>Heavy snow tonight and a very cold end to Winter 2009-10 in Britain, NEW Updates and Images!

8AM UPDATE NOW ONLINE!!
As we close winter 2009-10 across the UK, yesterday after a day spent across the Liverpool area, I drove back north on the M6 and stopped at the Charnock Richards services looking at a sunset and dark orange horizon which soon dissapeared and all we could see was a brilliant display of stars. It was a cold night after a day which saw my wife, mother-in-law and I shiver in what was in my opinion one of the coldest feeling days of winter. The wind, albeit fairly light, would cut right through to the bone..

It’s that time of year when the sun is shinning high enough in the sky that it looks invitingly warm, only for you to open your door to a windchill of biting force.

This February is expected to be the coldest in 24 years for Britain and as nights across the Highlands of Scotland repeatedly fall into the -15 to -18C range under brilliant clear, starry skies and still deep snowcover and days which continue to struggle to hit freezing, we have seen a winter which has felt as though it’s never ending this year. It’s been a cold month and winter overall here and throughout Britain as well as the Highlands. Snows remains over the higher terrain of England and Wales as well as a large area of the central Highlands of Scotland where the snowcover has remained deep and unmelted since Dec 17th. With heavy snows falling across Wales and southern and central England today after yet another very cold night last night, the north of England and southern Scotland is expected to see the snows from the south arrive and spread north throughout this evening and through the overnight hours, arriving into the heart of the Scottish central belt by morning.

Here at my house temperature station, we stayed clear and calm and those fine conditions for cooling allowed our temperature to hit 19 degrees this morning which was the lowest reading of February and the lowest since early January. This morning marked a new montly low in the midst of a very impressive and rare streak of sub-freezing nights and an unusual number for February. Tonight is expected to be night 18 out of 24 below freezing for this month and would mean February falls into second place for most nights below freezing. As cold as January may have been, it would be come in third place after 23 nights below in December and now sitting 17 nights below for this month, we have a good chance at either tonight or the coming nights to beat January and that would make February second place in most nights in a month below for the three month meteorological winter period.

Tonight, after a day of morning sunshine, winds have freshend out of the east and skies have become increasingly cloudier out of the south. Skies to our north have remained clear. The air temperature has remained at 35 degrees all day after only managing to climb to freezing around noon. Winds have made the air feel well below freezing all day and like yesterday, has felt like we’ve seen the coldest feeling days of winter thanks to icy winds which really nip exposed skin.

HEAVY SNOW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW MORNING FOR NORTHERN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

Snows tonight will increase north and should hit the southern uplands of Scotland through this evening and we may well see snow flakes start to fly across the Glasgow, Edinburgh corridor by 10-11pm and this should continue along with an increase in easterly winds which combined with a freezing or near freezing air temperature should make for a bitter night to be out in.

Drive with care especially over higher ground throughout the night and this snow may hit harder across the populated central belt of Scotland during tomorrow mornings commute, snarling traffic.

Where is likely to be hardest hit tonight and into tomorrow?
M6 in Cumbria and M74 S. Lanarshire may see several inches through the overnight and tomorrow. Glasgow to Edinburgh corridor including the M8 to see worst around 5-10am tomorrow

The classic high areas of Cumbria (Shap summit area may be hard hit by 2-6 inches) and over the M74 between Beattock summit and between Abington and Happendon services where the ground is high and exposed to strong crosswinds.

At least 1-2 inch accummulations for the low lying areas. 2-4 is possible in the higher ground of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire especially over Fenwick moor (Ayrshire) and around Wanlockhead and Leadhills (Lanarkshire/Dumfries and Galloway). Somes areas exposed to upslope orographic lift may see 6 inch or more amounts with blowing and drifting.

Even after the heavy snows depart, strong winds may bring blowing and drifting as well as knife-edge wind chills..

8am Update

A very good morning to you all and I’m sure like I am, you are waking up to a coating of snow this morning but really what I making it much worse is the fact that combined with a temperature right around freezing and a howling east wind, it’s rather raw out there for your morning commute. Currently it’s 32 degrees as of 8am and with an approximate wind blowing at 20 out of the E it feels like 19 degrees out there and even lower when gusts are considered.

Yes, it’s snowing and yes it’s blowing hard on that stinging wind, accummulating not that much and I really am not sure how much of an accummulation we’ll actually see. Here perhaps an inch or two when all is said and done and that is likey for most low areas. As far as the higher ground goes and particularly areasexposed to the wind, may pick up as much as 2-4 inches and some localised 6 inch amounts are possible. Further north and across the Grampions I wouldn’t be surprised if some areas collect 6-12 inches and a foot is very likely in the upslope areas above 2,000 feet. Conditions across the mountains today, particularly munro level will be life threatening with a combination of white out conditions, gale to hurricane force winds and wind chills perhaps -20C or lower. As well as fast accummulations and fierce blowing and drifting.

11.30am Thursday Update:

Yesterday was a day which I would describe as one of the bleakest days this winter with a strong wind roaring through trees, rattling street lighting, blowing unlocked gates open and even blowing over bins, those winds along with a temp of 32 degrees, made for a horrible day to be out in with persistent snowfall which whipped horizontally across a wet, windy environment.

Though the hills as you can see from my picture above is very white this morning and a cold rain and breezy conditions prevail down here, a car drove into our street and is covered by about 5-6 inches of snow, meaning not far from here a good 4-6 inches of snow was dumped, likely wherever that car came from, there was no turn to rain and likely may still be snowing now.

Heavy rains here right now will be heavy snow further north where the air is colder and particularly at higher levels. 2 feet of snow from yesterday will likely be 4 feet of snow by the end of today into tomorrow and there is more snow for the rest of today and through tomorrow. So how much snow will there likely be by the end of tomorrow? 4-5 feet in places???

What I will say is this, many places that haven’t seen there snow dissappear from before Christmas are likely witnessing the MOST snow on the ground since it arrived and that’s tough going for these folks… I forcasted back in January that during February we may see the BIGGEST snowstorm of the entire winter and see the deepest snowpack. Well though it may not have occured here and across the greater Glasgow area, this IS THE CASE across many areas further north!!! AGAIN I STATE MY IDEAS….

The collision between Atlantic moisture surging north from the southwest Atlantic and Arctic air from the north and east has produced the BIGGEST SNOWS OF WHAT HAS BEEN A SEVERE AND TIRING WINTER… My forecast ideas have become true and I am proud at the forecast I have put out….

Here is an article by AccuWeather relating to Scotland’s big snows

http://www.accuweather.com/news-story.asp?partner=rss&traveler=0&article=8

MORE SNOW LIKELY DOWN AT LOW LEVELS ONCE AGAIN EITHER LATER TODAY OR TOMORROW!! STAY TUNED TO THIS POST AS I SHALL BE UPDATING THIS POST…

Thanks for reading.
-Mark