30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On 04/01/2017 11:43, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA


On 12/1/87 the maximum temperature in Epping was -8.0c and the minimum
was -10.0C. As you imply the 'snow depth gradient' was very steep NW-SE
with SE Essex/E London and N Kent receiving much greater falls than
places like Epping. However it was the severe frost that caused many
problems, particularly in older buildings.
On the Monday (12/1/87) I accompanied a group of young scholars to the
Science Museum. Despite the cold and snow they were happy to walk to the
station (and they behaved themselves). It was a strange sight to see
Exhibition Road covered in that thick brownish frozen dust which occurs
when temperatures are presumably too low for treatment to be effective.
Not so good news for the school roof however. It eventually had to be
replaced after a water tank/pipe burst after a thaw. But that's another
story.

--
George in Swanston, Edinburgh, 580'asl
www.swanstonweather.co.uk
www.eppingweather.co.uk
www.winter1947.co.uk

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 11:43:33 UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even here on the SW Devon coast in Wembury, this was the coldest spell I experienced since moving here in 1983.

We had four sucessive ice days and my record min of -10.1 C was recorded which still stands.
Max and min in Jan 1987
11th -1.3 -4.1
12th -2.3 -8.0
13th -3.8 -10.1
14th -4.0 -6.9

We had 2 inches of snow on 12th.

With quite a biting easterly wind it was hard to keep our bungalow warm.
Cold was coming up through the floors so I blocked the air bricks and we covered the floors with anything we had handy, old carpet, blankets...

I remember another effect of the extreme cold was to make all the leaves turn black on the privet hedge down the length of our garden.
They subsequently fell off.
The hedge did recover the next summer though.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On 04/01/2017 15:18, Len Wood wrote:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 11:43:33 UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even here on the SW Devon coast in Wembury, this was the coldest spell I experienced since moving here in 1983.

We had four sucessive ice days and my record min of -10.1 C was recorded which still stands.
Max and min in Jan 1987
11th -1.3 -4.1
12th -2.3 -8.0
13th -3.8 -10.1
14th -4.0 -6.9

We had 2 inches of snow on 12th.

With quite a biting easterly wind it was hard to keep our bungalow warm.
Cold was coming up through the floors so I blocked the air bricks and we covered the floors with anything we had handy, old carpet, blankets...

I remember another effect of the extreme cold was to make all the leaves turn black on the privet hedge down the length of our garden.
They subsequently fell off.
The hedge did recover the next summer though.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------






My January 1987 data...
http://www.southendweather.net/Jan87.htm

--
Keith (Southend)
"Weather Home & Abroad"
http://www.southendweather.net
Twitter:@SS9Weatherman

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 11:43:33 AM UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Some very interesting responses - thanks all. Would everyone be happy to have their memories included in the blog?

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

Keith,

If I recall correctly there was very little snow down in Dover. I imagine your snow on the 12 was quite powdery.

There was a similar synoptic set up on 7/8th January 1985.

I was just wondering if you had records for these dates?

Cheers

Alan




On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 18:24:03 UTC, Keith (Southend)G wrote:
On 04/01/2017 15:18, Len Wood wrote:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 11:43:33 UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even here on the SW Devon coast in Wembury, this was the coldest spell I experienced since moving here in 1983.

We had four sucessive ice days and my record min of -10.1 C was recorded which still stands.
Max and min in Jan 1987
11th -1.3 -4.1
12th -2.3 -8.0
13th -3.8 -10.1
14th -4.0 -6.9

We had 2 inches of snow on 12th.

With quite a biting easterly wind it was hard to keep our bungalow warm.
Cold was coming up through the floors so I blocked the air bricks and we covered the floors with anything we had handy, old carpet, blankets...

I remember another effect of the extreme cold was to make all the leaves turn black on the privet hedge down the length of our garden.
They subsequently fell off.
The hedge did recover the next summer though.

Len
Wembury, SW Devon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------






My January 1987 data...
http://www.southendweather.net/Jan87.htm

--
Keith (Southend)
"Weather Home & Abroad"
http://www.southendweather.net
Twitter:@SS9Weatherman

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On 04/01/2017 19:07, Alan [Guildford] wrote:
Keith,

If I recall correctly there was very little snow down in Dover. I imagine your snow on the 12 was quite powdery.

There was a similar synoptic set up on 7/8th January 1985.

I was just wondering if you had records for these dates?

