The severe winter of 1978-79

[Don]

Unfortunately I was only two years old during this severe Winter, so I'm a bit too young to remember this one!

Probably the severest Winter of my lifetime.

B)

[Polar Continental]

Referring to the end piece in Telegraph, that the cold spell would end and a return to the cold weather was unlikely, it seems as though the cold weather did return during March, and looked quite severe.

16 March 1979

850 chart

Paul

[reef]

Referring to the end piece in Telegraph, that the cold spell would end and a return to the cold weather was unlikely, it seems as though the cold weather did return during March, and looked quite severe.

16 March 1979

850 chart

Paul

Indeed, it even came back in early May that year!

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119790504.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00219790504.gif

[Polar Continental]

Indeed, it even came back in early May that year!

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119790504.gif

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00219790504.gif

Yes indeed, and that was a very potent cold northerly for May, those were the days.

Paul

[Stratos Ferric]

Referring to the end piece in Telegraph, that the cold spell would end and a return to the cold weather was unlikely, it seems as though the cold weather did return during March, and looked quite severe.

16 March 1979

850 chart

Paul

Winter kept returning that year. My own records show that it snowed pretty much non-stop for 40 hours om the 16-17th, depositing 13" of level snow. It soon warmed up, but even so the snow persisted for over a week. It then snowed again March 27-29th; April 1st-4th; and, April 30th-May 5th.

[Thundery wintry showers]

The mid-March event in the Tyne & Wear region was probably the severest of the entire season there, with 46cm at Newcastle, and presumably rather more than that further inland.

On 5 May 1979 a snow cover was reported at Lancaster at 0900, which is quite a notable statistic.

[Terminal Moraine]

May 1st 1979 was the last occasion when I recorded lying snow at 0900 g.m.t in May, unusual even at this altitude as a thin early morning snow cover in May is soon thawed by strong sunshine, bearing in mind the sun rises at about 0530 in early May.

It's difficult to believe that, at the time, the winter was almost taken for granted. Yes it was very cold and snowy but it was expected that, every so often, a winter like that would occur. If another were to occur I'm sure it would be treated as an almost cataclysmic event.

I recorded 67 mornings with lying snow that winter ( met' office definintion ) and I was living a bit lower down than at present; the most since 1963 and certainly the most of any winter since.

T.M

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Savings rates of 14% and a basic rate of tax of 33%!

[Weather-history]

Savings rates of 14% and a basic rate of tax of 33%!

....and the Telegraph was just 9p.

[acbrixton]

Savings rates of 14% and a basic rate of tax of 33%!

Snowfall of 2" in lowland Surrey about 22/4/79 and a snow flurry over the North Downs outside Guildford on 1/5/79.

Regards

ACB

[Nick H]

OT: snowfall of 2" in lowland Surrey about 22/4/79 and a snow flurry over the North Downs outside Guildford on 1/5/79.

Regards

ACB

OT: Jan 1979 Chiltern Hills 162m asl

24 air frosts

lowest min -10.5C on New Year's Day.

10 air frosts < minus 5C.

max temp 8C on the 8th.

3 ice days

lowest day max -2.3C on New Year's Day.

Feb 1979

5 successive ice days (<0C continuously) in mid-month.

May 4 1979

Our Blessed Margaret....etc etc

Edited November 7, 2007 by Osbourne One-Nil

[West is Best]

I remember it vividly. I had to get up for a prefect's Detention on my birthday and go for a run. Snow was swirling and drifting all around the town - some of the drifts were huge with that wonderful effect you get of completely bare stone in other parts.

Magic. It almost made the Detention worthwhile.

[johnholmes]

I remember the winter well being on a middle level forecasting course at Shinfield Park, near Reading. We had some African forecasters with us and most had never seen snow so they, initially, thought it wonderful, but soon decided they preferred their weather when it just went on for rather a long time.

Some of the journeys between home south of Manchester and the Reading area were a bit fraught.

Edited November 7, 2007 by Osbourne One-Nil
Because you should use the complain button!

[Guest Viking141]

I remember it well! At that time the main A90 from Dundee to Aberdeen ran right through my home village of Laurencekirk and I can vivdly remember the Police closing the road just north of Laurencekirk because the drifting was so bad. It mean that we had a line of nothbound trucks etc who could nt go any further so we had to open up things like the village hall and scotu hut to give them a bed for the night. Then to cap everything the electric went off and wasnt restored until the following morning. My parents ran a B&B at the time and we were absolutely chokka that night, there were people sleeping on the floors, on couches, you name it.

[Rollo]

I remember walking across the Tyne Bridge that afternoon, after our lectures finished. I lived down by Saltwell Park in Gateshead for those who know the area. The temperature was horrific. All the while, my left hand side (the one facing the East) was pelted with snow grains that seemed hard as diamond. The snow was horizontal, blizzarding up the Tyne Valley. The place was at a complete standstill, buses and cars had given up hours before. When I got into my digs I was almost freezing to death.

The March snowstorm (16th-18th?) dumped about 18" of snow, with drifts up to 12ft deep anywhere exposed to the Easterly wind.

In the Winter memories spot-that was the February day I got frostbite with thick gloves and boots on, it took about an hour for the extremities to thaw out

[Michael Fishermans Friend]

I remember going on a field trip to the Peak District in early May (I think it was near Buxton), we climbed or hiked Mam Tor. There were a couple of days of sporadic wet snow for a couple of days which would be rare nowdays for sure!

The first good drifting snow I experienced as a child with drifts up to 7/8 feet deep in our area.

[Anti-Mild]

I'm quite surprised there wasn't anyone frozen to death that day, knowing how Tynesiders have a reputation for wearing the bare minimum of clothing.

