Freezing weather on the way

[ChrisC]

If the north are so great at dealing with snow why is there always news articles about cars getting stranded on the M6 overnight and drivers getting stranded in scotland etc

Maybe it's the southerners who drove up

Perhaps it might be because north of Lancaster the M6 passes through some very exposed areas at quite a height above sea level. Dealing with the snow in the Lune Valley or over Shap Fell is a completely different matter to dealing with the snow around Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Leeds etc.

 

[nlogax]

Having left after dawn to drive the entirety of the M74/A74M and M6 today I can confirm the entire stretch was zero degrees or below and very picturesque. Every tree and hedgerow covered in hoarfrost even though the snow was patchy.

It was certainly minus ten heading north across Shap late last night but as ever completely undeserving of the Express’s standard wintermageddon histrionics.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

If the north are so great at dealing with snow why is there always news articles about cars getting stranded on the M6 overnight and drivers getting stranded in scotland etc

Perhaps it might be because north of Lancaster the M6 passes through some very exposed areas at quite a height above sea level. Dealing with the snow in the Lune Valley or over Shap Fell is a completely different matter to dealing with the snow around Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Leeds etc.

There was a case about a decade or so ago when an overnight stranding occurred on the M6 a little further south than that, namely on Coppull Moor just north of Wigan. While Wigan itself has a slightly warm micro-climate Coppull Moor is a different kettle of fish. On this particular night not only was the M6 blocked by snow but the blizzard also brought down the wires on the WCML leading to a Northern service needing rescue with its crew only booking off towards 0600! Reality is that such snowfalls are decidedly rare for most of the country so almost wherever they occur will cause a level of disruption that would be laughed at in Norway or Switzerland.

As for the worst winter weather in memory I too vote for December 1981-March 1982. That started with the original (un-named) Beast from the East with Humberside being at the heart of it. By 2200 south of the river was at a complete standstill while to the north the drivers of no less than 6 snowploughs eventually had to give up trying to keep the A1079 open at Market Weighton. I had a trip to the West Country in early February and the Cotswolds were still completely covered with deep drifts alongside the carriageways of the M5. All of which is run of the mill stuff for Scottish highlanders.

 

[Jimini]

Apparently, due to the snow, deliveries of the Sun have been delayed ! (thus proving every cloud does have a silver lining)

…and the Times, Telegraph and FT as they’re all printed in Waltham Cross. The M25 was blocked for hours either side of J25 where the print site is.

 

[Essan]

It's worth noting that even in Scandiavian and Alpine countries, the first significant snowfall of winter usually causes a lot of disruption. And even here, once that initial snowfall has been dealt with, the roads and transport generally get back to normal again, even if the cold weather persists

Swedish public transport in disarray due to snow chaos​

Heavy snowfall paralyzes Stockholm as weather warning issued across country​

Sweden's weather forecaster SMHI has issued weather alerts and warned of disruptions, as snow continues to fall over large parts of the country.

Flights, trains, and other forms of transport have all been severely affected by the heavy snowfall causing cancelations.

~ ~ ~
The snow chaos and public transport halts have paralyzed Stockholm over the years causing kilometer-long queues and forcing people to stay at home.

Press manager Bengt Olsson at the Swedish Transport Administration said he believes that Stockholm's inability to cope with heavy snow is due to 1,600 switches in the train traffic that must be brushed clean of snow, SVT reported.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/swedish-public-transport-in-disarray-due-to-snow-chaos/2744877


(admitedly they do often get rather more snow than us though)

 

[birchesgreen]

Yes its strange how the national media find something affecting 10 million people in the capital more newsworthy than something affecting a small village with a few hundred people.

 

[gswindale]

Some Shetland homes could be without power for days

Engineers are facing "extremely challenging conditions" in restoring power to island homes.

www.bbc.co.uk

So those up north are suffering. Best not report that on the national news hey?

 

[AM9]

Some Shetland homes could be without power for days

Engineers are facing "extremely challenging conditions" in restoring power to island homes.

www.bbc.co.uk

So those up north are suffering. Best not report that on the national news hey?

Shetland Islands total population 23,000. The London borough with the lowest population has 168,063, - that's over seven times that of the Shetlands. Which warrants the most attention on the news?

 

[Acey]

Some Shetland homes could be without power for days

Engineers are facing "extremely challenging conditions" in restoring power to island homes.

www.bbc.co.uk

So those up north are suffering. Best not report that on the national news hey?