Cheers

Alan




Oh, those were the day :-)

http://www.southendweather.net/January_1985.htm


--
Keith (Southend)
"Weather Home & Abroad"
http://www.southendweather.net
Twitter:@SS9Weatherman

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 18:45:58 UTC, Scott W wrote:
On Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 11:43:33 AM UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Some very interesting responses - thanks all. Would everyone be happy to have their memories included in the blog?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You're welcome to Scott.
Len
================================================== ======================

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

In message ,
Scott W writes
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Thanks, Scott. I see that on the coldest day, the 12th, Wanstead
struggled up to -5.5C, which must have made it one of the warmest places
in the south-eastern half of England.

In Cranleigh, we had a little snow on the Monday, I think it was, but it
didn't amount to much. We had to wait for overnight Tuesday/Wednesday
for serious snow, but then it certainly made up for lost time. On
Wednesday morning, the gritters must have done a remarkable job on the
roads, as traffic was moving - if slowly - on the B road that runs
through Cranleigh, and I was able to make the 8 mile journey to
Guildford Station. (It's lucky that Boris Johnson wasn't running the
buses.) But at the station, a railwayman was standing by the entrance
telling everyone: "There are no trains. We don't know when there will be
any trains. We advise you to go home." I managed to get a bus back to
Cranleigh, by which time the snow had just about stopped.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

In message ,
Scott W writes
On Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 11:43:33 AM UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Some very interesting responses - thanks all. Would everyone be happy
to have their memories included in the blog?

Please do.

Incidentally your chart for 12:00 on the 12th shows that the temperature
at what looks like it might be Marseilles was -6C. I don't suppose that
happens often!
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On Wednesday, January 4, 2017 at 11:43:33 AM UTC, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp..me/p2VSmb-1WA

The far west of Cornwall http://www.turnstone-cottage.co.uk/1987Snow.pdf (I link to this at any excuse, it was probably the snowfall of the century in the far SW, certainly heavier than in 1963.)

Penzance had a maximum temperature of -1.1°C on both the 12th and 13th of January 1987 with a minimum of -9.9°C in between, but most of Cornwall was much colder with maxes between -3 and -6°C.

Graham
Penzance

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

Incidentally your chart for 12:00 on the 12th shows that the temperature
at what looks like it might be Marseilles was -6C. I don't suppose that
happens often!
--
John Hall

Actually John,more often that you might suppose. I read an article earlier this year, so I'll see if I can find it and post a link.
Prone to heavy snow sometimes as well.

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On 04/01/2017 20:07, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Thanks, Scott. I see that on the coldest day, the 12th, Wanstead
struggled up to -5.5C, which must have made it one of the warmest places
in the south-eastern half of England.

In Cranleigh, we had a little snow on the Monday, I think it was, but it
didn't amount to much. We had to wait for overnight Tuesday/Wednesday
for serious snow, but then it certainly made up for lost time. On
Wednesday morning, the gritters must have done a remarkable job on the
roads, as traffic was moving - if slowly - on the B road that runs
through Cranleigh, and I was able to make the 8 mile journey to
Guildford Station. (It's lucky that Boris Johnson wasn't running the
buses.) But at the station, a railwayman was standing by the entrance
telling everyone: "There are no trains. We don't know when there will be
any trains. We advise you to go home." I managed to get a bus back to
Cranleigh, by which time the snow had just about stopped.

That is a nice example of regression with time. That B road in the
opposite direction (Cranleigh to Ockley) certainly wasn't treated in the
icy conditions of December 2010. I remember trying to cycle back to
Broadbridge Heath from Holmbury, heading for the relative safety of the
A29, and there were cars wheel spinning on the short sharp inclines
along that B road.

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On 04/01/2017 11:43, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA


Can anyone provide a link which explains the meteorological synoptic
conditions which accompanied the onset of the severe cold, in particular
where the cold air was advected from. From the synoptic chart in your
link the cold air seems to be quite localised over the UK, northern
France, Germany and a little further east, but further east of that the
air is less cold. If it was a strong easterly wind advecting cold air
from eastern Europe I would expect the blue colours to extend all the
way east into Russia. It looks like it may have started off with
easterly advection of cold air, then a cold blob got pinched off due to
milder southerly winds, possibly due to a low pressure system over the
European mainland, then the cold blob continued to be advected west and
over the UK.

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

Scott W writes:

I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce.

I was living on the 15th floor of a tower block in Mile End at the time.
The prolonged cold caused the main water riser into the block to freeze
so no one in nearly 400 flats (there were a pair of blocks) had running
water. It turned out to be possible to tap into the larger street main
with a stand-pipe. Presumably the constant use kept it running though
I'd have thought it would have to be removed at night. I don't recall
how long that lasted but it was more than a couple of days.

--
Ben.

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

In message , Adam Lea
writes
On 04/01/2017 20:07, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Thanks, Scott. I see that on the coldest day, the 12th, Wanstead
struggled up to -5.5C, which must have made it one of the warmest places
in the south-eastern half of England.

