On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 21:49:14 +0000 (UTC), "lawrence jenkins"
wrote:

Jack my instincts tell me that many a severe cold spell back in my youth
were very cold indeed. Now call me naive and stupid but I also thought the
classic parttern for really heavy snow was a high over europe scandinavia
and an atlantic depression trying to push in creating heavy snow for the
south as it hit the dense cold air..

I still have my record of late-Jan/early-Feb 1954 when this is exactly
what happened. An intense high developed over Scandinavia while a
small depression skirted it's southern edge giving considerable
snowfall over southern England. I was living in Basingstoke, Hampshire
and remember trying to convince my mother that a southerly wind could
result in low temperatures. After the passage of the depression, the
high persisted with very low day and night temperature. We lived at
the bottom of a shallow valley on the eastern side of the town and I
recorded a minimum of -4°F on Feb 4th with a maximum that day of 28°F.

Those were the days...

--
Alan White
Twenty-eight miles NW of Glasgow.
Overlooking Loch Goil and Loch Long in Argyll, Scotland.
http://tinyurl.com/55v3

In some parts of the UK would it not be right to associate low temperatures
with lack of cloud cover - no clouds, no snow? Or is this too simplistic?

Eric

"phil" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:14:42 -0000, "Ian Currie"
wrote:

I've always wondered where that saying originated. As you say, it
snows in Siberia (and the poles plus Canada, Alaska, etc) at -30 and
below, so I think the good old UK can manage it at just below
freezing.

Methinks those dear old ladies need educating.


Phil

"Eric Ingham" wrote in message
...
In some parts of the UK would it not be right to associate low
temperatures
with lack of cloud cover - no clouds, no snow? Or is this too simplistic?

Not at all. That was precisely what I was saying. Temperatures too low to
trigger convection.

Martin. (I think it was you who started this theme). When you meet those
old ladies in the Post Office queue again, ask them if they were referring
to "conditional instability". I'm sure that's what they had in the back of
their minds.

Jack

"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
...


Martin. (I think it was you who started this theme).

.... Ian Currie is your man ;-)

Good thread!

Martin.

"Martin Rowley" wrote in message
...

"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
...


Martin. (I think it was you who started this theme).

... Ian Currie is your man ;-)

Sorry Martin. I had visions of you queuing up for your pension. That
thought must now be directed towards Ian!

Just a little reminder for those about to become Senior Citizens (as I did
two weeks ago). You have to be pro-active to claim your State Pension. It
is NOT automatic as I had naively expected. You have to fill in a 14 page
form (I think it was 14). This form is supposed to be sent to you 4 months
before your birthday. In my case, the papers were somehow overlooked that
so I may well have lost N weeks at £damn all. But a different department
was quick enough to reduce my RAF pension by £13 per annum when I reached
the age of 65 (no idea why). The mind boggles at the administrative cost of
the modern tax and benefit system.

Jack

"Jack Harrison" wrote
In my case, the papers were somehow overlooked that
so I may well have lost N weeks at £damn all.

I have to add that it was not overlooked by me. The need to send me the
forms was overlooked by some civil servant.

Jack

In article 3fe7125c$0$1470$9b0f33e3@clyde,
says...
I've always assumed the saying is another piece of old Country weather
folklore based on this observation over Centuries, just as many of the
others. One has to say, to the uneducated on the finer more scientific
points of the weather, it does appear to be true.


I think it's more to do with the moisture content of the air, and, by
inference, the area from which the air mass came.

--
Alan LeHun

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 11:12:45 -0000, Jack Harrison wrote:

You have to be pro-active to claim your State Pension.

Well I'm not surprised, the same can be said for most other benefits.
I didn't know anything about Child Tax Credit until my accountant(*)
mentioned it as an aside. So if anyone out there has kids and hasn't
claimed I suggest you look into it and don't get thinking "our
household income will be to high" (unless it's more than about
£55K...). You can even claim online.

(*)Nothing grand, I'm self employed, he knows the Tax system better
than me and what the Tax Office will (or won't) bat an eyelid at.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
. 1...
On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 11:12:45 -0000, Jack Harrison wrote:

You have to be pro-active to claim your State Pension.

Well I'm not surprised, the same can be said for most other benefits.
I didn't know anything about Child Tax Credit until my accountant(*)
mentioned it as an aside. So if anyone out there has kids and hasn't
claimed I suggest you look into it and don't get thinking "our
household income will be to high" (unless it's more than about
£55K...).

I would reckon there can't be many out there who qualify for both State
Pension and Child Tax Credit.
I'm just waiting for them to take away the Tax Credit once (if) they start
paying the old age pension.

Jack