Sea they
are a little above average but by nowhere near as much as they were a
few weeks ago. The sea temperature of the North Sea is responding quite
quickly to the much lower air temperatures experienced recently.

Norman.
(delete "thisbit" twice to e-mail)
--
Norman Lynagh Weather Consultancy
Chalfont St Giles 85m a.s.l.
England