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The Big Freeze, seen from Space...

Ian Fergusson | 13:28 UK time, Thursday, 7 January 2010

I take it the snow aficionados amongst you weren't left disappointed after yesterday's events? Of course, whilst the winter wonderland scenes offer an excitingÌý(and rather rare) pleasure for many, they also - not least many elderly and vulnerable folk, plus those trying to run businesses or simply get to and from work.

Snow 'fun' or 'hell' is of course a subjective thing, butÌýmost peopleÌýprobably wouldn't disputeÌýthat itÌýpaints scenesÌýof sheer beauty across our landscape.

It's alsoÌýa rather appealing vistaÌýfrom high above, too.

Take a peek...

Visible satellite image of the British Isles, 1300hrs, Thursday 7 January 2009 (Courtesy EUMETSAT and UK Met Office)This image (courtesy and UK Met Office)Ìý- taken at 1pm today - graphically shows most of the British Isles almost gleaming white from recent snowfall, with a few darker exceptions visible towards southern realms of Dorset and Devon, as well as southwest Ireland, where any lying snow hasÌýproven somewhat scarce lately.

The urban area of Bristol and surrounding districts shows clearly in this photo as a darker tint (as indeed do some cities in the Midlands and northwest) beneath gin-clear skies with very little cloud.

The snowbound mountains of Wales and Cumbria - alongside heavy falls coating the Pennines - are marked-out as if seen in an atlas. Amazing.

Centered across East Anglia, a spiral-like vortex of thicker cloud is very evident. It'sÌýa snow-bearing feature spinningÌýgraduallyÌýsouthwards, delivering snow showers across Essex and Suffolk, with further lines of showers feeding off the North Sea into parts of Norfolk, Lincolnshire andÌýNE coastal districts. Later today, the same vortex will cross south over the Thames Estuary, bringing a spell of mostly light snow into London, Kent and some other SE counties.

Draped north-south in the Irish Sea just off Pembrokeshire and down into the extreme SW of England, a line of shower activity is marked by a band of towering Cumulus clouds. Some quite heavy showers at the southern extreme of thisÌýare affecting the Scilly Isles and hovering just off the tip of Lands End. They're not expected to move much further eastwards.

Way out west, over the eastern North Atlantic Ocean to the south and west of Ireland, a conspicuous honeycomb-like pattern of cloud is very evident. It's a classic example of . In the most basic sense, air is rising around the periphery of each 'cell' to create and Ìýclouds whilst at the same time, sinking airÌýin the centre is creating a 'dark hole' representing clear skies.

It's only since the advent of that we've been able to fully appreciate such intricate, broadscale organisation of clouds - not least because individual cells can be anywhere from 10 to 120 miles across, making their true structure hard even to spot from an aircraft.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Fantastic, thanks for the pic, looks like Dartmoor has had its fair share of snow.

  • Comment number 2.

    Thanks Mark - I could look at satellite (and aerial) photos for ever; no wonder I always ask for a window seat on airliners! Yes, Dartmoor also shows clearly on the image. And wherever you are tonight, it will be profoundly cold - indeed for many, the coldest night of the winter so far. We saw -17C over at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, last night (well, early this morning, to be wholly precise); -14C at RNAS Yeovilton; -9C at Filton and Staverton.... and I'll wager it will be the same or more likely even lower values tonight....

  • Comment number 3.

    I have seen a stunning picture from NASA, its doing the rounds, The amount of snow and its coverage over the UK has only just hit me, we see the pictures on points west and the National news, but nobody has escaped it this year and here is the proof.

    I heard you on 91Èȱ¬ Wiltshire this morning talking about snow for Tuesday the 12th Jan, if you had to guess, how much more do you think we will get here in Wiltshire?

  • Comment number 4.

    Hi Nigel
    Yes indeed - the day after I wrote that blog, I noticed a number of national newspapers published some of the high-resolution colour images; spectacular stuff!
    I think you mean the snow risk for Wednesday rather than Tuesday? (albeit there is indeed a risk of some [probably light] snow on Tuesday too).
    We're watching the forecast models with interest: essentially, there is a risk of some heavy, disruptive snow emerging from the SW quadrant extending up through the Westcountry and probably into the Midlands on Wednesday, but I do stress that the regional forecast detail remains elusive - for now.
    As for tomorrow (Sunday), based solely on Met Office modelling, we expect around 2-5cm of fresh snowfall quite widely in southern-central England, with some localised values exceeding this. I'm actually expecting the values will probably total less than this (say 1-2cm) across much of our region, but we shall see! But either way, certainly nothing as heavy as the events of earlier in the week.... Wednesday has potential (I stress potential) to be a different matter, however.
    Best
    Ian

  • Comment number 5.

    I heard on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Gloucestershire that there could be some more heavy snowfall during Wednesday, do you know how much snow we are likely to see in this period as we live on higher ground (Forest of Dean)?

  • Comment number 6.

    Hi Nigel and Jack,
    Just by way of update, our very latest Met Office modelling for the Tuesday/Wednesday period suggests - with slowly growing confidence on each successive run of the supercomputers at Exeter - a risk of heavy snow arriving later on Tuesday and into Wednesday into parts of the Westcountry.
    However, I continue to stress that the regional detail will remain subject to great uncertainty for a while longer. Watch this space...
    Best
    Ian

  • Comment number 7.

    Hi Ian,
    I’m interested (as I think we all are!) in the precipitation that’s forecast for tomorrow afternoon/evening. Is the doubt in the forecast how far north it will get or what it will fall as or both?
    How long do you think it will be before we can get a good handle on forecast for this?
    Cheers,
    Mike

  • Comment number 8.

    Hi Mike - you can now refer to my latest blog on exactly this!
    Best,
    Ian

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