Where did you read that ?

 

[Lost property]

Shetland Islands total population 23,000. The London borough with the lowest population has 168,063, - that's over seven times that of the Shetlands. Which warrants the most attention on the news?

Shetland, given the temperatures...thankfully, in times such as this, the meedja is faithfully London centric...areas away from London do get a passing mention I agree...as space fillers or if broadcast time permits.

Mind you, there was an entertaining, ok not if you were one of the drivers I suppose of three cars doing their dodgem impression in Glos?? yesterday...given the depth of snow, which wasn't really very much, it did make me wonder how they achieved this three car shunt when it was avoidable.

 

[J-2739]

Shetland Islands total population 23,000. The London borough with the lowest population has 168,063, - that's over seven times that of the Shetlands. Which warrants the most attention on the news?

Where did you read that ?

Think you both missed the irony.

 

[D6130]

So those up north are suffering. Best not report that on the national news hey?

In fairness to the BBC, it was reported on 'The World at One' on Radio 4 today....as well as being on their news website.

 

[Acey]

Think you both missed the irony.

Story of my life

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Dec 2022 ==

Shetland, given the temperatures...thankfully, in times such as this, the meedja is faithfully London centric...areas away from London do get a passing mention I agree...as space fillers or if broadcast time permits.

Mind you, there was an entertaining, ok not if you were one of the drivers I suppose of three cars doing their dodgem impression in Glos?? yesterday...given the depth of snow, which wasn't really very much, it did make me wonder how they achieved this three car shunt when it was avoidable.

Saw that,as you said totally avoidable !

 

[philthetube]

I fitted a set of Michelin crossclimate tyres a couple of weeks back and I can highly recommend them. Quiet, comfortable, as economic as the last set and gripping like a demon on untreated roads in the sub-zero temperatures recently.

View attachment 125063

Dont trust them on ice, slicks are just as good in that situation, they only tyres which help are proper winter tyres which have metal spikes in them, mandatory in Norway in the winter months!

Southern/Thameslink have tried to get a service running. Southeastern have completely given up, despite having to deal with the same amount of snow/ice as other operators.

Who made the correct decision?

 

[Ediswan]

Dont trust them on ice, slicks are just as good in that situation, they only tyres which help are proper winter tyres which have metal spikes in them, mandatory in Norway in the winter months!

This suggests they are not mandatory. In particular "Non-studded winter tyres may be used all year round".

https://www.vegvesen.no/en/vehicles/own-and-maintain/tyre-requirements/

When can you use studded tyres?​

Studded tyres may only be used from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday inclusive. In Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, studded tyres may only be used from 16 October to 30 April inclusive.

If the weather and road surface conditions make it necessary, studded tyres and chains may be used beyond these dates. If you are using studded tyres, the vehicle must have studded tyres on all wheels.

Non-studded winter tyres may be used all year round.

 

[philthetube]

This suggests they are not mandatory. In particular "Non-studded winter tyres may be used all year round".

https://www.vegvesen.no/en/vehicles/own-and-maintain/tyre-requirements/

Apologies, they all seem to use them though.

 

[Ken X]

I can attest to the effectiveness of studded tyres. Spent some time working in Sweden in the eighties. The locals would pick us up and head into the wilderness at spectacular speeds whilst waving one hand around and chatting merrily. The other hand was twirling the steering wheel constantly and at times the car even pointed in the direction of travel. Very impressive, but nice when we arrived at the site.

 

[Cloud Strife]

As for the worst winter weather in memory I too vote for December 1981-March 1982.

There was a nasty moment in 2000 (I think...) in Aberdeen when a large amount of snow came down, and all the roads out of the city were blocked. I was at high school in the semi-rural countryside, so we were told at 10am to leave now if we were relying on buses to get home, otherwise the school would remain open (but classes were cancelled as teachers also had to get home) until our parents were home.

That was a brutal few days, and the school stayed shut for several days because the conditions were so poor. I saw a bus crash into my local bus stop at one point!

 

[Wynd]

As I type we are living with around 2 feet of snow which arrived last week and decided it doesn't want to leave now the temps are persistently negative.

Life goes on nearly totally as normal, although driving has slowed a touch as most of the roads round here are white, or have 2 black tracks framed by white.

