A Scottish Borders Council plough helps clear the A697 after it was blocked by drifting snow (Courtesy of Scottish Borders Council)
It was all about the warmth around this time last year as a strong POSITIVE Arctic Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation ruled, playing a significant role in pumping unusually warm air up over the UK (as well as the United States too). On March 26, 2012, the incredible 3-day record streak began with Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire soaring to a new Scottish March high of 22.8C (73F), surpassing the old record set at Gordon Castle, Moray of 22.2C (72F). On March 27th, it was even warmer, surpassing the ‘new’ record on TWO previous afternoon’s with a high of 23.6C (74F).
While Aboyne was the UK’s warmest spot last year, amazingly, it has been the UK’s coldest this March with a low on the 11th of -12.9C and over the past 24 hours, icy easterly gales and havy snow have brought significant disruption from Aberdeenshire all the way down to the Borders extending into northeast England.
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Very grim conditions have battered the whole country today with strong to gale-force easterly winds, originating all the way from an unusually cold Scandinavia, drove icy flurries right through the Lowlands to Glasgow and the West Coast today. The worst was focused in the East. Livingston in West Lothian was hard hit with as many as 100 schools shut. The Border too was significantly impacted with roads barely passable due to major blowing and drifting.
Today!
Thought you might like to see this video I shot back on March 27th, 2012. What a difference!!
Last year!
Amazingly this pattern is not over yet. With a begative NAO and off the charts AO, models support the continuation of cold and likely snow through the remainder of March and extending into April. Amazingly, today’s blizzard conditions and major disruption is the third such event in just 8 days for the UK and with more heavy snow tonight across eastern aprts of England and perhaps other parts on Thursday-Friday, the wild March of 2013 continues full force.
Looking back at the beginning of last week, while the South Coast of England and the Channel Islands got hammered by the worst snowstorm in decades, clear skies and light winds settling over the fresh snowfields of Scotland allowed temperatures to plummet. Aboyne hit -12.9C which made for the second coldest low of winter for the UK, the following night, Saughall, Ayrshire plunged to -11.9C while my truck temperature read -11C in Blackwood, South Lanarkshire.
What will be interesting is with a more expansive and deeper snowcover across many parts of Scotland (especially the Northeast) whether we can get clear skies along with lighter winds tomorrow night (Wed into Thurs), if so, we may see temperatures yet again plummet towards the UK’s lowest value of the winter. Especially given that the coldest air aloft is settling in as the low departs.
The ECMWF continues to keep 850 temps (5,000ft) well below freezing with the -10C line flittering, all the way through March 28th!
Don’t be surprised to see it snow well into April!!
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