Wrong year but this happened to a 19 year old near where I lived in Perth in late December 1995. He tried to cut across a field towards his house and he froze to death . I don't have my records to hand but I think the temp dipped down to -19c that night!

[North-Easterly Blast]

The winter of 1978-79 was very much a slightly less severe version of 1962-63, and had just about every synoptic setup for snowfall that there is. It now looks almost impossible given the patterns of the last 20 years that we will ever see the likes of this winter again. Just a pity that there is no stratospheric temperature data available for this winter.

Winter 1978-79 CET Trackometer:

Dec 1978 (3.9)

1.-1.2

2. 0.3

3. 1.5

4. 2.7

5. 2.5

6. 2.3

7. 2.5

8. 3.0

9. 3.7

10. 4.4

11. 5.0

12. 5.4

13. 5.5

14. 5.5

15. 5.5

16. 5.4

17. 5.2

18. 4.9

19. 4.5

20. 4.2

21. 4.0

22. 3.8

23. 3.7

24. 3.7

25. 3.8

26. 3.9

27. 4.1

28. 4.2

29. 4.3

30. 4.2

31. 3.9 (3.94*C)

Jan 1979 (-0.4)

1. -3.8

2. -3.2

3. -3.3

4. -3.1

5. -3.2

6. -2.8

7. -2.2

8. -1.2

9. -0.7

10. -0.5

11. -0.2

12. -0.2

13. -0.5

14. -0.6

15. -0.4

16. -0.1

17. 0.0

18. 0.0

19. 0.0

20. 0.1

21. 0.0

22. 0.0

23. 0.0

24. -0.1

25. -0.1

26. -0.2

27. -0.3

28. -0.5

29. -0.5

30. -0.4

31. -0.4 (-0.37*C)

Feb 1979 (1.2)

1. 4.3

2. 2.6

3. 2.2

4. 2.0

5. 2.1

6. 1.7

7. 1.6

8. 1.4

9. 1.3

10. 1.3

11. 1.3

12. 1.3

13. 1.3

14. 1.1

15. 0.8

16. 0.7

17. 0.5

18. 0.5

19. 0.4

20. 0.5

21. 0.6

22. 0.7

23. 0.9

24. 1.0

25. 1.0

26. 1.0

27. 1.1

28. 1.2 (1.21*C)

[Thundery wintry showers]

In the Winter memories spot-that was the February day I got frostbite with thick gloves and boots on, it took about an hour for the extremities to thaw out

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive/ra/19...00119790215.gif

[singe]

The winter of 1978-79 was very much a slightly less severe version of 1962-63, and had just about every synoptic setup for snowfall that there is. It now looks almost impossible given the patterns of the last 20 years that we will ever see the likes of this winter again. Just a pity that there is no stratospheric temperature data available for this winter.

Winter 1978-79 CET Trackometer:

Dec 1978 (3.9)

1.-1.2

2. 0.3

3. 1.5

4. 2.7

5. 2.5

6. 2.3

7. 2.5

8. 3.0

9. 3.7

10. 4.4

11. 5.0

12. 5.4

13. 5.5

14. 5.5

15. 5.5

16. 5.4

17. 5.2

18. 4.9

19. 4.5

20. 4.2

21. 4.0

22. 3.8

23. 3.7

24. 3.7

25. 3.8

26. 3.9

27. 4.1

28. 4.2

29. 4.3

30. 4.2

31. 3.9 (3.94*C)

Jan 1979 (-0.4)

1. -3.8

2. -3.2

3. -3.3

4. -3.1

5. -3.2

6. -2.8

7. -2.2

8. -1.2

9. -0.7

10. -0.5

11. -0.2

12. -0.2

13. -0.5

14. -0.6

15. -0.4

16. -0.1

17. 0.0

18. 0.0

19. 0.0

20. 0.1

21. 0.0

22. 0.0

23. 0.0

24. -0.1

25. -0.1

26. -0.2

27. -0.3

28. -0.5

29. -0.5

30. -0.4

31. -0.4 (-0.37*C)

Feb 1979 (1.2)

1. 4.3

2. 2.6

3. 2.2

4. 2.0

5. 2.1

6. 1.7

7. 1.6

8. 1.4

9. 1.3

10. 1.3

11. 1.3

12. 1.3

13. 1.3

14. 1.1

15. 0.8

16. 0.7

17. 0.5

18. 0.5

19. 0.4

20. 0.5

21. 0.6

22. 0.7

23. 0.9

24. 1.0

25. 1.0

26. 1.0

27. 1.1

28. 1.2 (1.21*C)

I was looking for some info on the winter of 1978 and came acorss this site and this thread.

Now we all know Climate change issue has not gone waway, but it does sahow the power of nature that this years cold snap is now getting a lot of coverage, and it will be intersting to see how it measures up.

Just thought it was worth a little checkle at how events have turned out (not at the poster)

[1lonewolf]

I know this is an old thread but this was one winter that changed my views having narrowly avoided loosing my fingers and toe's and changed my views about cold weather clothing, That is a Pain that I will never forget.

[Weather-history]

Film of the policing of the M62 over the Pennines during the winter of 1978-79

 

[danm]

This was 7 years before I was born, however my Dad often talks about how cold this winter was. He has a memory of heavy snow starting at the New Year and snow still being on the ground in March without a complete thaw - even in London. Not sure if that's entirely accurate or just a perception he had because it was cold/snowy so often that winter!

[northwestsnow]

On 1/3/2018 at 07:55, Weather-history said:

Film of the policing of the M62 over the Pennines during the winter of 1978-79

 

Brill video thanks Kevin

I was only 7 but i remember the deep snow around here !!

[damianslaw]

Great video - better than much TV nowadays.