Still impressive though, 3 of the top 14 coldest March days on record:
2018 1 st -0.8 prov
1942 6 th -0.7
1892 3 th -0.1
1892 2 nd 0
1879 25 th 0.1
1947 5 th 0.3
1965 2 nd 0.3
2018 2 nd 0.3 prov
1879 24 th 0.4
1890 2 nd 0.5
1928 11 th 0.5
1965 4 th 0.5
1917 8 th 0.6
2018 18 th 0.6 prov
1931 9 th 0.7
1942 5 th 0.8
2013 23 th 0.8
1891 10 th 0.9
1931 7 th 0.9
1979 16 th 0.9

 

Amazing stats just shows how unusual this month has been . 

 

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The Met Office have now put up an interesting report about the Beast (or should I now say Beast Mk. 1?):

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/february2018-snow

As I suspected there is a lower minimum figure than the -11.7C at Farnborough on the 28th: Faversham in Kent recorded -14.2C.

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Amazing stats just shows how unusual this month has been . 

 

Indeed and especially when you consider 2013 CET was circa 2.6c, yet only has 1 entry in that list, but 2018 currently on 3.... 

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Still impressive though, 3 of the top 14 coldest March days on record:
2018 1 st -0.8 prov
1942 6 th -0.7
1892 3 th -0.1
1892 2 nd 0
1879 25 th 0.1
1947 5 th 0.3
1965 2 nd 0.3
2018 2 nd 0.3 prov
1879 24 th 0.4
1890 2 nd 0.5
1928 11 th 0.5
1965 4 th 0.5
1917 8 th 0.6
2018 18 th 0.6 prov
1931 9 th 0.7
1942 5 th 0.8
2013 23 th 0.8
1891 10 th 0.9
1931 7 th 0.9
1979 16 th 0.9

The 24th-25th 1879 must have been pretty remarkable.

I've realised why yesterday's CET maximum may have been higher than I was expecting. It's actually for the 24 hours till 09:00 today. Of course at this time of the year the sun has been up for almost 3 hours by then, and the temperature might well have nosed above freezing. (Conversely, it will have reduced the maximum for Saturday, when the temperature will have been a lot lower at 09:00 than it was nine hours earlier.)

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Few more cet stats:

Dates after the 15th March with a max cet of less than 3 (only 29 times) and very rare for long periods of time.

1879 25 th March 0.1
1879 24 th March 0.4
2018 18 th March 0.6 PROV
2013 23 th March 0.8
1979 16 th March 0.9
1879 26 th March 1.1
2013 24 th March 1.2
1888 17 th March 1.5
1888 19 th March 1.6
1888 16 th March 1.7
1888 18 th March 1.8
1883 22 th March 1.9
1964 16 th March 2.1
2018 17 th March 2.1 PROV
1952 29 th March 2.1
1879 22 th March 2.2
2013 26 th March 2.3
1911 5 th April 2.3
1966 14 th April 2.4
1886 16 th March 2.4
1980 19 th March 2.4
1883 21 th March 2.4
1980 21 th March 2.5
1916 23 th March 2.6
1979 17 th March 2.7
2013 25 th March 2.7
1888 20 th March 2.8
1899 21 th March 2.8
1952 28 th March 2.8
1969 24 th March 2.9

 

The 24th-25th 1879 must have been pretty remarkable.

And here's the reconstructed chart for 24th March 1879, which unsurprisingly is very reminiscent of the last couple of days except that pressure was rather higher:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/reanalysis.php?map=1&model=noaa&var=2&jaar=1879&maand=03&dag=24&uur=1800&h=0&tr=360&nmaps=24#mapref

Of course 1878-9 was one of the severest of all winters (IIRC both Dec and Jan were sub-zero), and according to Bonacina there were notable snowfalls in every month from November to April.

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Here's what Trevor Harley says about that remarkably cold 14th April 1966: "There was a significant late snowfall in the south on the 14-15th, which was also a cold day in an northeasterly wind. Brighton had a couple of inches of snow; snow cover was 15 cm deep on the high ground from Kent to Hampshire. IN some places it snowed continuously for 48 hours."

http://www.trevorharley.com/weather_web_pages/1966_weather.htm

But there seems to be something amiss with the reanalysis chart, which appears to have relatively warm air at 850 mb too far north for snow to have been possible in the south:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/reanalysis.php?map=1&model=noaa&var=2&jaar=1966&maand=04&dag=14&uur=1200&h=0&tr=360&nmaps=24#mapref

After all, 850 mb isn't that high up (typically about 5,000 feet, or less if the surface pressure is low), and surely well below the level that precipitation would have been falling from.

