Newsflash: Snow Falling

There is more snow in the air this evening, as of now snow is falling, no sign of settling yet.

One final blast of winter

I woke up this morning to find that winter had left one last blanket of snow to dampen spring's ardour.

Yes, just as spring had started Old Man winter blows down from the north once more.

This is the only significant snow fall of the season and although by the time I was out and about it was well on its way to melting I would estimate that almost an inch of snow fell last night.

Here are the only decent pictures of snowfall this Snow Watch 2008 season taken this afternoon in mid melt.



Snow hiding in the shadows of the mini standing stones.















Check out the interference on the roof tops, I think it is moire or something, the roofs were not wavy.







Some of the trees looked like they had been in a battle with a snow cannon and lost.

Snow Watch 2008

Well fleeting snow showers have been reported all over England yesterday and today. I have seen two sleety / snow showers but nothing substantial.

There was even a report from our foreign correspondent yesterday of snow in South Wales.

The weather warnings from the met office have been 'be prepared' for Saturday and Sunday. The one for Saturday has now been downgraded to normal. In Oxfordshire there is a 60% chance of a severe disruption event resulting in up to 2-5 cm local accumulations at low ground or 5-10cm on high ground.

There is snow on the pitch, they think its all over, it is now!

Watch this space for the final exciting climax to the snow watch 2008 season.

Snow Watch 2008

Well looking at my notes for last year, there is little hope left for any snow fall this season.

Last year there was a final blast on the 22nd March which gives us just 14 days to go.

Will the proverbial white rabbit fall out of that or is that the end of a one snowflake season.

Bah Humbug.

Snow Watch 2008

Well I saw my first real snow flakes this morning. Following on from a report by a field reporter in South Oxfordshire of white rain I saw the odd flake in Oxford this morning. No pictures as if you had blinked you would have missed them.

Ah well. Hopes for a fine Snow Watch 2008 season are fading fast and it all started so well all the way back in December 2007.

Snow Watch 2008

Well last week turned into a big non event, not unusual in the UK snow season. At one point the met office were predicting a 40% risk of severe disruption with up to 5 cm of snow in low lying areas. That quickly vanished and in the end not one snow flake was seen in Oxfordshire.

Anyway somebody asked why I do Snow Watch.

1. Its a scientific historical record of snow in Oxfordshire, for instance I know now in 2007 that the first snow fall of the year was on January 22nd.

2. I am still a child when it comes to snow, I used to live in the south west by the coast when I was a child. I saw an inch of snow twice in 18 years. In Oxfordshire where it pretty much snows every year I love every minute of it.

3. There is something magical about it, Walking while it is snowing, makes the world clean, dampens all the sounds including the traffic and you can make your own path in the snow and see where you have been. Tell me that isn't magical.

Admittedly if you have somewhere to go urgently or drive its a nightmare but sometimes you should stop and appreciate the beauty that is snow. It is a unique piece of nature and should be appreciated.

Snow Watch 2008

Just as I thought there was no hope Sky news predicts a snow fall.

"Weather forecasters are warning of snow, blizzards and freezing winds for later this week."

Admittedly if you read the article further, for Oxfordshire and most of England it clarifies:

"Across the rest of the UK, scattered snow showers will bring slight to moderate accumulations to some places, although detail is uncertain at this stage"

Past experience has taught us avid snow watchers that such vague predictions can mean anything from no snow whatsoever to a good three inches.

The place to watch is the met office who are quiet at the moment but then again the snow is on the limit of the five day forecast, we cant really be expecting met office early warnings till Wednesday.

The BBC five day forecast for Oxford is suggesting sleet on Friday and then light snow on Saturday.

Watch this space but it would appear we may be under starters orders.

Snow Watch 2008

Well so far all we have had in Oxfordshire is rain and lots of it. The problem with snow is that no one quite knows when it is going to turn up in the UK until a couple of days before hand.

The first snow in 2007 was on January 22nd, 2 days away but the weather in 2008 is far too mild and wet at the moment so the likelihood over the next week is for rain and not snow.

Its too earlier to say whether the 2008 will be a damp squib season after all this time month next month I may be reporting to you from the middle of a snow drift.

Snow Watch 2008 - Leg 2 False Alarm

Well at least in Oxfordshire it may have been a false alarm. There were reports of isolated snow fall in Witney, Wallingford and Wheatly but I saw nothing.

The sky looks a bit snow-like but the weather warnings were withdrawn today and nothing seems to be on the horizon.

Leg 2 was indeed a false alarm unless there is some snowfall overnight.

Either way it is still early in the season and I am looking forward to what is shaping up to be an exciting snow watch.

Leg 2: The east wind takes to the field, snow is on the wind

The early start to the snow season continues with leg 2 predicted to start tomorrow a full 21 days earlier than last season's start.

The met office has issues a severe weather warning for 0600 Thursday 3rd January 2008 through to 0600 Friday 4th January 2008.

There is a 20% risk of disruption due to snow over Oxfordshire although some uncertainty over how much snow will fall and again how fast it will turn to rain. Note this is the risk of disruption not the risk of snow, the risk of snow is of course higher.

Watch this space and we will see what tomorrow brings.

Snow Watch 2007/08 season

It would appear we kick off to an extremely unheard of early start.

Reporting live from North Oxfordshire is Dermot Dermot-son.

"Yes, here in a rather quiet part of Oxfordshire, locals are witnessing what can only be described as sleety-snow.

The locals are in shock, even the octogenarian local weather man has checked his records and cannot find another occurrence in all his 70 years of records of sleet/snow in November.

This is Dermot Dermotson reporting live from a sleety Northern Oxfordshire."

Is this an early start to a very harsh snowy winter. Or it could just be slightly freakish occurence, maybe we will have a rain of toads later.

Ok so not the best of pictures, you will have to take my word for it. That the white lines going across that light is the first snow / sleet type stuff of the year.