Not had a proper Scandinavian high type winter for some years. The type where the main cold spells come via an easterly. Recent ones have either been mediocre (Jan 2010), short lived (Feb 09) or came at the start (late Nov 2010) or end (late Feb 05) of the season. Last decent one in the heart of winter was late January 1996.

Jan through to late march 2013produced the best Scandi high winter in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xmt1qgIQ24 was one such event, which if i recall correctly landed in the uk every Friday for about 6-7 weeks.

LPS were forced up and over, with slider break off lows interacting with the Scandi high and darting off to the Med. Wales had 50cm of snowfall from one such event around the 21st March.
At one point I remember snowfalling every day for about 8 days on the wirral. something which i dont recall happening before.

Yes but what I meaning is this type. Not had a decent one in the heart of winter for some time.

 

Having been lurking and occasionally posting on this forum for some years, I have noticed a tendency for forum members to see the Scandi High type cold spell as being 'the bees knees'. Not being an expert in weather science, I have always wondered why. How is an easterly better than a northerly (Greenland/iceland high) ? Greater chance of really low temps, snowfall?

 

Scandi highs tend to bring us easterly or north easterly winds - in some unlucky periods they can stretch out to central eurpe and suck in milder southerly winds.

They also have less chance of Modiffication from the sea.  Northerly's also tend to be shortlived.  Addtionaly Northly showers tend to only effect a very fine strip of land of eastern UK.  and the north wales coast.  In an easterly More or less all of the UK can get snow, though west of the pennines tend to get less.

Plus - in early winter when the North sea is "warmer" it can often tend to improve shower formation similar to lake effect snow.  So anyone on the eastern side of britain buzzes of this for a period of November through to early Jan before the sea chills down, leading to a smaller temp differeence and so the effect is less powerful.  Still - Cold air from the east will always boss all of the other cold sources IMO.  Often we tend to get LP over Central and southern europe which allows fronts to move in laden with Med moist air.

 Scandi Highs tend to act as a blocking high aswell, and can be quite stubborn to move.  In some cases the cold gets washed away before the high re-asserts itself and we get the cold back.  Reloading the cold so to speak.

 

 

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Thanks for the reply, now I understand it better!

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This is all about where you reside, for me you can't beat a Greeny high as that always guarantees the white stuff IMBY. You can keep your Scandinavia highs as 9/10 they fail to deliver for the majority of us.

This is all about where you reside, for me you can't beat a Greeny high as that always guarantees the white stuff IMBY. You can keep your Scandinavia highs as 9/10 they fail to deliver for the majority of us.

 

Only on the first few days before the winds turn NE - and then you can say good bye to any snow in Northwest england apart from the odd weakening front, or passing cloud.  

 

Better chance of stalling fronts etc when the HP is positioned more to the east.  

 

In my experience they both go hand in hand though, and often start as a Scandi HP moving to Greenland or vice versa.

 

 

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I notice some people over on Netweather feeling very upbeat about the possibility of snow in Siberia - they had a great early season last Autumn (probably the best early snow cover in about 10 years) and what was it's impact on the UK the following Winter??!!

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There have been countless "this is brilliant news for UK snow" messages on here over the years. Correlation is tenuous at best.

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There have been countless "this is brilliant news for UK snow" messages on here over the years. Correlation is tenuous at best.

There is no correlation that's the point as we are no nearer to producing an accurate seasonal forecast now than we were 50 years ago.

There have been countless "this is brilliant news for UK snow" messages on here over the years. Correlation is tenuous at best.

There is no correlation that's the point as we are no nearer to producing an accurate seasonal forecast now than we were 50 years ago.

Agree entirely. It's quite possible we will never be able to forecast seasons with any degree of accuracy whatsoever. There are so many variables.

It's possible this may have an influence, but it won't have an influence on it's own, and as things currently stand no one has a clue what the influence may be.

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There have been countless "this is brilliant news for UK snow" messages on here over the years. Correlation is tenuous at best.

There has....and on most occasions I end up disappointed

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According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

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This is all about where you reside, for me you can't beat a Greeny high as that always guarantees the white stuff IMBY. You can keep your Scandinavia highs as 9/10 they fail to deliver for the majority of us.

 

You've hit the nail on the head there SC.

 

Scandy highs deliver big time IMBY

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According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

Realistic perhaps, but with the start of winter over three months away, this is surely as 'realistic' as a virtually limitless range of potential winter scenarios.... 

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According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

Realistic perhaps, but with the start of winter over three months away, this is surely as 'realistic' as a virtually limitless range of potential winter scenarios.... 

To be perfectly frank - you can never tell what winter is going to be like here at all.

 

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This is all about where you reside, for me you can't beat a Greeny high as that always guarantees the white stuff IMBY. You can keep your Scandinavia highs as 9/10 they fail to deliver for the majority of us.

In my locale we can be nicely effected by both pressure systems as I am near the border of east and west. So I'm not fussed what we get as long as it's better than last Winter.

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This is all about where you reside, for me you can't beat a Greeny high as that always guarantees the white stuff IMBY. You can keep your Scandinavia highs as 9/10 they fail to deliver for the majority of us.

In my locale we can be nicely effected by both pressure systems as I am near the border of east and west. So I'm not fussed what we get as long as it's better than last Winter.

Agreed, bloody Oldham gets the best of both worlds. Those extra few miles inland and being surrounded by the Pennines makes all the difference.

According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

Heating bills are irrelevant when it comes to winter weather whichever form that takes be it cold or wet and stormy like last winter.

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hardly ever had the heating on last winter as it was so mild, so saved alot of  spondolies  

According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

Heating bills are irrelevant when it comes to winter weather whichever form that takes be it cold or wet and stormy like last winter.

They are when you have log burners

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According to the non-solar SLATless antipodean forecasting system:-

Very mild start.   December may well be snow and frost free in most parts.    Ski resorts worried.   Year ends warmest on record.

However a spell of quite cold and snowy weather setting in around end of Jan or first half of Feb 2015 - which could even produce some record lows in one of two spots and/or significant snow falls in places that rarely see much snow.

Overall though, a milder than average winter - despite the late cold snap.

Sounds very realistic to me. Also I think that would please most people as well.

With heating bills at the rate they are now - Most right minded people are in no hurry for a 2010 type of cold spell.

 

Heating bills are irrelevant when it comes to winter weather whichever form that takes be it cold or wet and stormy like last winter.

They are when you have log burners

I thought this thread was about the weather, not curries.

So we have  2-1 in favour of a cold set up this coming winter.