^^
Temperatures will slowly recover slightly this week, but further snow showers are possible tomorrow ( Wednesday ), especially in the the east of our region. As we head to the weekend another Low Pressure System is threatening to bring more unsettled weather our way, and it could be a volatile mix of just about everything.

From Friday and in to the weekend I think many of us in London and the South East can expect a cocktail of :

Heavy showers or longer spells of rain, some of the showers will be thundery with hail and sleet thrown in. While temperatures may rise to 7-9c (43-48f ) it won't feel particularly pleasant as winds again begin to increase.

Beyond the weekend there are signs that temperatures will fall again and it will remain unsettled, though perhaps drier at times. No sign of any warmth yet I'm afraid.

Im still reading some of the reports coming in from Sussex and Kent, where although it continued to snow for much of this morning, conditions have improved during today, after what was a very bad night for many. I wish I could post some of the photo's I have seen from down there today, they confirm that reports of 2-4' snow drifts were NOT exaggerated.

This video goes some way to showing why the gritting/salting of roads was so ineffective in the face of gale force winds and whiteout blizzard conditions. It was filmed by someone driving in Kent yesterday afternoon. I hope the motorcycle rider was ok.

Oh, and it's one of my favourite tunes as well !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... iXZ9eB0nco

Moley

This is a link to one of the weather websites I'm a member of, and it includes some photo's of the exceptional conditions which affected The Channel Islands in the last couple of days. Many of the photo's I have seen from parts of Kent and Sussex show similar conditions there.

http://www.ukweatherworld.co.uk/forum/i ... d-of-2013/

I would be very suprised if this didn't have a major effect on the crop of Jersey New Potato's this year. I believe they are planted outside at the beginning of the year. The snow would have insulated them from the cold initially, but the melt from that is likely to waterlog the ground and rot the crops. More bad news for farmers and shoppers alike.

Moley

This video is from Northern France. Tuesday March 12th 2013. Just a few miles across The English Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... NtA6czroaE

If the Channel Low had tracked just 50-100 miles further north the whole of London and The South East would have been paralysed. We really did dodge a major 'weather bullet ', though those further south in the UK weren't quite so fortunate.

It just goes to show how difficult these things can be to predict. ** See the link below.

Thanks for reading and posting. Moley

** Comparison between March 11th 2012 with March 11th 2013, courtesy of the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/21761763

That change will be because I didn't buy a car last March.

Just want to get out there, give it a good wash and take some snaps - no chance

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Lets be careful out there !

^^ You will have to be quick Krem, you might as well rely on this forecast for the next few days !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPIn-jdo24Q

Moley

31°C will do nicely thanks

Went out from the office lunchtime yesterday and whilst it was only about 5 or 6 it felt fairly cosy in the sun

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Lets be careful out there !

Some widespread reports of thunderstorms, hail and sleet from the West Country yesterday
( Saturday ) and this morning a number of locations down there are now reporting snow falling.

It is indeed a volatile mix, London and The South East may well experience some lively weather today.

Moley

Sorry about yesterdays rain, that was me:

Car got it's first wash.

So far this year its been freezing or rain

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Lets be careful out there !

^^ We are holding you personally responsible for this nonsense weather Kremm

A belt of fairly heavy snow affected a swathe of Central-Southern England yesterday from Salisbury Plain up through Buckinghamshire, Bedforshire, Oxfordshire and in to the Midlands, thereby just avoiding our region.

This afternoon a convergence zone triggered a number of thundery showers with hail and heavy rain through parts of Surrey and The London area, so the unsettled theme is still with us until mid-week at least.

Beyond that I am suprised to see that The Met Office and BBC are already talking about the possibility of further snow in our region, as far ahead as next weekend. They are usually far more cautious about making predictions like that so far ahead.

So far this March is more a continuation of Winter than the beginning of Spring. Up to March 17th the CET ( Central England Temperature ) is lower than that of January, and well below the March 30 year average :

JANUARY 2013 CET : 4.09c

MARCH 2013 CET : 3.93c ( Up to March 17th ) 30 year March average is 6.3c

Perhaps we may actually have a Summer this year ?

Moley

If nature has it's way then it's made up for the previous drought and it can now ease off for the Summer

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Lets be careful out there !