It's snowing!

[Wowbagger]

Oh dear.  I do hope that the forecast for Friday is an exaggeration - or a Worst Case Scenario.  I really don't want to be the only one able to turn up to work. 

Looks a mess, doesn't it? This is what kept happening in the winter of '47; incursions from the Atlantic disrupted over the UK, leading to snow but no respite from the cold. I hope it doesn't go on that long though - there was snow lying until mid March then!

I read somewhere that 5th March 1947 was "one of the most vicious storms of the 20th century in Britain".

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gesc_b/Pages/Discussion/D5thMarch1947.htm shows a weather report.

In 1963 the thaw didn't set in until 17th March. For most of the country, the first snow of the winter fell on Boxing Day 1962. The most violent storm for southern England was on the night of 30th December. I recall my brother, who was accustomed to sitting in our bedroom listening to the Third Network (as it was known in those days) gallumphing downstairs to say that the forecast had predicted a massive blizzard coming down form Scandinavia.

They weren't wrong. Our road was blocked by 4' snowdrifts for 3 weeks. There were "virgin" snowdrifts, where no-one had walked, in the fields a little way behind our house until March. They had been there so long that they were dirty with wind-blown dust. That January was the coldest month on record in Britain and there were quite a few places where the temperature didn't go above freezing for the whole of January.

We went for a walk on 31st Dec and the weather was so cold that the lens contracted and fell out of the Brownie box camera that we were using. Not surprisingly, none of the photographs came out.

[spindrift]

In Poland the kids get sent home from school at minus 26. At that temperature if you spit it's frozen when it hits the ground. Apparently it's the same with urine but if you think I'm getting my old boy out at minus 26 you want your bumps felt.

[Kim]

This is where the Shewee Extreme comes in...

Don't think any of my schools got closed because of snow.  Boiler failures were something of a theme at secondary (combined with knock-on substation failures as all the teachers in the affected block brought electric heaters in and unbalanced the phases), so it got unpleasantly cold without the aid of extreme weather.  I remember huddling around bunsen burners in full winter clothing in an attempt to keep warm.

[bobb]

The only time my school closed due to weather was when the roof got blown off in the hurricane.

Never closed due to snow, but those were the days when kids walked to school rather than being driven by orange women in BMWs...

[Feanor]

At the Lake Louise ski centre in Canada, there was a notice on the door of the creche ( that dates our trip! ) which said they would not take the kids for outside play if the temperature dropped below -25.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Never closed due to snow, but those were the days when kids walked to school rather than being driven by orange women in BMWs...

I think that has a lot to do with it. When I was a kid, we were used to walking to school in all weathers. Weather wasn't seen as a reason not to go to school.

[CrinklyLion]

I remember our dad (who was the head of the primary school that we attended!) picking out the furniture for the compact and bijou new staffroom after they did the building work that for the first time ever gave the school, which was a tiny village one with 2annahalf classes, an actual staffroom and indoor toilets.  I guess it must have been some time in the early 80s.  He deliberately chose chairs that didn't have arms so you could put them all in a row and kip on them.  And kept a sleeping bag in a cupboard in the winter, just in case, because we lived 5 miles away and the other 2 teachers lived in even more likely to get snowed in villages.  Can't remember if he did end up sleeping there or not.  I do remember him taking the whole of the juniors out on the hill (village was at the foot of the Wolds) sledging every year.

[tonyh]

huddling around bunsen burners in full winter clothing in an attempt to keep warm.

Lighting the gas at the taps warms the room faster. (Having carried out a Risk Assessment, of course.)

[Mr Larrington]

Mine used to close coz the day bugs mostly relied on the buses for getting to and from skool.  East Yorkshire Motor Services used to run and hide every time a snowflake settled on the ground for more than ten seconds

Ah, but did you ever participate in one of the legendary (possibly literally so - I never found anyone who had, just those who claimed to know someone who...) epic huge snowball battles against the natives down on The Path?  The ones that apparently resulted in massive injury and DETH?

I don't believe I did.  Plus I can't remember where this soi-disant The Path is anyway

[Pancho]

Fuck me, it's snowing here! It never snows here!

That decides it. I'm staying home and dusting off the bike for a Snow Ride. I love riding with the snow coming down. Particularly at night.

[Cudzoziemiec]

A very few soft, fluffy flakes of almost snow here, about fifteen minutes ago. Some probably reached knee height before melting. A few minutes later I saw a bumble bee crawling disorientatedly across the pavement.

