"Graham" wrote in message
...


I wasn't taking you up on the fact it might be cooler than 62/63, that
seems very unlikely even in this part of Scotland, we would need another
month with an average below zero, but even this isn't silly.
Your original point was that it was silly to suggest it may be the
coolest SINCE 1962/63. Perhaps that is the case for the midlands also?
But not for anywhere north of your region I would guess.

I know it's been a lot colder in Scotland than it as down here.
I should have said the silly comments from the English Media, sorry Alex!
One such comment on our local radio station after only 15 days of January
said 'it's now official, it's the coldest Winter for 47 years', how on
earth you can make a statement like that with half the Winter remaining I
don't know!
More annoying is our local stations and TV had completely forgot about
1979, which in this area was a much more snowy winter and also very cold.

Graham

Yes, the 1978/79 winter is being overlooked, it was almost as cold here as
the winter of 1962/63. And snow wise it had larger falls, but none quite as
long lasting as the present winter has had already.
I know the winter of 1962/63 was colder in the midlands than in this part of
Scotland, but still, it was a very cold winter here too.
The five coldest winters in this part of Scotland (Lanarkshire) since 1958
were;

1962/63 0.0ºC
1978/79 0.2ºC
1981/82 1.0ºC
1977/78 1.1ºC
1995/96 1.5ºC

2009/10 -0.1ºC *2/3rds completed, February LTA is +3.4ºC

The winter of 1946/47 is likely to have had a mean of around -0.4ºC (+/-
0.2ºC) in this area by my estimation and that was the coldest here since the
start of the 1900's. The winters of 1916/17 and 1939/1940 will have been
cold too, i've no figures to back this up for this area but I'm confident
they can't match 1946/47.

I think the first week of February is forecast to have a mean around zero in
this area according to forecasts/models. Given that's the case, the
remainder of February would have to be 2.7ºC above average not to appear in
the top 5 listed above. That's not silly either, but it's very unlikely as
well.

Alex.