487 replies to this topic

[Snow? norfolk n chance]

Xmas light switch on here tomorrow, still feels like mid september, most unfestive switch on ever, 6 years ago today, no snow but class inversion setup, lots of rime and a min 0f -5.1C and max of -0.5C

[Matt_in_Walsall]

Winter can wait until i've moved into my new house and i've put the Christmas tree up, 12th December! Can't wait! After that it can do what it likes lol

[lorenzo]

Aaron, on 17 November 2011 - 21:55 , said:

I wish people would shut up about it being too mild or no cold in the reliable time frame. So what? That is not important at the moment, and I don't care.
One cold November, one of only three in the past 20 years, does not make November a winter month, it is still very much Autumn!!!!!!!!!

Fully Agree with this.

Also One line posts followed by 5 links to charts ....

[damianslaw]

snow? norfolk n chance, on 18 November 2011 - 20:08 , said:

Xmas light switch on here tomorrow, still feels like mid september, most unfestive switch on ever, 6 years ago today, no snow but class inversion setup, lots of rime and a min 0f -5.1C and max of -0.5C

Yes in recent years we have often had a short frosty cold spell around now, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010 delivered such conditions. However, 2009 brought the floods two years ago today, and I am certainly happy we are not experiencing now what we did in 2009 - believe it or not it was even milder then!

Regarding this post... mmm it isn't winter yet so I am very surprised the mods have allowed such a post.. a better title would be 'frustration at current weather'. Winter rarely gets going before mid december, indeed March on average delivers far more wintry conditions than November, and early-mid April has a far higher chance of delivering favourable wintry synoptics than November. People's expectations are far too high this year.. thanks to the exceptional cold blast last November.

Edited by damianslaw, 18 November 2011 - 22:55 .

[M1JWR]

Sorry to start a row people, but everybody is entitled to their opinion
in my case i will give you an example
Last december one evening as i am on back shift, the boss comes along
from his nice warm office and says, offload 42 600kg bags of fertilizer off
that trailer, not in the pretty cold warehouse,but outside
yes i did have a fork lift and no there is no heater
it was minus 14 and saying no is the wrong answer
i can tell you it was pretty flaming cold, made harder by icy impacted snow
The frost as long as its not too much is quite good as it kills a lot of the bugs
but snow, no, not for me, sorry

[bobbydog]

damianslaw, on 18 November 2011 - 22:52 , said:

Regarding this post... mmm it isn't winter yet so I am very surprised the mods have allowed such a post.. a better title would be 'frustration at current weather'. Winter rarely gets going before mid december, indeed March on average delivers far more wintry conditions than November, and early-mid April has a far higher chance of delivering favourable wintry synoptics than November. People's expectations are far too high this year.. thanks to the exceptional cold blast last November.

well, as people were already writing off winter before it started and constantly moaning about it in the model thread, i thought i would start this one to give people some where to moan freely, without the mods intervention (within forum rules of course) as it happens i did run it by the mods and it has been approved. after all there is a winter discussion thread and has been for some time, and as you say it's not winter yet.

rob

[Gord]

It's quite entertaining to read everyone's opinions right now. The weather might be as dull as ditchwater and some of the model output worse...but the discussion is as lively as ever. So i thank everyone across all weather forums for that.

For those who want to write off 2011...it ends next month so to be frank, we might as well write it off if you want...although I'm going to hang out to the last week of December for something interesting to happen. For those who want to write off 2012...we'll talk this time next year! (Jan and Feb included!)

November is a boring month in general anyway. A little bit too far away from xmas to start really noticing. Halloween and Guy Fawkes night are behind us. The stunning Autumn colours are disappearing...and before the last 2 autumns (very wet mid month 2009, very cold end of month 2010), I can't remember much of interest weatherwise during November, (one night in 2007 being the exception here in the West Midlands), Nothing to rant about yet......

......although will this thread still be available in March?......just in case.....

Not much going on in November anyway...nothing to see here...will see you in December!