 

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Just put this in the cet thread:

Just done the same for the Max and based on the provisional figures and this Saturday had the biggest drop from a previous March day on record:

16th 12.2
17th 2.1

-10.1 2018 17 th Prov
-10 1944 29 th
-9.3 1954 13 th
-7.7 1990 19 th
-7.3 1929 31 th
-7.3 1941 17 th
-7.1 1918 25 th
-7.1 1969 16 th
-7 1965 30 th
-7 2007 18 th

 

As I suspected there is a lower minimum figure than the -11.7C at Farnborough on the 28th: Faversham in Kent recorded -14.2C.

Would that be the Brogdale site? Quite a performance at both ends of the spectrum then.

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Still impressive though, 3 of the top 14 coldest March days on record:
2018 1 st -0.8 prov
1942 6 th -0.7
1892 3 th -0.1
1892 2 nd 0
1879 25 th 0.1
1947 5 th 0.3
1965 2 nd 0.3
2018 2 nd 0.3 prov
1879 24 th 0.4
1890 2 nd 0.5
1928 11 th 0.5
1965 4 th 0.5
1917 8 th 0.6
2018 18 th 0.6 prov
1931 9 th 0.7
1942 5 th 0.8
2013 23 th 0.8
1891 10 th 0.9
1931 7 th 0.9
1979 16 th 0.9

Remarkable, and another thing to note-  If I'm reading that correctly, March 2018 has more entries in that list than any other March on record.  Incredible!

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As I suspected there is a lower minimum figure than the -11.7C at Farnborough on the 28th: Faversham in Kent recorded -14.2C.

Figures - we're very sparse on official data spots in Swale (Brogdale is it, basically), but I recorded -14.8C on that morning and (according to the car at least) it was colder than here along the spine of the Isle - the car was saying -17C for miles on end, compared with -13C when I left (my station said -11.8 at that time)  and -15C when I got back home (WS said -13.2). Based on that, I expect a -15 or -16 would have been recorded locally.

That was the single most amaziing thing of the spell for me, I'll never forget watching that temperature plummet, then going to work and back (work being closed) - the scenery, draped in mist, was eye-poppingly beautiful.

 

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The temperature had risen quite a bit by the morning here (to minus 5 or so) as it was snowing, but I was cycling home about midnight at the coldest point, just before the cloud arrived. My route from the station takes me along a track through the woods, and with snow on the ground and a bright full moon it was really beautiful. Almost painfully cold on exposed skin though!

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The temperature had risen quite a bit by the morning here (to minus 5 or so) as it was snowing,

Hmm, talking of cold temperatures - any idea what the coldest recorded this year in the UK is so far?

Trevor Harley's site doesn't have anything yet for this year:

https://www.trevorharley.com/weather_web_pages/coldest_days.htm

but last year's was just -13.0C.

 

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Hmm, talking of cold temperatures - any idea what the coldest recorded this year in the UK is so far?

Trevor Harley's site doesn't have anything yet for this year:

https://www.trevorharley.com/weather_web_pages/coldest_days.htm

but last year's was just -13.0C.

 

 

I suspect that Faversham value is the lowest. On the night of the 20th January, Altnaharra recorded -13.7C. On 12th December, Shawbury recorded -13.0C, which is probably the instance you referred to above.

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I tried to get a handle on how close to a record the drop in the maximum temperature from Friday to Saturday was, but it's not something for which data is easy to find. However I found something in "A Century of London Weather" by WAL Marshall, published in 1952. This used data from Greenwich for 1841-1870 and from Kew from 1871-1949.

The largest drop for March was between the 3rd and 4th in 1870, from 60F (15C) to 39F (4C), equating to a fall of about 12C - not 11C because of rounding effects. There's no point in going to one decimal place in calculating the fall, as the original temperatures would only have been recorded to the nearest whole degree Fahrenheit. (Between the 15th and 16th March 1947 there was a 24F rise.)

For the whole year, the largest drop was 27F (15C), which was recorded between 28th and 29th April 1866 and between 24th and 25th June 1844. In the latter case that was a fall from 88F (31C) to 61F (16C).

