February 2005- a cold end
Last month I discussed how January 2005 was notable for some very stormy weather. This month I want to mention how the second half of February in 2005 then went on to become the coldest for nineteen years, and the snowiest period for sometime – notable not for its intensity in terms of severe cold (daytime maxima were between 2C and 5C), but for its length and the amount of snow that fell across north east and SE England.
Initially the first half of February was nothing unusual, a relatively quiet period following the storms of January. It was not until the 19th, after a weak frontal system moving south had cleared the UK, that a northerly flow developed in a polar air mass, cold enough to support snow in heavy showers that fed into eastern coastal districts throughout the afternoon. The northerly flow continued on the 20th with further sleet and snow showers chiefly though not exclusively across coastal parts exposed to the north wind.
19th February- the start of the cold spell: http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive//ra2/2005/Rrea2005021912.gif
On the 20th as the flow veered east of north it fed heavy coastal showers inland in the north east and produced some quite atrocious conditions with 8cm of lying snow reported at Fylingdales. The E'ly flow strengthened on the 22nd driving snow showers across the majority of the country throughout the day.However, the most severe part of the cold spell started on the 23rd as snow showers merged across the north east of England. An occluded front moved west across the UK on the 24th bringing a spell of general snow with northeast England and southern Scotland seeing the heaviest and most prolonged period of snowfall as heavy snow fell for much of the day. As it was accompanied by gale force east to northeast winds the conditions were atrocious for much of the day, especially across the North York Moors and Pennines, which were worst hit. The snow drifted in the wind and by the end of the day falls of 15cm were widespread mainly across higher land and a total of 52cm was reported at Boltshope Park (434m in County Durham) with drifts of up to 6m reported!
Many rescue operations took place during the 23rd/24th as the blizzards took hold and caught many people out. An RAC Patrol man had to be rescued by a mountain rescue team from RAF Leeming when his van became stuck in a remote part of the North York moors. The conditions were described as the worst in living memory with 70 mph winds and driving heavy snow. The wind whipped up drifts of snow to a depth of several metres very quickly. Three policemen were rescued after being called out to attend a stranded car, only to become stranded themselves in the snow.
The cold spell intensifies, the 23rd February: http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive//ra2/2005/Rrea2005022312.gif
Conditions didn't improve much during the next day, as the stalled occluded front over Northern England continued to bring further periods of snow on high ground. On the 25th across southern England the day dawned very cold and wintry for some as a very cold plunge of air was drawn east and initiated a train of showers through the Thames estuary, colloquially known as the 'Thames Tickler'. The snow which fell for several hours during the early morning and rush hour period across south Essex, north and central London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire gave accumulations of several centimetres and brought travel chaos to many minor routes of the regions worst affected, though the shower train decayed during by mid morning allowing the lying snow to thaw and conditions to slowly improve. The 26th saw further snow with thunder reported in Norwich and frequent snow showers became quite widespread for a time across East Anglia, Kent and East Sussex with accumulations of as much as 20cm on the North Downs . Temperatures struggled to rise above freezing at Langdon Bay near Dover in a bitter north-easterly wind. Winds fell light in the north though by evening under relatively clear skies and temperature plummeted. The night of the 27/28th was the coldest February night in 14 years across several sites in the UK.
Chart for the coldest night of the cold spell, 27th February: http://www.wetterzentrale.de/archive//ra2/2005/Rrea2005022712.gif
Redhill, Surrey fell to –9.5C and Benson, (Oxfordshire) to -9.4C. After a clear, dry, sunny and very cold start across much of England and Wales, further snow moved south during the afternoon of the 28th on a warm front making for the 11th consecutive day with falling snow at some stations.
Further disruption continued as well into March as the cold spell continued across much of the UK but especially in the SE. Totals on the 2nd March due to a slow moving low pressure over the area included 15cm at Herne Bay, 20cm at Canterbury and over 30cm on the North Downs. The heavy snow brought a loss of power to over 200 homes in Kent, and the army were called in to help move patients into hospitals as minor and even major roads like the M20 became impassable with time with more snow showers faling across the worst affected areas of Kent and East Sussex during the 3rd leading to further accumulations and difficult driving conditions.
The cold spell, though not especially cold, (almost 3C below the average for the time of year) brought about for some parts the snowiest spell of weather for several years (16 consecutive days with falling snow in London) and was notable its lateness, despite following a relatively mild winter not just in the UK but across the majority of Europe and Russia. Worth remembering that even if we see a mild January and early February we can still see a sting in the tail end of winter.
