In southern Hampshire (Southampton area), 2009/10 seemed less
exceptional than several winters I experienced in south-west Sussex in
the 80s (so not quite like for like). That said, I got a taste of
what the winter was like further inland due to trips out at the
weekend, but even there this winter seemed slightly less exceptional
than 1985, 1986 or 1987. 1985 had two separate long snowy spells in
January and February; 1986 was very cold through February with at
least two large falls (Feb 6th and March 1st) and 1987 was
exceptionally cold with snow lying, if I remember right, for two
weeks.

2009/10 did manage two widespread snowfalls in inland Hampshire, the
first lasting a few days from the 21st Dec and the second lasting
around a week from the 5th of January, but there was nothing
significant after mid January.

Another feature of the winter has been wetness. The overall impression
has been a rather damp, soggy but cool winter, with relatively little
in the way of dry, cold air compared to other cold winters: December
was often wet and seemed to divide into three thirds: the first 10
days mild and wet, the middle 10 cold and dry, the final 10 cold and
wet. Widespread inland snow fell on the 21st though missed the coast,
then apparently (I missed it) the end of December was very overcast,
cold and wet.

Of the three months, January fared best here and overall, January was
the most appealing of the three winter months. The best spell of the
winter was 1st-10th; there then followed a few cold but very dark and
dismal days as the warmer air very slowly moved in but it only finally
turned average on the 15th. There were then a few mild, damp days
before it turned colder around the 19th, and the last 10 days or so
was probably the most settled spell of the winter with a mixture of
cold and average days and generally dry conditions with low humidity.

By contrast to January, most of February was utterly miserable; the
phrase "always winter and never Christmas" frequently came to mind in
this month. A nice day on the 1st was followed by three dark, dull
days, then a mild but bright day on the 5th with an Atlantic airstream
provided some relief. The one decent week of February then followed
with a number of cold, dry days with low humidity and frequently
sunny, but from the 14th the weather was generally di dull,
overcast and wet, giving a feeling that we were still much closer to
the winter solstice than we actually were. Normally late Feb feels
semi-springlike down he this year there was no evidence whatsoever.
There was, if I remember right, one good day in the second half: the
17th, where we experienced all-day sun with very low pressure, but the
damp gloom returned the following day. After such a bad two weeks,
though, the "Xynthia" storm was much less significant than expected,
producing, apparently, a fair amount of rain (but nothing exceptional)
and the heaviest falling during the hours midnight to 8am and
consequently was missed by most. The last two or three daylight hours
of February were cold but bright and gave a sense that winter was
finally on the way out.

Like other parts of the country though there was a lack of real mild
days, but the lasting legacy of the winter has been the wetness, with
the countryside probably the most waterlogged at this time of year
since 2001.

Nick

In article
,
Nick writes:
In southern Hampshire (Southampton area), 2009/10 seemed less
exceptional than several winters I experienced in south-west Sussex in
the 80s (so not quite like for like).

I'm in SW Surrey, so not too far from you, though being further from the
coast would normally be a bit colder.

That said, I got a taste of
what the winter was like further inland due to trips out at the
weekend, but even there this winter seemed slightly less exceptional
than 1985, 1986 or 1987. 1985 had two separate long snowy spells in
January and February;

Yep, that was an excellent winter.

1986 was very cold through February with at
least two large falls (Feb 6th and March 1st)

It was an exceptionally cold month, but I remember those falls as being
only about two to three inches each here. So about the same as the heavy
fall that we had this year in the second half of December, but not as
heavy as the one that we had here in early Jan, which amounted to about
five inches.

and 1987 was
exceptionally cold with snow lying, if I remember right, for two
weeks.

Yes, that was an exceptionally cold spell, with a very heavy snowfall -
deeper here than anything we have had since - but apart from those two
weeks in mid January the winter was unremarkable and pretty much
snow-free.

snip interesting detailed description of 2009-10

I think the main difference I noticed here in Cranleigh compared to
recent winters was the way the snow cover "hung around". That in
December lasted a week or so, and that in January rather longer. In
recent winters, when we've occasionally had two or three inches of snow
it's generally all melted within a day or two. Even last February,
though Guildford, only eight miles north of here, had ten inches, we
only had about three, which was mostly gone in three or four days.
--
John Hall
"Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people
from coughing."
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-83)

On Mar 2, 11:03*pm, Nick wrote:
In southern Hampshire (Southampton area), 2009/10 seemed less
exceptional than several winters I experienced in south-west Sussex in
the 80s (so not quite like for like). *That said, I got a taste of
what the winter was like further inland due to trips out at the
weekend, but even there this winter seemed slightly less exceptional
than 1985, 1986 or 1987. 1985 had two separate long snowy spells in
January and February; 1986 was very cold through February with at
least two large falls (Feb 6th and March 1st) and 1987 was
exceptionally cold with snow lying, if I remember right, for two
weeks.