Given that the CET is averaged over (I think) three sites, the 10.1C fall might well disguise the fall at one of the sites exceeding 12C. If not there, then somewhere in the UK can probably better that March 1870 London figure. But by the same token, other sites have almost certainly exceeded the London value in the past.

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Was incredible to get two convective easterlies with blizzards, deep snow and sub zero maximums within two weeks.
I would give the second spell 6/10 as a wintry spell and 8/10 for March. Marks deducted as it was a short snap and the ground was warm so snow melted quite quickly from paved surfaces. Still amazing and true blizzard conditions.

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Hmm, talking of cold temperatures - any idea what the coldest recorded this year in the UK is so far?

Trevor Harley's site doesn't have anything yet for this year:

https://www.trevorharley.com/weather_web_pages/coldest_days.htm

but last year's was just -13.0C.

 

-13.7C at both kinbrace & altnaharra back in January. 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/2018/january 

I suspect that Faversham value is the lowest. On the night of the 20th January, Altnaharra recorded -13.7C. On 12th December, Shawbury recorded -13.0C, which is probably the instance you referred to above.

-13.7C at both kinbrace & altnaharra back in January. 

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/2018/january 

Thank you both - there's a bit of me that hopes that the record stands through December this year, as it'd be remarkable to have the coldest UK temperature of the year down here in Kent! Interesting to see too that the February summary doesn't yet acknowledge the Brogdale minimum, I guess because Brogdale only reports once per month rather than being an automated station.

 

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Beast of the east 2.0 review.

I was going to do a separate thread on the review for beast from the east 2.0 but seeing as some are reviewing the most recent one on this thread then i'll do the same. 

Thought i'd do a review for beast of the east part 2 and how it compared with the first one.

In comparison to beast of the the east 1.0. The second one provided a longer period of snow but lighter amounts with less settling until the very end when snow fell below freezing and the wet snow started to stick on road surfaces and we ended up with 6" of wet snow - eventually the snow became powdery. But melted. The first beast from the east provided more snow but in a shorter period of time and it didn't stick on trees as it was so dry - it was more like sand dunes but the depth was similar - but like i've always said - it's hard to measure the accurate depth of snow because some surfaces had more snow settling than others. We snow - which was what we had recently stuck to the trees/leaves.

I am surprised the Met Office didn't issue a red warning for the 2nd snowfall on Sunday morning to Sunday night/Monday!? - because snow lasted much longer despite it not accumulating on roads at first - it did come down heavy and thick in the end. Also the 2nd time we did have 4 hours of light snow Saturday as you will see in below photo before the heavy stuff on Sunday lasting all day. Also during the 2nd snowfall dump (Sunday) we didn't have freezing rain like the first snowfall (1st March) and of course the snow melted within 2 days.

I'll leave you with some photos of Exeter in the snow - either way it was remarkable for snowfall especially being end of March to see so much snow.

 

4 hours of snow Saturday - gave little accumulation as temp remained at +1.8c until gradually falling as the -10c isotherm reaches us by 6pm:

This is 2pm Saturday 17th March. - View from bedroom window.

 

6pm - As you can see - only left a trace/dusting. Temps fell to -0.2c.

So that 4 or 5 hours of snow was a waste of time for Exeter quay similar to all that snow which fell in Twickenham during the England V Ireland rugby where none settle due to warm ground but some parts of the city like Exwick, Heavitree and Pennsylvania had already had a dusting/light covering on cars and roofs and Kennford/ cowley as well as haldon hill as well as surrounding hills had 2-3cms of snow. - Just now down at sea level by the Quay.

6pm - As you can see - only left a trace/dusting. Temps fell to -0.2c. and light snow continues.

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THE NEXT DAY: Sunday 18th March

The -10c isotherm has arrived snow has started again!

My house 11am Sunday:  - View from window, (Just at the start of the English channel streamer which merged with snow showers from the  Thames streamer brought more persistent snow, which became heavier at times).

 

2pm Sunday

 

4pm Sunday

 

By 3pm we already had up to 10 cms of snow

 

 

Sunday night: - Snow still falling and coming down thicker and faster as temps fall to -2c the snow becomes more powdery.

 

View from my back garden 9pm Sunday night:

 

 

Monday morning 10am - Snow thawing rapidly, but icicles are visible!

