On Mon, 26 Dec 2005 15:22:50 -0000, "Joe Hunt"
wrote:


"Will Hand" wrote in message
...

"nguk" wrote in message
...
Is there a chance of a whiteout or blizzard
in ea and se this week? thats what im looking
forward to seeing, with slight gusts and complete
whiteout from snow. Granted we had alot of
snow early in the year, but nothing at night whereby
you couldnt even see the house across the road
now that id love to see!

True whiteouts are very rare in lowland Britain. Only ever seen it once
myself
in the Scottish mountains where you cannot tell whether you are up or down
as literally everything is white. Having heavy snow falling where the
visibility is reduced to fog levels is another matter, get that on
Dartmoor every winter, but strictly that is not a whiteout.

Neil,

I experienced whiteout conditions like Will describes above once in the
French Alps at about 2800m asl. The wind was blowing a good 25KT and I
struggled to see my skies let alone in front of me. Luckily we all had
walkie-talkies so managed to keep in touch.

Me, too - I remember one such occasion while walking in the Cairngorms
a couple of decades ago. There is a real feeling of accomplishment and
satisfaction when you come through an event like that (in the
Mountains) alive. We decided to follow a particular contour line
round towards the top of the ski slopes and lifts, using map and
compass at the head and rear of our group and swapping positions to
conserve energy while walking in the deep snow.

It is remarkable how quickly footsteps over a foot deep fill up in
heavy blowing (and falling) snow so we had to stay mostly within
touching distance to avoid losing contact. Luckily, we could see our
feet and after a couple of hours, we made it. 'Twas only a mile - but
it seemed like a very long way in whiteout conditions, even though
fully equipped for the conditions.

These days, near the Central Southern coast of England, it is
remarkable to experience even 5 minutes when the snow reduces
visibility even to fog levels This may have happened in the
"Thundersnow" event two or three years ago - although the entire event
was completed within that 5 minutes!

-
Dave
Fareham