On Oct 10, 12:27*pm, "Will Hand" wrote:
"Dawlish" wrote in message

...
On Oct 10, 8:59 am, "Will Hand" wrote:





"Nick Gardner" wrote in message

...

It never ceases to amaze me what people who live inland consider
windy. (Mind you a single snowflake can cause considerable exitement
here!)

The wild and windy bit was certainly 'wild'n'windy', but I said the wind
was gusting to 40 mph. That was recorded at my reasonably quiet '6 miles
inland' and sheltered site, but on top of Woodbury Common near the coast
it is about as exposed as you could ever get and I suspect the wind
there
was gusting over 60 mph which was wreaking havoc with the trees which
were
still in full leaf cover.

The snowflake thing reminded me of November 25th 2005 when in the
village
we awoke to a dusting (maybe an inch on the grass but less everywhere
else) of snow and the locals stood around in amazement. By noon it had
all
melted. That was the last time snow has actually settled here. In early
April this year I saw snow (it was really snow grains/ice pellets)
falling
briefly but not settling, this was the first 'white stuff' to fall in
over
two years.

My neighbour who is rather on the ancient side assures me that even down
'ere, snow has fallen in such large quantities that the lanes have been
blocked and the villages cut off for days. Hmmm, this maybe but I think
they were always a rare occurrence and not the regular 'every year'
thing
he remembers. He has well over 80 years to remember but insists every
winter had snow and frost, but the only ones I can agree with him on
a
1947, 1962/63, 1978.

Does here on the south coast of Devon have hidden snow secrets I am not
aware of.
_______________
Nick.
Otter Valley, Devon
83 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk

From my perch up here in Haytor I have looked at snowfalls over the last 5
years. As one would naturaly expect it is all down to altitude and
distance
from sea in our part of the world. Below 200m asl lying snow is rare and
very rare at sea level and if it does lay at sea level then not for very
long. I am reliably informed that at Chudleigh Knighton circa 30m asl
along
the river Teign no snow has layed for more than an hour or so in the past
5
years. Aquaintances at Torquay tell me "snow never lays in the town",
probably not quite true, but it will certainly be execeptional. Likewise
Teignmouth, but you only have to go up to 250m up in the Haldon hills
overlooking the town and they will gleam white at least once every winter.
Dartmoor, is, of course, famous for Devon snow, all the postcards show
ponies grazing on a white moor in winter. Perhaps a bit misleading as for
a
lot of the time it is just wet and boggy but as you go from 200m to 400m
asl
the number of days with snow cover increases dramatically. Never very
deep,
the most I have seen at Haytor is 12cm since 2002, but quite a number of
occasions of morning snow of 2-4 cms melting by afternoon. Above 400m and
over the high moorland plateau in the north and west it is different
again.
Snowfalls are more regular and deeper. Every year at least one day of deep
powder is guaranteed (you will normally find me out on that day) and in
colder winters several days are likely. Above 550m asl (the very high Tors
and the yes Tor escarpment), arctic like conditions are not uncommon. Our
part of Devon has a fascinating winter climate from frozen northern
hill-like conditions on the high Tors to the flourishing palm trees on the
coast where even frost is rare in a matter of an hour's drive!

I leave you with a typical picture of a light Dartmoor snowfall in
Haytorhttp://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Haytor/Pictures/Asnowyjanuaryday.jpg

A mere dusting by Copley standards :-)

Will (Haytor, Devon, 310m asl)
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We had the heaviest fall of snow in 10 years on Christmas Day 2004. I
do know the time exactly that the rain turned to snow. It was between
3.00 and 3-15pm, as the covering of wet snow caused us to abandon
Christmas dinner and go out snowballing. It had stopped and melted
within 60 minutes and the dinner was being digested (don't you just
love the microwave oven!)! The little snowman on the back of the car
lasted until Boxing Day. I also paid for Christmas dinner by backing
no snow in London that day at 1/4.

There have been morning, frozen, dustings of snow and daytime snow
showers in the 10 years since we have lived there, but nothing more.

Paul
==================================

Christmas Day 2004 in Haytorhttp://www.lyneside.demon.co.uk/Haytor/Pictures/Heavysnowchristmasday...

There was another 3cm after that picture was taken. It snowed from
mid-morning to mid-afternoon, a real white Christmas! No rain at all. We
went out sledging around dusk to work off the Christmas dinner.

Will (Haytor, Devon, 310m asl)
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Nice Will! A few hundred metres below you and the snow was very wet
and didn't last anything like as long! - but we did have a White
christmas. While it lasted it was terrific fun!