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Mid afternoon Sunday 18th March: These pics I took from in town Exeter:

Heavitree road -Exeter

 

Exeter Cathedral

 

 

 

Someones homemade girlfriend.

 

 

Exeter Cathedral 

 

Sunday evening, The Bier Keller - some chose to take their ski's/snowboards and ski down to the Quayside in Exeter:

 

Exe bridges: - Marsh barton/Alphington! - Snow continues and if anything it re-intensifies and starts to settle on all surfaces:

 

 

 

 

 

I think you have seen photos of the Quay so same as before.

I'll give this 9/10

The only reason it lost a mark was the fact that we have 4 - 6 hours of snowfall on Saturday but it never really settled until evening and by that time it was only a trace.

Where as before the first snowfall during the last easterly on 1st March we had more snow in a shorter period of time then that dreaded freezing rain which ruined the powder later that night and compressed it into sheet ice but then again we had lower temperatures.

I'll gave the last one 9/10 too.

Both of these were similar affecting similar area's. - During the first beast it was almost sub zero for 2 days before the snow came thus when the snow came and fell at -3.5c it was powdery and like sugar and settled everywhere. Where as this latest fall was very wet and snow fell at 2.8c on Saturday and fell to - 0.5c Then the snowfall started 10am Sunday after a brief thaw temps rose to +0.5c and during the snow the temp fell to -1.8c Sunday night. There was a period of soft hail for an 30 mins or so and this dropped the temp by some 0.5 of a degree and then it became pure snow again!

If we had colder /sub-zero maxes a few days beforethis would have allowed the ground surfaces to cool and the snow would have settled and we could have seen more.

We did see 14c on Thursday 8c on Friday and then Saturday (before the snow) max of 5c. Sunday max of 0.5c before dropping to -2c 11pm wioth heavy powdery snow.

This is in comparison to +2c Monday, 1c Tuesday, -1c Wednesday and -2.5c Thursday. (when storm Emma arrived the ground surfaces were already frozen cold and had time to cool days before.

All in all the first dump of snow - 'blizzard' by storm Emma was more exciting because it's the first proper snow Exeter has seen since 2010 and for those kids who are 3 , 4 or 5 it was the first time they have seen snow in Exeter. Also speaking to some - those who had missed Exeter in the blizzard by storm Emma because they were away or whatever had seen the snow now or those who saw the storm Emma blizzard have missed this one so either way they have seen Exeter in snow.

Very impressed with Exeter snowfall after years of waiting and set backs etc.Sad to see it melt and go so quickly but it is end of March now!!

ANyway just thought i'd share the difference in easterly's and snowfalls - clearly short and shape shock this recent one.

More snow end of Month? I notice these easterlies with snow come every two weeks 12th 13th Feb, (slack easterly) the 28th Feb/1st to 2nd March, 16th to 18th March so here so the next feast from the east on 30th March to 1st April next?

Let's find out. - I look forward to seeing all your reviews and pics. I wonder how Squish up on DARTMOOR did in comparison to the last snow event? Mike of Pompey how did you do? did you get more snow this time or more last time?

Looking in Europe as well as N. America - doesn't look very springlike there either ....are we entering a mini ice age!?

Just hope we get more of this in future winters NOT spring! As for summer - I am not too keen on hot weather - plus we don't have aircon. In Canada I remember many days were 34 or 35c but you could go into a shopping mall or even many houses including my apartment that had air con. 24 or 25c is fine for me. Who wants 32+c heat? and nighttime lows of +23c? yuck! -

So uncomfortable for sleeping. If it's going to get that hot then at least cool down to below 15c at nighttime. What I loved about Calgary when I lived there was that despite 30c by day in summer's nighttime temps will often fall to 12 or 13c or sometimes down to 10c so sleeping was always comfortable and it wasn't humid hot, close and sticky!

ANYWAY I am going off on one!

Back to the here and now - It's another significant snow event for many parts of Devon for the 2nd if not 3rd time in less than 3 weeks and all 2 to 3 snow events have totaled over perhaps "14 or 15" of snow making it the snowiest March I can ever remember in Devon let alone Exeter. - do feel free to browse back to photos of the last snowfall event on 28th Feb, 1st (especially) and 2nd March.

I do feel like I am in N. America. - I love this ever changing volatile weather. 

 

 

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Great photos. Thanks for posting them.

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