In Cranleigh, we had a little snow on the Monday, I think it was, but it
didn't amount to much. We had to wait for overnight Tuesday/Wednesday
for serious snow, but then it certainly made up for lost time. On
Wednesday morning, the gritters must have done a remarkable job on the
roads, as traffic was moving - if slowly - on the B road that runs
through Cranleigh, and I was able to make the 8 mile journey to
Guildford Station. (It's lucky that Boris Johnson wasn't running the
buses.) But at the station, a railwayman was standing by the entrance
telling everyone: "There are no trains. We don't know when there will be
any trains. We advise you to go home." I managed to get a bus back to
Cranleigh, by which time the snow had just about stopped.

That is a nice example of regression with time. That B road in the
opposite direction (Cranleigh to Ockley) certainly wasn't treated in
the icy conditions of December 2010. I remember trying to cycle back to
Broadbridge Heath from Holmbury, heading for the relative safety of the
A29, and there were cars wheel spinning on the short sharp inclines
along that B road.

It may have helped that from Cranleigh to Guildford must get a lot more
traffic than the Cranleigh to Ockley stretch. Also there are only two
substantial hills, I think.

But I suspect that more money was available for treating the roads in
1987 than was the case by 2010. We used to get the roads treated on the
housing estate where I live, admittedly not before a fall but usually
not too long afterwards, but that doesn't happen anymore. The last three
hundred yards or so up to my house is a moderate upwards incline, and as
a result there was one occasion in December 2010 when conditions were
too bad for the milkman to get his cart up the hill to deliver my milk.
Apparently he made it round the lower part of the estate, and if I'd
only known that and at what time he would be round, I could have walked
down to collect my milk from him.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

John Hall wrote:

In message , Adam Lea
writes
On 04/01/2017 20:07, John Hall wrote:
In message ,
Scott W writes
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA

Thanks, Scott. I see that on the coldest day, the 12th, Wanstead
struggled up to -5.5C, which must have made it one of the warmest places
in the south-eastern half of England.

In Cranleigh, we had a little snow on the Monday, I think it was, but it
didn't amount to much. We had to wait for overnight Tuesday/Wednesday
for serious snow, but then it certainly made up for lost time. On
Wednesday morning, the gritters must have done a remarkable job on the
roads, as traffic was moving - if slowly - on the B road that runs
through Cranleigh, and I was able to make the 8 mile journey to
Guildford Station. (It's lucky that Boris Johnson wasn't running the
buses.) But at the station, a railwayman was standing by the entrance
telling everyone: "There are no trains. We don't know when there will be
any trains. We advise you to go home." I managed to get a bus back to
Cranleigh, by which time the snow had just about stopped.

That is a nice example of regression with time. That B road in the opposite
direction (Cranleigh to Ockley) certainly wasn't treated in the icy
conditions of December 2010. I remember trying to cycle back to Broadbridge
Heath from Holmbury, heading for the relative safety of the A29, and there
were cars wheel spinning on the short sharp inclines along that B road.

It may have helped that from Cranleigh to Guildford must get a lot more
traffic than the Cranleigh to Ockley stretch. Also there are only two
substantial hills, I think.

But I suspect that more money was available for treating the roads in 1987
than was the case by 2010. We used to get the roads treated on the housing
estate where I live, admittedly not before a fall but usually not too long
afterwards, but that doesn't happen anymore. The last three hundred yards or
so up to my house is a moderate upwards incline, and as a result there was
one occasion in December 2010 when conditions were too bad for the milkman to
get his cart up the hill to deliver my milk. Apparently he made it round the
lower part of the estate, and if I'd only known that and at what time he
would be round, I could have walked down to collect my milk from him.

I've had rather the opposite experience here. During the first few years that
we lived here our road didn't get any ploughing or gritting, not even during
the very bad weather in Dec 2010. However, over the past 3-4 years the road has
been ploughed very soon after any significant snowfall and we've even had
treatment from a gritter on a few occasions. The main road through the village,
which is a bus route, is always well ploughed and gritted when necessary.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
http://peakdistrictweather.org
@TideswellWeathr

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

In message , Norman Lynagh
writes
John Hall wrote:

But I suspect that more money was available for treating the roads in 1987
than was the case by 2010. We used to get the roads treated on the housing
estate where I live, admittedly not before a fall but usually not too long
afterwards, but that doesn't happen anymore. The last three hundred yards or
so up to my house is a moderate upwards incline, and as a result there was
one occasion in December 2010 when conditions were too bad for the milkman to
get his cart up the hill to deliver my milk. Apparently he made it round the
lower part of the estate, and if I'd only known that and at what time he
would be round, I could have walked down to collect my milk from him.

