The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern
England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

Thanks. Assuming that the isotherms are for the sea temperature, it's
noticeable how cold the North Sea was, which must have minimised the
warming of the air passing over it. It's surprising that the sea
temperature was still so low, since the mean CETs of January, February
and March were 2.7, 3.4 and 6.6.

See also

http://www.weather-banter.co.uk/uk-s...ch-1952-a.html

where someone has archived Peter Clarke's post to this newsgroup about
the blizzard back in 2005. (It doesn't look as though Google Groups has
it for some reason.)
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

On 29/03/2017 19:07, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern
England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

Thanks. Assuming that the isotherms are for the sea temperature, it's
noticeable how cold the North Sea was, which must have minimised the
warming of the air passing over it. It's surprising that the sea
temperature was still so low, since the mean CETs of January, February
and March were 2.7, 3.4 and 6.6.

See also

http://www.weather-banter.co.uk/uk-s...ch-1952-a.html


where someone has archived Peter Clarke's post to this newsgroup about
the blizzard back in 2005. (It doesn't look as though Google Groups has
it for some reason.)

In the early 1960's I purchased a copy of the UKMO book 'Weather Map -
an introduction to weather forecasting'*. On page 96 starts a
description, including maps, of this event under the heading
'Snowstorm'. I pored over this, annotated the charts and was generally
most impressed by the set-up. Didn't have long to wait for the next
major snow event though.

* Plenty of used copies available on Ebay, Amazon etc

--
George in Swanston, Edinburgh, 580'asl
www.swanstonweather.co.uk

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern
England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

Thanks. Assuming that the isotherms are for the sea temperature, it's
noticeable how cold the North Sea was, which must have minimised the
warming of the air passing over it. It's surprising that the sea
temperature was still so low, since the mean CETs of January, February
and March were 2.7, 3.4 and 6.6.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own memories of the blizzard :)

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern
England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

Thanks. Assuming that the isotherms are for the sea temperature, it's
noticeable how cold the North Sea was, which must have minimised the
warming of the air passing over it. It's surprising that the sea
temperature was still so low, since the mean CETs of January, February
and March were 2.7, 3.4 and 6.6.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own
memories of the blizzard :)

:)

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

On Thursday, 30 March 2017 10:52:29 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of southern
England.

http://wp.me/p2VSmb-22O

Thanks. Assuming that the isotherms are for the sea temperature, it's
noticeable how cold the North Sea was, which must have minimised the
warming of the air passing over it. It's surprising that the sea
temperature was still so low, since the mean CETs of January, February
and March were 2.7, 3.4 and 6.6.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own
memories of the blizzard :)

:)

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.

Thanks, John, could I add that to the blog - memories of the event are very sketchy, unlike the January 1987 cold spell.

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

"Scott W" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, 30 March 2017 10:52:29 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of
southern
England.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own
memories of the blizzard :)

:)

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.

Thanks, John, could I add that to the blog - memories of the event are
very sketchy, unlike the January 1987 cold spell.

I remember the day very well as the Oxford/Cambridge boat race was held that
afternoon. I was 14 at the time, and my brother-in-law gave me a ticket for
a place on a launch to watch the race. My home was in Tooting at the time,
and I took the bus to Westminster pier to catch the launch. I recall sitting
upstairs on the bus with a thick layer of snow covering the front facing
windows, but the roads and pavements were mainly slushy. I then spent one of
the most miserable afternoons I can recall. There was a 'lounge' on the
boat, which was warm, but was also full of diesel fumes and was very noisy.
I alternately stood outside on the deck until the cold got too much, or went
below for warmth until the fumes got the better of me. I recall bleak views
of London with snow on roofs, in a poor grey afternoon light, but I think it
was mainly dry at that time, although there may have been slight sleety
rain. The boat race itself was a close one, but the crowds that usually
lined the banks of the river were absent, just a few hardy stragglers, and
by the time of the race I had a headache, probably brought on by the fumes.
For my part, I couldn't wait to get back to Westminster and back home to
thaw out.


