Blizzards of 8th Jan 1982

[Andy Bown]

The local BBC forecast contained breathtaking footage of blizzards in this region on this day in 1982. My dad said that he walked 5 miles to work on that day and cars were being dug out on the main roads. Here's an extract from the below link...

...The battle between very cold and mild air in the south led to blizzards; the Midlands and Wales had 30-50 cm of snow on the 8-9th with easterly gales. Many places were cut off (e.g. Torquay and Weymouth). Some drifts were 20' high. Lasting 36 hours, this was one of the most severe blizzards of the century across the Southwest and Midlands.Throughout the snowfall temperatures hovered around -3C. In the far SW mild air encroached, giving an ice storm as rain fell onto frozen ground and surfaces. Electricity pylons were particularly susceptible to ice damage. As the cold front straddled Devon, the temperature was 10C to the south, but at the same time only 2C a little further north.

http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~taharley/1982_weather.htm

[John Cox]

36 hours is my exact lasting memory and written record of this blizzard.

10foot snow drifts and 18 inches fell in Dublin.

It was amazing and I will never forget it and long for such an event again

Edited January 8, 2007 by John Cox

[Pennine Ten Foot Drifts]

I remember vividly, the best 'weather' I have ever experienced. The rear of my parents' house, which was a bungalow, had snow drifts actually to the height of the eves and their Bedford camper van was nearly buried ! It took five days for the road through to our village (New Cross, in mid-Wales, a few miles from Trawscoed where there is now a Met Office webcam) to be made passable, using a JCB to clear a way through the drifts, although in many places it was a single track between ten foot high snow banks. We were off school for two weeks (if I remember correctly) and spent the time after the blizzard digging snow holes in the drifts (and I mean proper snow tunnels, ten-fifteen feet long and big enough to crawl through, with even the odd passing place hollowed out !), sledging down the lanes which were like bob-sleigh runs with the snow piling up each side, and indulging in a crazy form of ice-hockey as a local flooded field had iced over, and whilst the water depth wasn't much it was fine for us to kick a small stone around on !

We also had as much milk to drink as we wanted because the milk lorries couldn't get through to any of the local farms so if we could carry it away we could have it ! Mind you we were without electricity for four or five days afterwards, and if we hadn't had a wood burning stove it would have been hellish cold (yes, it is true, in those days we really did get frozen condensation on the insides of our bedroom windows !). But all in all absolutely fantastic and any self-respecting snow loving teenager's total dreamland !!!

[Don]

I remember having about a foot of snow down here in the south in January 1982 and it lasting for over a week before the thaw set in. The most snow I've seen in my lifetime and probably won't see another like it. Not in this country anyway.

:lol:

[kippure]

What a blizzard that was, never seen so much snow, queing for bread and milk. Lots of jcb,s clearing the roads, hard frosts. Everything including the kitchen sink. Wonder how we,d cope if it was to happen now, so much technology so little experience.

[CRACKPOT]

Hi Guys,

I remember this with excitement. I still tell my kids about it! I had over 1 week off school as I live 1000ft Asl and we had blizzards and drifts from heaven.

I remember having to get up early to go and queue for bread and milk as we only had a few shops in our small valley village and we were cut off due to the high and steep access routes to us. The drifts didn't help.

I remember making igloos and someone in locality was killed/badly injured later after the snow had fallen as the igloo caved in on them. nasty.

In all, an amazing 'last' period of consistently heavy snow that I can recall in my area, as stated previously, never to be repeated again in my lifetime.

JK

[Snowyowl9]

I remember this well even when it started snowing but it`s that east wind that stands out with gales/blizzards.

Out of the wind we had 2 foot of snow the biggest fall I`ve ever known the snow just kept coming and with the easterly gales there was upto 14ft drifts as my parents took a picture of me with the camera and they were huge,the snowplough had only half cleared the road :o

What an amazing winter that was.

Edited January 9, 2007 by Snowyowl9