Hopefully more snow than the last few winters - these have been memorable really for very cold max and min temps rather than snow - certainly in my area we had a bit of snow but it would be wrong to compare the snowfall in recent winters with that of the classic winters of the 1980s - where we would get a good dumping of 6 inches or so followed by a drier interlude and then a further 2 or 3 inches dumped on top of that - cumulative snow fall - this has certainly not happened in recent winters - I am sure other members who live in my part of the world will agree in the Wolves to Bham area - remember 1987 when the whole area was snowbound for a week - I would take a snowy winter with possibly brief milder spells rather than a very cold winter with a small bit of snow like recently

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The best way to get a lot of snow somewhere in winter, without needing it to be cold all the time, is to have very cold blocked synoptics and an Atlantic which is on the attack but gets held back for several days. Where the milder air meets the deep cold, there is snow in great amounts. Trouble is, only those under the stalled/slow moving front would experience the massive snowfall amounts, with those on the cold side remaining dry and those on the mild side seeing rain. Some might see snow turning to rain, or just recieve a light dusting on the edge of it all before the Atlantic or the block wins (former more common I believe) and the front clears away. For the weather is fickle in this respect!

 

The best way to give most people a good deal of lying snow is to have persistently cold weather with various polar lows and other disturbances bringing snow events without bringing the temperatures above the level needed to keep the snow on the ground. This is a very rare thing indeed for the UK with its typically changeable climate, with very few examples in recent times (1963 is one), so consider it a wild fantasy!

 

How long has it been since the last major frontal snowfall event in the UK?

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I hope so , weren't your initial thoughts though were favouring a mild winter based on indicators so far?

 

Well it at 10am today it was almost 20C and sunny - this is quite remarkable for end of October!!! To wake up to those temps is impressive!

CFS still has no clear signal:

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/people/wwang/cfs_fcst/images3/euT2mProbSea.gif

 

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Winter 1978-79, Jan 1982 and winter 1984-85 all had decent Atlantic v cold block battles with bucketloads of snow. Dec 1981, the big freeze of 1986-1987 and Feb 1991 all had loads of snow as a result of low pressure disturbances from the east - something completely different - these spells were really good for the Midlands with snow showers driven in on easterlies or north easterlies - but currently these setups are no good in the West Midlands as the cold air arrives but the snow showers don't - I have seen this time after time after time in recent winters with my area getting diddly-squat snow-wise but eastern areas get a decent dumping - this is why I think my best is for a stalling front over my area from the Atlantic, hoping the Atlantic doesnt win the battle , and the Atlantic v cold block battle will give a decent dumping - rather relying on easterlies penetrating inland which never seem to materialise

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I don't think Brian sits in the cold or mild camp so isn't biased towards either.

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I'm enjoying the late autumn warmth (down here it felt like summer today) and blue skies because they're shortening the time between 'summer' and next spring. Saying that, I hope we get some snow and good cold spells this winter. What I don't like is the gloomy damp and 'cold' weather we often get in Britain.

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November anyone? 
It's only one week away, however I don't really see a lot of forecasts out there for November at the moment. 

Try the Autumn thread?

Check the media thread I update it each day with the met offices out look, currently there is no Snow in site and temperatures should be above normal at times with the winds coming from the south or south-west. occasional northwesterly winds may bring somewhat colder air in at times

http://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twocommunity/default.aspx?g=posts&m=215735#post215735

No I mean like official forecasts from actual companies 😛  

Still think people would be more likely to post them in the Autumn thread 

Hehe okay thanks,
does anyone else agree that a milder than average November = a cold Winter?  

Yeah, sorry.
Because of course, strictly; only Autumnal conditions happen in November. :P 

 

I was only trying to point you in the direction of the thread which my help with your question.

This thread is called Prospects for winter 2011/12 not Prospects for wintry weather. 

Hehe, okay, thanks. I will be sure to look there next time and not here.
But I was really trying to ask if whether the weather patterns in November could affect what the Winter brings.  

No decent rain or storms then Mr Drought, the balmy southerly winds are wearing pretty thin now.

I think this winter will be mild to average, because I cannot imagine  4 cold winters in a run. I am a novice but take an interest in this forum.  

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Why can't people imagine 4 cold winters (bearing in mind only 2009/2010 was properly overall cold) in a row, when, up until 2008, we had many mild winters on the trot?

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Apart from Scotland, last winter wasn't very cold. Overall it was average if not slightly mild with only december falling into the cold category and ceratinly december wan't anything special in the far south with mostly sleety rain and a bit of snow. January and february were mild.

So let's hope we actually can get a proper cold winter this year.

 

 

I will second, third and fourth that

I would also agree with that, winter 09/10 was much better for most in the South of the UK. I still believe that this winter could go either way and many forecasters are stuggling to get a clear indication of what they feel is in store for the UK. Once again i think the UK is on a knife edge as to what weather we can expect this winter.........it will definately make for some fun watching how it all pans out

We (Eastern Surrey) had just under a foot of snow at the end of Nov, start of Dec, and then another 7 or 8 inches a week or so later. Granted there was a thaw due to some higher due point air drifting in from the channel (that's why for the SE an east based negative NAO is best).  I wasn't around, but I'm willing to bet that even in 62/63, the snow on the south coast would have been quite marginal at times and not on the same scale as 30 miles inland.

That was the best Dec for me apart from 81.  Jan/Feb were crap here as you say though.

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WSI forecasting another cold winter;

http://wsi.com/e7bd216b-ca72-4269-8a14-aeafaaefdf7e/news-scheduled-forecast-release-details.htm

Not as extreme as last winter though - More on a par with 08/09.

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From my point of view, 2008/2009 was the worst of the last three winters, mainly because the cold weather was spread out over all three months and not just sort of one month (2010-2011) or 6 weeks (2009-2010).