[Quint]

Starting to come down in sunny (not) North Oxfordshire, roll on Spring

[GrahamG]

I'm just hoping that enough snow falls before 7.30 tomorrow to make a reasonable decision on whether or not to travel to work - I won't be happy if I get the bus in only to end up virtually stranded!

[interzen]

We were told this morning not to take any 'unnecessary risks' getting to work in the event of the predicted snowmageddon coming to pass (I doubt it will - yr.no suggests we'll have some snow; I trust the Met Office forecasts about as far as I could physically spit Scotland) - I suspect that the office will be fairly empty tomorrow.

[spesh]

Fuck me, it's snowing here! It never snows here!

That decides it. I'm staying home and dusting off the bike for a Snow Ride. I love riding with the snow coming down. Particularly at night.

There were a few desultory flakes that didn't settle a little further east this morning, but it's been more like a fine sleet since then. Going by what I read elsewhere, the proper SNOpocalypse isn't due to hit the country until tomorrow, just in time for the rush hour...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21064235

[GothonaBrompton]

SouthWest trains have published their 'snow timetable' for tomorrow already, and it isn't doing anything yet in Central London (nor in much of their network AFAIK).

So down to 4 trains an hour instead of 6 (they add two in the rush hour), the semi fast (starts in Windsor) will now be the slow and stop absolutely everywhere, because the train that usually does that has to come all the way from deepest darkest Weybridge and can't do the bit between there and Virginia Water.

It will either be chaos as more people per train, or some folks decide not to bother and its Friday.

Not sure I want to find out - provided nothing goes t*ts up with the Piccadilly Line, I'll take the tube.

 

[matthew]

SouthWest trains have published their 'snow timetable' for tomorrow already, and it isn't doing anything yet in Central London (nor in much of their network AFAIK).

So down to 4 trains an hour instead of 6 (they add two in the rush hour), the semi fast (starts in Windsor) will now be the slow and stop absolutely everywhere, because the train that usually does that has to come all the way from deepest darkest Weybridge and can't do the bit between there and Virginia Water.

It will either be chaos as more people per train, or some folks decide not to bother and its Friday.

Not sure I want to find out - provided nothing goes t*ts up with the Piccadilly Line, I'll take the tube.

 

Reducing the frequency and close the branch lines - No Ash - Ascot - Hounslow - Waterloo or Weighbridge - Virginia Water - Richmond - Waterloo services.

Fortunately I need neither of these but I think my Marathon Winter tyres will be on the bike and with me in the morning so that I at least have a fall back if the trains get worse come home time.

[Bledlow]

Looking at the forecast, it might be sensible for Mrs B not to go to work tomorrow. Maybe there's some work she can do from home.

[andrewc]

It's trying to snow in Liverpool, not making a very good job of it though.   Down to 6C in my bathroom at the moment.  Note to self, get up early, turn on heater, go back to bed for 30 mins tomorrow.

[Mrs Pingu]

Oh bloody hell, we're supposed to be flying out from Embra on Sat. What are the odds that the flights end up all up the spout because there's a snowpocalypse down south?

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Oh bloody hell, we're supposed to be flying out from Embra on Sat. What are the odds that the flights end up all up the spout because there's a snowpocalypse down south?

I'm more concerned that bobb is supposed to be flying here on Wednesday. I don't mind if he can't get back, but he needs to get here!

[Jaded]

No onions in Morrisons.

For goodness sake, it is supposed to rain on Sunday. Panic buying onions? Gah!

[Basil]

Right.  I'm staying in this pub untill it stops snowing.
 
This could be quite a session.

[madcow]

For some complicated reason, I hope to be a customer of Edinburgh airport  as well on Tuesday and Wednesday. BBC Weather forecast is for white cloud, whatever that means. Only occasional snow showers. If the roads are dodgy , I will let the train take the strain.
Just a fine covering of snow in Vale of York, but its cccold-around -3C  this afternoon.

[TimO]

Looking at the #uksnow map, there's a little bit in the middle of the country, but nothing getting anywhere significantly close to That London.  Even if any snow does come this way, the temperature's going to have to drop a bit before it'll do anything significant.  Currently with London City Airport at 0°C, and Biggin Hill barely below zero at -0.6°C, I can't imagine much will happen.

I guess tomorrow could be a bit different, and the forecasts suggest there could be a bit of snow, but probably not until middayish.