Dave Cornwell wrote:

It is very difficult to work out where it is cold and where there is snow
cover. The Media aren't helping. It's not a North vs London bias it's a we'll
report the worst case as being everywhere bias. On News 24 I just got in the
handover to the forecaster " Can it possibly get any colder than this?"
Answer, "Not really after the near record breaking temperatures in some parts
last night". Am I imagining this stuff or are they? I am prepared to concede
that today is the first day of a cold snap here as the max looks like being
3.6C today and there was a slight frost last night. BUT where exactly is all
of the snow cover and freezing weather they keep mentioning?

Dave, S.Essex

I was rather amused this morning listening to Mishal Hussain doing a telephone
interview with a B&B owner at Altnaharra. The thrust of the interview was along
the lines of

"How do you manage to cope with the temperature as low as -7"

The implication was that this was cold beyond what could reasonably be
expected. Sad really :-( Goodness knows what the media would come up with if we
got a proper cold spell.

Despite having had a fair bit of snow here this month the mean temperature for
the month to date is still 2 deg above the January average. The next few days
will undoubtedly bring it back closer to the average but it's by no means been
a cold month so far

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
http://peakdistrictweather.org