--
Bernard Burton

Satellite images and weather data for Wokingham at:
www.woksat.info/wwp.html



---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

On Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 4:55:49 PM UTC+1, Bernard Burton wrote:
"Scott W" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, 30 March 2017 10:52:29 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of
southern
England.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own
memories of the blizzard :)

:)

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.

Thanks, John, could I add that to the blog - memories of the event are
very sketchy, unlike the January 1987 cold spell.

I remember the day very well as the Oxford/Cambridge boat race was held that
afternoon. I was 14 at the time, and my brother-in-law gave me a ticket for
a place on a launch to watch the race. My home was in Tooting at the time,
and I took the bus to Westminster pier to catch the launch. I recall sitting
upstairs on the bus with a thick layer of snow covering the front facing
windows, but the roads and pavements were mainly slushy. I then spent one of
the most miserable afternoons I can recall. There was a 'lounge' on the
boat, which was warm, but was also full of diesel fumes and was very noisy.
I alternately stood outside on the deck until the cold got too much, or went
below for warmth until the fumes got the better of me. I recall bleak views
of London with snow on roofs, in a poor grey afternoon light, but I think it
was mainly dry at that time, although there may have been slight sleety
rain. The boat race itself was a close one, but the crowds that usually
lined the banks of the river were absent, just a few hardy stragglers, and
by the time of the race I had a headache, probably brought on by the fumes.
For my part, I couldn't wait to get back to Westminster and back home to
thaw out.


Very interesting, Bernard. Would you be happy for your comment to be added to my blog?

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

Bernard Burton wrote:

"Scott W" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, 30 March 2017 10:52:29 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, 29 March 2017 19:14:05 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I am indebted to Bruce for flagging this up but I've written a few
lines on this event that happened on this day 65 years ago: 10 inches
of snow in Northolt and sub-zero temps across a large part of
southern England.

Thanks, John. I was rather hoping you were going to post your own
memories of the blizzard :)

:)

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.

Thanks, John, could I add that to the blog - memories of the event are
very sketchy, unlike the January 1987 cold spell.

I remember the day very well as the Oxford/Cambridge boat race was held that
afternoon. I was 14 at the time, and my brother-in-law gave me a ticket for a
place on a launch to watch the race. My home was in Tooting at the time, and
I took the bus to Westminster pier to catch the launch. I recall sitting
upstairs on the bus with a thick layer of snow covering the front facing
windows, but the roads and pavements were mainly slushy. I then spent one of
the most miserable afternoons I can recall. There was a 'lounge' on the boat,
which was warm, but was also full of diesel fumes and was very noisy. I
alternately stood outside on the deck until the cold got too much, or went
below for warmth until the fumes got the better of me. I recall bleak views
of London with snow on roofs, in a poor grey afternoon light, but I think it
was mainly dry at that time, although there may have been slight sleety rain.
The boat race itself was a close one, but the crowds that usually lined the
banks of the river were absent, just a few hardy stragglers, and by the time
of the race I had a headache, probably brought on by the fumes. For my part,
I couldn't wait to get back to Westminster and back home to thaw out.

There's Pathe News footage of that Boat Race at

https://youtu.be/C4lo5bUl66w

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

The southern England blizzard of March 1952
 

In message ,
Scott W writes
On Thursday, 30 March 2017 10:52:29 UTC+1, John Hall wrote:

I was three at the time, and sadly don't have any memory of it at all.
That's in spite of the fact that we apparently moved house from
Cranleigh to Effingham (about 15 miles away) on the day of the blizzard.
According to my father, it snowed all day, but the following day - which
he reckoned was the 1st April - the weather was glorious and all the
snow was gone by noon. I don't think his memory is quite in accordance
with the facts, but of course that's common with memories of past
weather.

Thanks, John, could I add that to the blog - memories of the event are
very sketchy, unlike the January 1987 cold spell.

Feel free, so long as you include the caveat. I think the day of the
blizzard was Saturday the 29th, and that the day of the rapid thaw would
actually have been Monday the 31st or Tuesday the 1st, rather than the
day after the blizzard.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)