I've had rather the opposite experience here. During the first few years that
we lived here our road didn't get any ploughing or gritting, not even during
the very bad weather in Dec 2010. However, over the past 3-4 years the road has
been ploughed very soon after any significant snowfall and we've even had
treatment from a gritter on a few occasions. The main road through the village,
which is a bus route, is always well ploughed and gritted when necessary.


I suspect that the long spell between 1997 and 2008 (and to a lesser
extent you could say 1988-2008), when most winters were mild and snow
was rarely a problem down here, led to cutbacks in expenditure on road
clearance, and of course once expenditure has been cut it very rarely is
reinstated.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 23:24:20 UTC, Adam Lea wrote:
On 04/01/2017 11:43, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA


Can anyone provide a link which explains the meteorological synoptic
conditions which accompanied the onset of the severe cold, in particular
where the cold air was advected from. From the synoptic chart in your
link the cold air seems to be quite localised over the UK, northern
France, Germany and a little further east, but further east of that the
air is less cold. If it was a strong easterly wind advecting cold air
from eastern Europe I would expect the blue colours to extend all the
way east into Russia. It looks like it may have started off with
easterly advection of cold air, then a cold blob got pinched off due to
milder southerly winds, possibly due to a low pressure system over the
European mainland, then the cold blob continued to be advected west and
over the UK.

Try this: a href="http://old.wetterzentrale.de/topkarten/fsreaeur.html"/a.

Click on Kartenarchiv in the top left box and proceed from there. It gives 500-mb heights rather than thicknesses but the source of the cold air is clear.

Tudor Hughes

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/ar...0119870113.gif


On Thursday, 5 January 2017 17:28:07 UTC, Tudor Hughes wrote:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 23:24:20 UTC, Adam Lea wrote:
On 04/01/2017 11:43, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of that cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on the net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA


Can anyone provide a link which explains the meteorological synoptic
conditions which accompanied the onset of the severe cold, in particular
where the cold air was advected from. From the synoptic chart in your
link the cold air seems to be quite localised over the UK, northern
France, Germany and a little further east, but further east of that the
air is less cold. If it was a strong easterly wind advecting cold air
from eastern Europe I would expect the blue colours to extend all the
way east into Russia. It looks like it may have started off with
easterly advection of cold air, then a cold blob got pinched off due to
milder southerly winds, possibly due to a low pressure system over the
European mainland, then the cold blob continued to be advected west and
over the UK.

Try this: a href="http://old.wetterzentrale.de/topkarten/fsreaeur.html"/a.

Click on Kartenarchiv in the top left box and proceed from there. It gives 500-mb heights rather than thicknesses but the source of the cold air is clear.

Tudor Hughes

30 years on: the January 1987 cold spell
 

In message ,
"Alan [Guildford]" writes

On Thursday, 5 January 2017 17:28:07 UTC, Tudor Hughes wrote:
On Wednesday, 4 January 2017 23:24:20 UTC, Adam Lea wrote:
On 04/01/2017 11:43, Scott W wrote:
I've written a few lines on my memory of the opening weekend of
cold spell that happened 30 years ago next week. There's loads on
net about it but in this age of mild winters it doesn't hurt to
reminisce. http://wp.me/p2VSmb-1WA


Can anyone provide a link which explains the meteorological synoptic
conditions which accompanied the onset of the severe cold, in particular
where the cold air was advected from. From the synoptic chart in your
link the cold air seems to be quite localised over the UK, northern
France, Germany and a little further east, but further east of that the
air is less cold. If it was a strong easterly wind advecting cold air
from eastern Europe I would expect the blue colours to extend all the
way east into Russia. It looks like it may have started off with
easterly advection of cold air, then a cold blob got pinched off due to
milder southerly winds, possibly due to a low pressure system over the
European mainland, then the cold blob continued to be advected west and
over the UK.

Try this: a
href="http://old.wetterzentrale.de/topkarten/fsreaeur.html"/a.

Click on Kartenarchiv in the top left box and proceed from
there. It gives 500-mb heights rather than thicknesses but the source
of the cold air is clear.
http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/ar...0119870113.gif


Thanks for the link, Alan.

If you track back a few days, say to the 10th:

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/ar...0119870110.gif


you can see that the cold air originated in northern Siberia. Normally
the expression "a Siberian blast" is hyperbole, as it's rare to get air
from any further east than European Russia, but not on this occasion.
--
John Hall
"One can certainly imagine the myriad of uses
for a hand-held iguana maker"
Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher!)