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Weather – Septem

ber 2012, Vol. 67, No. 9

Snow patches in England and Wales during spring 2012

Iain CameronCookham, Berkshire

This is the third comprehensive note on English and Welsh snow patches that last into spring. Last year’s (Cameron, 2011) helped stimulate the interest of new observ-ers, some of whom contributed to this paper.

MethodsField work by enthusiastic amateurs forms the basis of this report. Photographs by unat-tributed others also proved useful in assess-ing snow cover where known observers had not made visits. These were sourced largely from trip reports published on various inter-net forums. Estimates of final melt dates of patches are based upon existing extents of snow patches, subsequent weather and per-sonal assessment based on experience.

Winter 2011/2012Heavy snow fell during the first week in December 2011 on the hills of northern England. The rest of the winter proved unre-markable for snowfall, and March was the warmest in the UK since 1957. On the evening of 3 April, however, as very cold air edged southwards, an intense fall of snow resulted in road closures in the Peak District and Pennines, and deep accumulations over the hills of north Wales. Numerous falls of snow occurred in April on the high ground of England and Wales, and there were a few as late as mid-May.

Snow patches in winter and spring

EnglandAll snow had gone from the Peak District by late March. However, the blizzard which started late on 3 April filled many south- facing hollows above 500 metres. At Dowstone Clough, Bleaklow (SK086954) on 15 April, C. Ashcroft photographed a drift still in excess of 3 metres deep (Figure 1); during a visit there on 21 April, I found it much reduced in size but still about 20 metres long. On the same

date, I observed a wreath 55 metres long1 at grid reference SK094944. This patch, prob-ably the last to melt in the Peak District, was around 10 metres long when visited by B. Rawson on 28 April, and I estimate that it would have disappeared by 3 May. On the southern hills of the Peak District, R. Eagle observed a small remnant of the early-April blizzard still persisting near Wildboarclough (GR SJ999705) on 25 April, the same location as the late-lying snow of 2010.

The usual patch sites on the north side of Cross Fell, Pennines, although free of snow by 22 March (P. Crabtree), became filled on 3 April and the snow finally melted around 5 May. On Mickle Fell (Durham), a patch facing southwest − another remnant of the 3 April snow − endured until 16 May (P. Crabtree).

In the Lake District, and indeed all of England, only one patch from the snow of December 2011 is thought to have persisted into May. Situated at the head of Brown Cove, Helvellyn, this wreath, the last remaining snow this season, finally melted on 18 May.

WalesPhotographs of Y Ffoes Ddyfn (‘the deep cut’) on Carnedd Llewelyn from 22 March

suggested that final melting of the snow from December 2011 was not far off. I esti-mate that it would have disappeared by the end of the month. As with the Pennines and Peak District, heavy snow fell overnight on 3 April and into the 4th. G. Edwards saw a small remnant of this April snow on the east-facing cliffs of Cadair Berwyn in north-east Wales on 4 May. He saw a larger patch, approximately 8 × 8 × 0.5 metres, on the north side of Carnedd Llewelyn on 16 May. Fresh snow fell intermittently in May, and the last recorded fresh snowfall was on the Carneddau on 17 May (D. Perkins). The final recorded snow in Wales, a remnant of the April fall on a north-facing cliff on Carnedd Llewelyn, melted around 19 May (D. Perkins).

ConclusionsAbove-average temperatures in January, February and March in northern England2

led to less snow than normal on the hills. The northeasterly blizzard of early April resulted in snow lying in unusual locations well into May, and prolonged the final melt date of England’s last snow at Brown Cove, Helvellyn.

AcknowledgementsFor notes on England I thank Colin Ashcroft, Paul Crabtree, Jonathan Mobberly, Tim Mullens and Ben Rawson. For Wales, I am grateful to Donald Perkins for providing comprehensive notes (www.llansadwrn-wx.co.uk), and to Geraint Edwards for making specific trips. General comments and cor-rections by Adam Watson are appreciated.

2http://w ww.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomacts/

Figure 1. A deep drift at Dowstone Clough, Bleaklow, photographed on 15 April 2012 and showing the amount of snow remaining after the storm of 3–4 April. (© Colin Ashcroft.)

1http://www.flickr.com/photos/28183399@N03/sets/72157629872634751/

ReferenceCameron I. 2011. Snow patches in England and Wales during spring 2011. Weather 66: 280.

Correspondence to: Iain Cameron

iainjamescameron@hotmail.com

© Royal Meteorological Society, 2012

DOI: 10.1002/wea.1969