"mittens" wrote in message
...
A comment Dave in Essex made got me thinking...Do easterly winds off
of the North Sea sometimes produce snowshowers in the east of England
in places such as Essex and Norwich?

What conditions must exist for this to occur and how much snow
typically falls?

Northwesterly, westerly and southwestly winds during the winter will
cause heavy lake-effect snow to the lee of the Great Lakes in Canada
and the USA. This is a common occurrence in December and January, and
can localized blizzard conditions.

I presume that the dynamics producing snow along the east coast of
England are similar.

Bob
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Well they used to Bob! Especially places like Norwich in Norfolk, used to be
very snowy. It is far enough from the sea to be colder but near enough for
the showers to penetrate. Sea surface temperatures by February used to be
about 5C but in recent years seem to struggle down to 7C. The Baltic doesn't
seem to freeze to the same extent any more either.Further South here in
Essex we get snow showers from E and NE winds. We also get a "lake effect"
type snow event off the Thames Estuary if conditions are right and people
talk about "snow streamers" coming up the Estuary to here. Nothing so far
last year or this but most years get up to 5-15cm. Generally, 1987 is
considered to be the last severe cold/snowy winter in S.E England although
we have had our moments since!
Dave