Last year was similar, and the year before was closer to 4 feet at some points. Bear in mind that turns in to 6-10 feet high piles once its cleared off roads etc.

 

[GusB]

There was a light snowfall here last night - no more than half an inch, if that. Yesterday the temperature hovered between -6 and -4 degrees for most of the day, but it had been dry. There has since been a bit of a thaw, but if temperatures dip overnight again it'll be fairly treacherous on the roads and pavements tomorrow.

Gritters have been out on the main roads, but there has been no attempt to put any salt down in the village. Fortunately there's a grit bin in the cul-de-sac where I live, so I'll do the pavements myself in the morning. That's if the lid hasn't been left open and the contents been allowed to solidify like the last time.

 

[McRhu]

Talking of gritting (or the absence thereof), some interesting tyre tracks on the 1-in-5 section of road linking the A72 and A73 near Lanark. I suspect the car didn't make it to the top. The main roads are well treated though and on the railways, as far as I know, the 385s are doing a sterling job. Temperatures today hitting a high of -7 after a low of -13.2 overnight.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Life goes on nearly totally as normal, although driving has slowed a touch as most of the roads round here are white, or have 2 black tracks framed by white.

I remember my university in England shut down for three days after a few inches of snow fell! The best part was that the electricity also failed, and the wardens came round the Halls to tell us that we should stay in our floor/hall and not go anywhere. Of course, we then spent the next few hours scaring people and getting up to all sorts of mischief in the darkness.

Anyway, in my neck of the woods, the temperatures have been as low as -12c last night, and -10c when I went to work this morning. Some parts of Poland are supposed to go down to -16c tonight, and the nearby Karkonosze Mountains have quite a few trails closed due to the risk of avalanches. Absolutely everything is working as normal and without hysteria, although on Monday, there were quite a few crashes on the A4 motorway that connects Germany to Ukraine via Wrocław and Kraków.

 

[gswindale]

No such shutdowns when we had snow on the beach in 1999 in Swansea - we just got on and attended lectures as normal including those travelling into Singleton Park from both Clyne and Hendrefoilan either on foot or by bus...

 

[InkyScrolls]

I wonder how London would cope with the -9°C we've been having 'oop norf' the past few nights?

 

[route101]

I wonder how London would cope with the -9°C we've been having 'oop norf' the past few nights?

When was the last time that kind of temperature has been recorded in London?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Dec 2022 ==

Anyone else's window washer scooshers frozen solid?

 

[Magdalia]

When was the last time that kind of temperature has been recorded in London?

It was -9C in Cambridge on Tuesday night, with -10.7C recorded at Andrewsfield near Braintree.

 

[Snow1964]

When was the last time that kind of temperature has been recorded in London?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Dec 2022 ==

Anyone else's window washer scooshers frozen solid?

Some parts of rural Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire etc have been below -7c this week, some are further south than London.

My local supermarket sells 5 litre bottles of premixed screen wash, -5c (shelf was full), -10c (selling well) and a -15c version (just a few left on back of shelf). So frozen screen washers depends on what you buy.

 

[dgl]

Some parts of rural Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire etc have been below -7c this week, some are further south than London.

My local supermarket sells 5 litre bottles of premixed screen wash, -5c (shelf was full), -10c (selling well) and a -15c version (just a few left on back of shelf). So frozen screen washers depends on what you buy.

-0.3°C on my outside sensor here on the Isle (and 0°C on the met office observation point on the top of the Isle at 18:00), staying in Preston (Dorset) last week and it was really icy near the end of the week.

 

[Cowley]

Anyone else's window washer scooshers frozen solid?

Worse than that, I hired a van over the weekend and left my daughters Skoda at the van hire place. When I picked it up on Monday the wipers wouldn’t work. It turns out (after much Googling) that it’s on a circuit with the pump for the washers and if the pump’s frozen it all packs up at once.

I changed the fuse and felt like a genius for at least five minutes afterwards…

 

[GusB]

Anyone else's window washer scooshers frozen solid?

Yes, a couple of days ago. I've only just got the car, but I had kept a "winter bag" containing de-icer, anti-freeze, screenwash and a couple of scrapers. Could I find the damn thing anywhere?

I ended up having to buy a scraper in the Tesco petrol station - £1.99 for a bit of plastic that probably cost about 10p to make, if that.

Guess what I found this morning?!