A year or two ago I said how I remembered "typical winters". They included
milder spells but generally had some snow from the north, usually short
lived. A couple of severe stormy spells, some severe hard frosts, longer
cold easterly outbreaks and breakdowns preceded by heavy snow or blizzards.
It would seem that the last month or so has encapsulated some of these
features, albeit on a truncated scale and assuming the breakdown does
involve the forecast heavy snow. We are missing the wild and windy but with
three months left if the frequency and longevity of some these spells
increases then I will see this as an "old fashioned" winter!
Dave,