Snow depth here reached 12.5cm- beating 3 out of 4 of the last decent snow events here (2010 x2 and 2013)
Icicles abundant- especially at warm vent outlets on houses.
I've had 2 days off school and they're joined to a weekend- a 4 day break! Managed 1 in 2013, 1 in Dec 2010.
Powder and big-flake snow have alternated.
Here's a few of my own grateful thoughts:
snow yesterday preceded and exceeded forecasts so the surprise element;
it happened so late in the season, with -6.4°C an incredible low for relatively short nights;
for most of daylight yesterday the temperature was below -3 (only 1987 and 1991 beat that here);
today two beautiful phenomena: it's currently a Farquarson painting outside - the ethereal light and blueish-white snow make the heart dance;
and my first ever sighting of cornices in this country- like (but smaller than) the one that caused the Lewes avalanche of 1836. Snow on the west roof-edge of a 3-storey Victorian building over a narrow alley had, in about 10 places along the gutter, somehow curled into tsunami-shaped structures that, as I watched, became dislodged and fell. These being about a metre in width and half in protrusion from the edge, a large volume of snow fell with each crash. I was transfixed for a full twenty minutes, predicting which would go next.
The snow is still crumbly-crunchy underfoot and the temperature is falling quickly despite the cloud. Families are sledging down the slopes in the waning daylight and spiculae are blowing around in the easterly chill.
The only thing that stops me giving a 10 is the duration- two good snowy ice days; unless there's a twist in the tale.
Bertie, Itchen Valley.
'We'll never see 40 celsius in this country'.