"Tudor Hughes" wrote in message
oups.com...

Peter Clarke wrote:
There were 21 days with snow or sleet falling here in 2005; the highest
number in any year since 1987 when there were 23.
The average number for the years 1971 - 2000 was 17.0 days but the
average
for the years 1988 - 2005 is 10.4. The highest annual total was in 1979
which had 40, 1986 had 37.

Since 1988 only 2 years have had more than the 1971 - 200 average -
these
were 1996 and 2005.

Peter Clarke
Ewell, Epsom 55m

Your figures are consistently higher than mine by 10-20%. For
instance, my average 1988-2005 is 8.9, yours being 10.4. My figures
for 1986 and 1987 are 30 and 21 against your 37 and 23 and for last
year 17 against your 21. As I am further from London and 375 ft higher
I'm not sure why this should be so. The only thing I can think of is
different criteria for sleet as opposed to rain. I am rather reluctant
to record a "day with snow falling" if one or two raindrops are
suspiciously lumpy. Also, it's not always possible to monitor "ev'ry
drop of rain that falls", as the song has it. But neither would it be
for you. I'm somewhat puzzled.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey, 556 ft, 169 m


Thanks for your comments, Tudor. Very interesting. ! You would certainly
get more snow than me with the extra altitude at Warlingham and I have
headed out in your direction on those days when nothing more than chilly
rain is falling here to check conditions in the higher parts of the Downs.
However, I have a friend,( with nocturnal habits!) , who is a snow
enthusiast and lives nearby, and occasionally I check with him to find out
whether overnight snowfalls started before or after midnight, or whether
overnight rain started as snow. I have also checked with our milkman when I
have been suspicious about early morning.precipitation. If he says he has
seen snow before I was awake I have included it in my figures. I think this
is correct procedure.

Peter Clarke
Ewell, Epsom 55m