[Dave K]

I've put this is the General Weather Chat thread rather than the Current & Recent Reports deliberately so as to allow general comments too as well as stats only type reports.

Admittedly news from February talking about wild predictions of the coldest Easter ever don't look qute so daft at the moment! The question is, just how cold will this Easter weekend be compared to the past? The coldest since 1892 looks like a real possibility. Add to that, the likelihood of snow too.

The movable dates make it a bit tricky to retrieve old data but Kevin as usual compiled some useful stats from the Wetaher in the Past thread

summer, on 25 March 2013 - 08:06, said:

Sub 5C Easters since 1880

23rd-26th March 1883: 0.9 <-----Coldest in this list
3rd-6th April 1885: 4.3
30th March-2nd April 1888: 4.2
27th-30th March 1891: 4.5
15th-18th April 1892: 2.3
6th-9th April 1917: 3.4
26th-29th March 1937: 3.4
4th-7th April 1958: 3.8
27th-30th March 1964: 4.3
28th-31st March 1975: 3.4
8th-11th April 1977: 4.5
1st-4th April 1983: 4.2
10th-13th April 1998: 4.1
21st-24th March 2008: 3.6

For my part Easter has started with an air frost and the probablity of a air frost on each day of the Easter weekend, which I doubt I have recorded in 29 years...the low minima are really going to drag down the daily mean temps quite a bit I would think.

[Dave W]

Having said that given some sun things will warm up quite a bit by day now. Heathrows already 5C i see. Equally look out too for more very low humidities as well. The fact everythings bone dry now here isnt helping plant growth much either along with the very cold nights.

[Dave K]

Dave W, on 29 March 2013 - 10:08, said:

Having said that given some sun things will warm up quite a bit by day now. Heathrows already 5C i see. Equally look out too for more very low humidities as well. The fact everythings bone dry now here isnt helping plant growth much either along with the very cold nights.

Some sun will warm things up if you're not stuck under a sheet of Sc piling in from the North Sea . I hope it will break up here, though it's not dull and the solar rad is penetrating enough to help the temp rise slowly. Currently 3.6 °C here after a min of -1.2 °C.

Wind chill of course a factor too...although the wind isn't especially strong here at the mo.

[Dave K]

BTW a min of -9.5 °C this morning at Altnaharra, and even -6.1 °C at Crosby!


Just checking back my site records, on Easter Sunday 2008 ( very early Easter, 23rd ) I had a min of -1.3 °C a max of 3.3 °C and two hours of snow.

This post has been edited by Dave K: 29 March 2013 - 10:40

[Dave W]

Well we have reached the dizzy heights of 3C here in Brighton.

Brighton W 1200Z 05010KT 9000 FEW025 BKN037 03/M06 Q1012
RH 54%

[Chris Alder]

Well up to 5c, however with a dp of -6c it's again too cold to run outside and train, the wind is stiffening and again becoming bitterly cold and as for the blue skies that lasted about two hours before everything filled in.

[Dave W]

Dave K, on 29 March 2013 - 10:33, said:

BTW a min of -9.5 °C this morning at Altnaharra, and even -6.1 °C at Crosby!


Just checking back my site records, on Easter Sunday 2008 ( very early Easter, 23rd ) I had a min of -1.3 °C a max of 3.3 °C and two hours of snow.

It was at least -10.3C last night at Braemar. Widely -13C on grass in Scotland too.

[Dave K]

Have to say it's not turned out too bad here, I went out well wrapped up but the sun came out and it felt too cosy, now up to 6.2 °C with a fairly light wind.

Where the sky is clear it's bright blue and solar rad is high at 968 w/m² so it's having quite a warming effect.

[PJB]

6.1C here and not too bad out of the wind... Good for getting out in the garden to tidy up and its not waterlogged for the 1st time in ages !!

[Richie]

Bright sunshine since dawn, and mildish out of the wind, although I have being out chopping firewood most the morning so it seems milder when your doing that.

Currently 5.9c with RH at 59%. Ground frost overnight with -0.4c on the grass.

291300Z 05005G16KT 9999 NSW SCT020 06/M02 Q1014 NOSIG=

The mildest day for some time here.

[Dave W]

Brize Norton snow grains METAR EGVN 291250Z 06012KT 9999 SG FEW030 BKN035 03/M05 Q1010 BLU NOSIG=

Cold still here.. seems reluctant to rise above 3.5C

Edit.. actually i see it is3.8C now in fact as of 1325Z, RH is 51%

[Dave W]

Various light snow areas/snow showers continue across SE England, NE England and E Scotland.

[Dave K]

Dave W, on 29 March 2013 - 13:16, said:

Brize Norton snow grains METAR EGVN 291250Z 06012KT 9999 SG FEW030 BKN035 03/M05 Q1010 BLU NOSIG=

Cold still here.. seems reluctant to rise above 3.5C

Herstmonceux was just 2.7 °C at 12.00z, Little Rissington 1.8 °C. Even in the far SW Camborne actually dropped to 3.3 °C from 4.2 °C earlier.

[Dave W]

Camborne due do the rain there , & possibly sleet on high ground & becoming windy in far SW too, Lands End was ENE 30G46mph at 1330Z
A thoroughly miserable day in the far SW.

[killwilly]

We had a few flakes of snow here, near Spalding this morning, but it's quite a pleasant sunny day now, UV reading 3, still chilly though.

[HSEA3]

Had Braemars low last night fallen on the 28th,30th or 31st it would have been a date record.

Altnaharras low of around -10 was impressive given i doubt there is much if any snow cover...its been +5-6c over the last couple of days.

[Andy Mayhew]

A few pellets of small, soft hail observed on walk home from work just now. Possibly the odd flake of snow mixed in as well, but couldn't be sure.

Temp currently 4.9c

[Ian Williams]

Very cold feel to today here, am currently in Liskeard at work, temp has been around 3C all day, did manage to climb to 4C, but the wind is fairly strong making it feel really bitter. Currently 3.0C and cloudy wind speed 21 mph

[Dave W]

HSEA3, on 29 March 2013 - 15:55, said:

Had Braemars low last night fallen on the 28th,30th or 31st it would have been a date record.

Altnaharras low of around -10 was impressive given i doubt there is much if any snow cover...its been +5-6c over the last couple of days.

It could well fall that low again over any of the next 3 nights potentially.. & all the next week could see below -5C somewhere

[Dave W]

Culdrose recently gusted Ely 50mph.