Edited by Gord, 18 November 2011 - 23:52 .

[ElectricSnowStorm]

The right to moan! it is not that exciting but its good weather for some work types where its dry mild.

Edited by ElectricSnowStorm, 19 November 2011 - 00:12 .

[Thundery wintry showers]

Milhouse, on 18 November 2011 - 19:12 , said:

But i guess that its not right for weather presenters to revel in any weather that would cause discomfort or disruption (that does not include snow withdrawal on netweather). Therefore they take sides with the majority of the population that arent weather enthusiasts who, when questioned, would rather have mild comfortable weather at this time of the year rather than cold. I guarantee that the vast majority of non weather enthusiasts would have no problem with the weather were getting at the moment, simply because they arent that interested in extremes, and it is those people who the forecasts are primarily aimed at. Snow at Christmas might get a few more votes as it goes along with tradition.

Of course, weather fanatics are a minority, but I think the media regularly makes the mistake of assuming that the vast majority of the population lies at the other extreme, i.e. no interest in weather beyond whether or not it will inconvenience and/or disrupt them. Hence the way TV forecasts and tabloid weather articles are mostly tailored to those people's preferences, and dumbed down to cater for those people's absence of understanding of the weather. The reality is that those people are a minority as well, and that the majority of the population occupy varying positions in between the two extremes. The media's approach is partly self-fulfilling, as if people with a passing interest in the weather are treated as if they have none at all, it helps to perpetuate lack of both understanding and interest.

Some weather preferences, like the preference for dry sunny weather over dull wet weather, or the preference for warm over cold when all other things are equal, are indeed shared by a large majority of the population. But when it comes to things like "10C and rain is better than 5C and sunshine because at least it's mild", "temperatures above 25C are too hot", "dry cloudy weather is preferable to sunshine mixed with thunderstorms" and "following the snowy pre-Christmas, hopefully turning mild for Christmas Day", those are all views that the vast majority would share if they only cared about the "inconvenience and disruption" side of the weather, but in reality it's unlikely that a significant majority does actually share them.

Snow in particular is a pretty divisive type of weather- some hate it, some love it, some have a love-hate relationship- and it also depends on the circumstances. For instance I think the assertion that "the majority don't want a snowy winter" is more likely to be true now than two winters ago, partly due to the economic slump and partly because the last two winters dented quite a lot of people's appreciation of the white stuff.

Yes, this aspect of media portrayal of the weather does irritate me a lot, but one solution is simply not to watch too many media forecasts/articles on the weather.

[shedhead]

We witnessed the turning on of the local Xmas lights at 7.30pm yesterday. Nothing remarkable in that of course, but what was remarkable was the fact I counted at least a dozen people (before I got bored) in
shorts and plenty were just wearing tee shirts - not just tee shirts and nothing else of course!!. Admittedly last years turn on was also mild, but a week later it was taters... no chance of that happening this year.

[SteveB]

I must be easily pleased...

It doesn't bother me to much if we don't get much or any snow this winter beacuse of what we've had over the last two.

Since i've been a member on Net-weather back in 2004, up until Winter 2009/10 we had to endure winter after winter of depressing charts, and it was really a case not when but if we would ever see a proper winter ever again. Then bingo, snow extreme cold months, & now I can sit safely in the knowledge that we will get plenty more of where that came from, maybe not this winter, but I am sure snow & cold will be a plenty in winters to come.

Something else to think about, in previous solar minimums there were very mild winters, not all had bitter cold.

[M1JWR]

SteveB, on 19 November 2011 - 13:35 , said:

I must be easily pleased...

It doesn't bother me to much if we don't get much or any snow this winter beacuse of what we've had over the last two.

Since i've been a member on Net-weather back in 2004, up until Winter 2009/10 we had to endure winter after winter of depressing charts, and it was really a case not when but if we would ever see a proper winter ever again. Then bingo, snow extreme cold months, & now I can sit safely in the knowledge that we will get plenty more of where that came from, maybe not this winter, but I am sure snow & cold will be a plenty in winters to come.

