Braemar, Aberdeenshire (Courtesy of Mark Vogan)
While there was no snow down here in the Central Belt, I decided to make a trip up north to where there was plenty.
Roughly 150 miles north, northeast of Glasgow and 58 miles due west of Aberdeen, tucked deep within the Grampian Mountains is the beautiful, picturesque village of Braemar. Myself and Operations Director, Lhyam decided to make the trip to see the winter wonderland and to pay a visit to Scotland’s icebox.
For me, Braemar is not only beautiful, quaint and stylish but it is well known as Scotland’s king of cold along with Altnaharra.
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Both Braemar and Altnaharra hold the record for the UK’s coldest low of -27C or -17F and while several tiny Highland/Grampian communities along with some English locales record the lowest UK lows, Braemar and Altnaharra are often the coldest places during the worst cold spells.
So far, Braemar holds the prize as the coldest spot this season with last week’s low of -13C.
It certainly felt chilly when myself and Lhyam walked around yesterday with the temperature hovering at -3 during late morning. Nothing to locals. There was plenty of cloud which kept it milder overnight and so it wasn’t nearly as cold as it could’ve been. Often, temperatures can hold at between -5 and -10C throughout the day when there’s plenty of snow and the night previous was clear, calm and cold.
Last night was clear and so the low this morning got down to -12C, the UK’s coldest and second coldest of the season.
Braemar is so cold because of it’s relatively high and sheltered location. Snow can lie here when many parts of the country is bare.
The cold air runs down surrounding hills and collects at the bottom of the valley where Braemar is located. The lack of sun for much of the winter day means warming here is minimal.
After breakfast and a stroll around, we hit the road and took the notorious Cock Bridge to Tomintoul route which climbs high into the open, exposed and very beautiful Cairngorm Mountain National Park. We drove up to the Lecht Ski Resort where there was plenty of deep snow, enough for the slopes to be open and for skiers to take advantage.
Below is a few videos Lhyam and I captured from our trip yesterday, or you can view the photo-gallery here.
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maybe we all dont live in Scotland or way up in the highlands so please please if we are going to pay for a sevice at least let it be right just a little bit…
mmmmm gone a bit quiet on the forcast front ???????????
:~(((
I wouldn’t take notice of the negative comments Mark. If it is a mild winter, we save on the heating bills. If it is cold and little snow we have to spend more on heating bills. If it is cold and snowy, we can enjoy the snow for a period and spend more on heating.
I’d make comment that despite the lack of snow, Oct and Nov have been colder than usual here in Eastern Scotland. The snowfall here in Fife last winter was minimal. One day with snow on the ground in my town. It was a mild winter. This winter has started cold, and I’ve seen snow on the ground several times. The amount has been small, but it was there. THe temperatures have been cold overall.
Mark has expressed ideas and I find his videos and posts interesting. Hence I subscribed. Mark has passion, and an interest in weather. He has rightly stated that his posts are about ideas, not facts.
Last winter Mark forecasted cold for us. The cold was there indeed, just not here. It unleashed its wrath to the east of the UK i.e. mainland Europe. It looks like so far this cold has slipped slightly west for beginning of winter and hence we have experienced the battle between long cold periods and the odd milder bit of weather with rain/sleet/snow.
Do I expect the severe cold/snow in January that Mark has predicted? No I don’t expect it, but it could happen. It may also be normal or even mild. It doesn’t matter if Mark is “wrong.” I will still subscribe as I enjoy his ideas.
Good comment! I enjoy Marks ideas and will continue subscribing as well.
Mark certainly knows what he’s talking about and so far his forecast has been spot on for Denmark. We have had cold and snow for two weeks now. That’s a huge improvement over December last year. It seems it’s over regarding the cold for now, but I will be watching Marks forecasts continually in hope for more. And if not…that’s okay, too.
simon ,he is talking nothing but cold weather since nov.1st,and still hase:nt happened,same ols story last winter how cold it will get and never happened,actually 2011 was one very mild winter,european weather much different than ours,it snows in europe most winters when we get none,so whats different this year,my own predictions is for mild zonal winter with azores high take up position around christmas time and continue for several weeks,things normally cool down going into april and may
On what model output do you build your assumptions that the Azores high is to build up around christmas? I see it nowhere in the models at the moment – neither GFS, EC, UK or the other models. And taking a look at todays NAO forecast it can practically go anywhere from next week, so there is a lot of uncertainty involved that neither, you, I or anyone else without knowledge of further development down the line can be certain about. So is it just guesswork or do you know something that I don’t?
The Azores high may build up at some point during this month, yes, but as I say it’s nowhere to be seen in the output of the models right now. As a matter of fact there is a chance for the cold coming back from east after the weekend. So at least bring some substantial evidence to back up your claims, before you start bashing Mark for being wrong with his forecast. Give him a chance – we are only two weeks into December! And if you are not satisfied with what Mark delivers you can always terminate your subscription. Nobody forces anyone to subscribe. 😉
I’ll repeat Brain – if not satisfied with the ideas Mark puts forward why do you bother continuing to subscribe? Seems churlish to me that you suggest he close down the website after just 2 weeks into the 3 month winter! As for cold that hasn’t happened Netweather current has the anomaly for December in the UK as 2.5c below average for the month to date. http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=cet%3bsess
So it has been colder than average by a notable margin thus far which would make your winter forecast much more of a bust to date than Mark’s!
PS April and May are Spring months so not sure what relevance that has to Winter forecasts…
come on mark whats happening with your forecast even though it was all wrong we are entitled to some expanations not showing scotland,were not paying for some daft photos,close the site if unable to predict a forecast
Or Brian – if not happy you could always terminate your membership. Give the guy a break – he was prepared to put his ideas out there when other forecasters aren’t prepared to commit as far ahead as the end of this sentence. I, for one, respect him a great deal for that.
PS – we’re only 2 weeks into winter so maybe you should see how the other 10 weeks or so pan out before slating him.
Stunning part of the country wish I was there. Missing your forecast when can we expect the next instalment need to here you views on the winter
well thank you mark for your lovely vids.
it seems to me that you are quite happy only to forecast and predict were you live.
i know you cannot control the weather at all but it would be nice to get a mention in the forecast and a update where you think its going..