*2009/10 did manage two widespread snowfalls in inland Hampshire, the
first lasting a few days from the 21st Dec and the second lasting
around a week from the 5th of January, but there was nothing
significant after mid January.

Another feature of the winter has been wetness. The overall impression
has been a rather damp, soggy but cool winter, with relatively little
in the way of dry, cold air compared to other cold winters: December
was often wet and seemed to divide into three thirds: the first 10
days mild and wet, the middle 10 cold and dry, the final 10 cold and
wet. Widespread inland snow fell on the 21st though missed the coast,
then apparently (I missed it) the end of December was very overcast,
cold and wet.

Of the three months, January fared best here and overall, January was
the most appealing of the three winter months. The best spell of the
winter was 1st-10th; there then followed a few cold but very dark and
dismal days as the warmer air very slowly moved in but it only finally
turned average on the 15th. There were then a few mild, damp days
before it turned colder around the 19th, and the last 10 days or so
was probably the most settled spell of the winter with a mixture of
cold and average days and generally dry conditions with low humidity.

By contrast to January, most of February was utterly miserable; the
phrase "always winter and never Christmas" frequently came to mind in
this month. A nice day on the 1st was followed by three dark, dull
days, then a mild but bright day on the 5th with an Atlantic airstream
provided some relief. The one decent week of February then followed
with a number of cold, dry days with low humidity and frequently
sunny, but from the 14th the weather was generally di dull,
overcast and wet, giving a feeling that we were still much closer to
the winter solstice than we actually were. Normally late Feb feels
semi-springlike down he this year there was no evidence whatsoever.
There was, if I remember right, one good day in the second half: the
17th, where we experienced all-day sun with very low pressure, but the
damp gloom returned the following day. After such a bad two weeks,
though, the "Xynthia" storm was much less significant than expected,
producing, apparently, a fair amount of rain (but nothing exceptional)
and the heaviest falling during the hours midnight to 8am and
consequently was missed by most. The last two or three daylight hours
of February were cold but bright and gave a sense that winter was
finally on the way out.

Like other parts of the country though there was a lack of real mild
days, but the lasting legacy of the winter has been the wetness, with
the countryside probably the most waterlogged at this time of year
since 2001.

Nick

A very readable summary! Thanks Nick. It felt like a long winter down
here - all relative, of course! Too many three-fleeces-and-a-woolly-
hat days for my liking!

"Dawlish" wrote in message
...

A very readable summary! Thanks Nick. It felt like a long winter down
here - all relative, of course! Too many three-fleeces-and-a-woolly-
hat days for my liking!
========

What!!!!
Three fleeces required where you live in balmy Dawlish?
You should try living up here Paul!

Ps suggest some days when you want to go to the pub to buy those 3 pints you
owe me, we can also solve the world's problems as well :-)

Eskimo Will (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
--

On Tue, 2 Mar 2010 15:03:48 -0800 (PST), Nick
wrote:

That's an excellent summary of the situation down here Nick, many
thanks.

Of the three months, January fared best here and overall, January was
the most appealing of the three winter months. The best spell of the
winter was 1st-10th;

Seen from a few miles further ESE than you, in West Fareham and 3
miles from the North shores of The Solent, I can honestly say that the
snowy spell was truly remarkable, the like of which hasn't been seen
here for a couple of decades. I suspect that nothing like it will
occur for another 20 years or so and I will remember it for the rest
of my life. But I will forget everything else about this Winter.

We had 9 consecutive days with complete snow cover at 9 am and cover
was complete at some time in the day on 10 consecutive days (5th to
14th), with a maximum depth of 13 cm on the 6th. On the coast itself
(at Lee-on-the-Solent) measured a maximum level depth of 15 cm. The
beach there was covered in snow (above the high water mark) for a
week. No ice days at Lee, but here there were 3 in succession (7, 8,
9th).

