The 1st Thing to Look at and what Baffled me was the Radar was Showing the Precip as Moderate for most of the Night but in reality all that was falling was Tiny Polystyrene Balls of Snow which did not amount to anything. The radar returns were as heavy as places further west yet they got heavy snow and places on or near the coast got this type of Snow. WHY ??
- During the afternoon a Keen North Easterly was bringing frequent Snow Showers to the North Kent Coast, and SE Essex, SE Suffolk these Penetrated a little way into land but these were not the main show that was to come, although this 1st Part of the Story was to become the 1st part that went against Coastal Parts. SST's in the Thames Estaury were at 9c in the Shallower Waters and with the onshore breeze (1st NE) And then (2nd ENE) this created a layer of Moist Air at between 750-800mb or about 4,000-6,000 Feet, this would have a major effect on Shower Clouds that would form later on in the Day when the Cold Pool was at it's greatest and Instability Primest between 21z and 09z (2nd Feb) 
- This next Chart shows Near Surface Flow, Notice the Flow is Backed from the NE Further In land this is caused by Frictional Drag from the Flow. This resulted in a Number of Convergence Zones near the Thames Estuary and Channel Coast. The Red dashed Line is effectively a Coastal Convergence Zone that is Pushed Inland due to the Strong Synoptic Flow from the East. 
- The next Chart shows how much Surface Based Cape was Available as the Instability reached its maximum (120jkg) this was enough to Tower the Convective Clouds to a Height of around 8,000-9,000ft just Offshore in the Thames Estuary and Up to East Coast as far as Lowestoft. 
- A Forecast Sounding for Near to Leigh On Sea (Computer Generated) shows 24jkg of Cape and LI Of -1 (00z) But the major problem for Coastal areas was just about to become apparant from the next Chart. 
- This Chart shows a Cross Section from W-E of the Thames Estuary (The Dashed Line is Greenwich Meridian) The major part of this Chart is showing the Shower Training effect, Notice how the Cloud Tops get deeper the further West along the Estuary as they gain Height (Up to 16,000ft) And also how the Clouds are Capped by an Inversion at the Eastern End of the Estuary and Up the East Coast, This was to become the 2nd Major Problem for Eastern Areas as Cloud Tops could not get any Higher due to the Cap (Hence the Lack of Thundersnow Reports in the Eastern Thames Estuary)So What effectively Happened to places within 10 Miles of the Coast ??
Shower Clouds Initiated unfortunately too Close to the Land Mass and adequate Mixing could not occur (In 2003,1991 Shower Clouds Formed 100-150 Miles further East so no such problem) When the Showers moved onto the East Coast they were Capped to a Certain Height, The radar was showing Moderate Precip which was falling into a Warm/Moist Layer of Air in the Atmosphere (Turning It to Rain) this then continued down and as It hit the Extremely Dry Dewpoints near the Surface we were left with little more than Polystyrene Balls For 2003 Set-Up See Pike 2004 Radar Study Online
- This next Chart is pretty much the Same as Above but Tilted more from the NE-SW Too Show just How London and SE/S & SW London got their Most Snow since 1991. You will notice the Dashed Line is again the Greenwich Meridian, One thing that is glaringly apparant is where the City of London is situated on this Chart, as the Showers train over the City a Certain amount of Urban/Heat Effect Could have been the reason why the Showers gained Intensity and with the backed NE - SW Flow further Inland this then only had 1 place to go and deposit large amounts of Snow from Strong Convective Clouds and that was SE/S & SW London. Although not proven 100% I really feel this might be the reason for the exceptional Amounts of Snow (52cm) Seen in this Region.
- This last Chart pretty much backs up the above and shows how the Showers trained in Lines and hit places Hard whereas over places nearly missed them altogether.So I hope this goes some way to Help people know how they got record levels of Snow and How some on the Coasts got a Mere Dusting of Dry Powder Balls.
It has certainly enlightened me and made me think twice about Easterly Set-Ups in the Future and has also Facinated me at the Same Time just how diverse Weather Can be.
Special Thanks to Waghorn (David) For running the Model Simulations for Me.
Regards
Paul S
Thanks! IMO this is what meteorology is all about. As you promised, the whole event was a blinding unlucky affair for so many down the east coast of EA and Kent. Will be interesting to see if this sequenece of events has ever been replicated in previous winters? From past experiences, everything seemed to be set up so nicely!