Something else to think about, in previous solar minimums there were very mild winters, not all had bitter cold.

Solar cycle 21 peaked around 1980, it was a biggie, i had a cb radio then, and the skip as we called it was major to say the least
propergation as its really called, now in cycle 24 is on the up, its been very good over the last few weeks, have ham radio now
and its coming in from all over the place, multipul paths, and some reckon cycle 24 wont be up to much, i am not too sure
Back to cycle 21, in 1981/82 we had a very cold winter, i remember minus 20+ at night for several weeks and that was at near enough
the peak of a very big cycle, there can be only one explanation to that

[stewfox]

bobbydog, on 17 November 2011 - 21:55 , said:

here's mine- i wish people would stop writing off winter before its happened! we all know the models can be frustrating and not show us what we want to see but thats what they do! we also know they can suddenly change without warning. the other side of the coin is, they can sometimes be right. we may get a mild winter but its not the end of the world! (that comes next year lol) just enjoy the weather, whatever it throws at us, and if its boring, enjoy something else!

Rob

A mild winter is not the end of the world ???

I was offered a night of passion and wild sex the other night or to wait downstairs for the GFS and ECM updates. No brainer. I do lean towards the ECM

My brother asked what I wanted for christmas, I said

For the Greenland high to strengthen to have no mild outliers in operational runs. The Dam 548 spreads across the whole of the UK with 850's at -15c across all regions.

The end of the Euro block and a continous North Easterly, Easterly feed for 2 months etc

He said I would have to have one of those £1 massive chocloate bars from poundland as money is tight

Edited by stewfox, 19 November 2011 - 14:11 .

[snowdrifter]

stewfox, on 19 November 2011 - 14:11 , said:

A mild winter is not the end of the world ???

I was offered a night of passion and wild sex the other night or to wait downstairs for the GFS and ECM updates. No brainer. I do lean towards the ECM

Or an even better dilemma - lampost watching for imminent snow ( a 'snow job') or a rhyming alternative.

[NBNicky]

weather ship, on 18 November 2011 - 02:36 , said:

You do really woffle sometimes TWS. Snow is a pain in the rectum for many reasons and what exactly are the benefits?

I get SAD every year from around September and I can tell you now that snow cover cheers me up no end - no doubt the reflected ultra violet and general brightness given by the snow has some effect. it also provides a wonderful winter playground for adults and children alike :-)

[Jane Louise]

weather ship, on 18 November 2011 - 02:36 , said:

You do really woffle sometimes TWS. Snow is a pain in the rectum for many reasons and what exactly are the benefits?

Don't you think that's a bit harsh matey!! After all, this is a weather forum.

[stewfox]

snowdrifter, on 19 November 2011 - 15:23 , said:

Or an even better dilemma - lampost watching for imminent snow ( a 'snow job') or a rhyming alternative.

Would people go back to lamp post watching at 4am if we do have a mild winter ?

I thought that was a standard requirement of membership ?

[mcweather]

I would like to vent my frustration at people who write off winter because it hasn't shown on the charts by the middle of November.

For all those coldies wanting a really classic winter it is worth remembering the following

Dec 62 had a quiet foggy and chilly start then rain and gales mid month even on the 20th Dec there was a very deep icelandic low and south westerly winds
with no hint of what was to start a few days later.

1947 didn't get going in earnest until the 3rd week of January.

[Gord]

Just come in from a walk with a dog up at Kinver Edge. Actually rather enjoyed it. The murkiness actually gave it a nice feel with pockets of mist and cloud rolling around in the hills and valleys. The National Trust were out burning away bracken and branches...and many other people (and dogs) were all out enjoying themselves...not one frown to be seen. As the light faded through the afternoon it just added to the atmosphere.

So anyone who is getting frustrated....get out there and enjoy it!

I'm fully expecting it to be a mud fest if I go back next week though!

[bobbydog]

the weather has been so boring this year, i've been forced to get on with my normal life....