It was, here, a truly remarkable winter; one to remember. But *only*
because of that wonderful ten day snowy spell in January.

--
Dave
Fareham

On Mar 3, 9:22*pm, Dave Ludlow
wrote:
On Tue, 2 Mar 2010 15:03:48 -0800 (PST), Nick
wrote:

That's an excellent summary of the situation down here Nick, many
thanks.

Of the three months, January fared best here and overall, January was
the most appealing of the three winter months. The best spell of the
winter was 1st-10th;

Seen from a few miles further ESE than you, in West Fareham and 3
miles from the North shores of The Solent, I can honestly say that the
snowy spell was truly remarkable, the like of which hasn't been seen
here *for a couple of decades. I suspect that nothing like it will
occur for another 20 years or so and I will remember it for the rest
of my life. But *I will forget everything else about this Winter.

We had 9 consecutive days with complete snow cover at 9 am and cover
was complete at some time in the day on 10 consecutive days (5th to
14th), with a maximum depth of 13 cm on the 6th. On the coast itself
(at Lee-on-the-Solent) *measured a maximum level depth of 15 cm. The
beach there was covered in snow (above the high water mark) for a
week. No ice days at Lee, but here there were 3 in succession (7, 8,
9th).

I had a taste of the conditions at Fareham on the 9th (the Saturday)
as I had a 30 minute train connection there (on the way to visit the
extremely heavy snowfall in the Haslemere area). The snow was indeed
very much deeper at Fareham than here, and I wandered round some of
the residential streets in the station area truly in awe at what has
been the heaviest snow in coastal Hampshire I've ever seen. Shame it
didn't last a bit longer and we had to endure that awful February,
which will stick in my mind but for rather less good reasons...

Nick

in 237493 20100303 221223 Nick wrote:

I had a taste of the conditions at Fareham on the 9th (the Saturday)
as I had a 30 minute train connection there (on the way to visit the
extremely heavy snowfall in the Haslemere area). The snow was indeed
very much deeper at Fareham than here, and I wandered round some of
the residential streets in the station area truly in awe at what has
been the heaviest snow in coastal Hampshire I've ever seen. Shame it
didn't last a bit longer and we had to endure that awful February,
which will stick in my mind but for rather less good reasons...

For sheer depth of snow this year's was beaten on 6th April 2008.
We had over 20cm in 3 hours but it had all gone by late afternoon.
I'm just north of Waterlooville.

On Mar 3, 5:32*pm, "Will Hand" wrote:
"Dawlish" wrote in message

...

A very readable summary! Thanks Nick. It felt like a long winter down
here - all relative, of course! Too many three-fleeces-and-a-woolly-
hat days for my liking!
========

What!!!!
Three fleeces required where you live in balmy Dawlish?
You should try living up here Paul!

Ps suggest some days when you want to go to the pub to buy those 3 pints you
owe me, we can also solve the world's problems as well :-)

Eskimo Will (Haytor, Devon, 1017 feet asl)
--

I will and I'd better drive! A fine winter bet if ever there was one!
Rats!! 8((

In article ,
Bob Martin writes:
For sheer depth of snow this year's was beaten on 6th April 2008.
We had over 20cm in 3 hours but it had all gone by late afternoon.
I'm just north of Waterlooville.

Wow! That's impressive. In Cranleigh, Surrey, for a short while the snow
was some of the most intense I've seen. It was also remarkable for being
powdery snow blowing in the wind, rather than the large, wet flakes one
might expect at that time of year. But it only lasted for about an hour
here, between 8am and 9am, so we only had about a third as much as you,
and the last traces had gone by about 2pm.
--
John Hall
"Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people
from coughing."
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-83)

in 237524 20100304 101958 John Hall wrote:
In article ,
Bob Martin writes:
For sheer depth of snow this year's was beaten on 6th April 2008.
We had over 20cm in 3 hours but it had all gone by late afternoon.
I'm just north of Waterlooville.

Wow! That's impressive. In Cranleigh, Surrey, for a short while the snow
was some of the most intense I've seen. It was also remarkable for being
powdery snow blowing in the wind, rather than the large, wet flakes one
might expect at that time of year. But it only lasted for about an hour
here, between 8am and 9am, so we only had about a third as much as you,
and the last traces had gone by about 2pm.

Just checked my photos and it started at 8:05 and 70% of it had fallen by 9am.
So almost the same as you, except it continued at a reduced rate until 10:30