1962-1963 winter in Gloucestershire - Avon frozen.
 

The 1962-1963 winter is within the memory of many people on this group
including me. I was at school at Churchdown, halfway between
Gloucester and Cheltenham and rememeber it well, including massive
snowdrifts piled up (by snow-ploughs admittedly) easily 20 ft high.

Gloucester is usually a degree or two milder then nearby parts of the
UK due to the influence of the Bristol Channel and snow is quite rare
and short-lived in the city - but not so in 1962-1963 - the city was
actually cut-off at one point. Nearby high ground in the Cotswolds
and Forest of Dean was very badly affected, with many communities cut
off for days on end.

I can remember ice-floes in the Severn and the Gloucester-Sharpness
canal fully frozen over and people walking on it. and the photographs
on the following website show that the Avon at Tewkesbury also had ice
thick enough to walk on.

http://cgi.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire...winter63.shtml

See also the picture gallery. (I'm going to send in some of *my*
pictures of the freeze to the site).

JPG

1962-1963 winter in Gloucestershire - Avon frozen.
 

In uk.sci.weather on Sun, 7 Dec 2003 at 14:38:10, JPG wrote :

The 1962-1963 winter is within the memory of many people on this group
including me. I was at school at Churchdown, halfway between
Gloucester and Cheltenham and rememeber it well, including massive
snowdrifts piled up (by snow-ploughs admittedly) easily 20 ft high.

Alas, I wasn't even born then, so I can only wax lyrical about 1981/2.
:)

http://cgi.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire...winter63.shtml

I'll certainly take a look at it.
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham

Email to pahyett[AT]activist[DOT]demon[DOT]co[DOT]uk