Devastating" Winter Predicted for UK Meteorological officials in the United Kingdom are warning that the upcoming winter season could arrive early, and see both record snowfall and low temperatures. The conditions are expected to either reach or surpass conditions in the winter of 1962-63, when temperatures plunged to -20ºC. The cause for this bleak forecast is due to the recent weakening of the Gulf Stream current in the North Atlantic, of which would normally bring warm water to the UK from further south. This situation is also being exacerbated by the current period of reduced solar output, and may be affected further by the super-El Niño currently being experienced in the Pacific. "October is likely to see a real chill at times in terms of temperatures due to below-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and a virtually non-existent Gulf Stream," explains Exacta Weather forecaster James Madden. “This is of some real significance to us in terms of future weather patterns, and this is also likely to result in a much colder than average November with the first significant snow of the year in parts of the north." Britain's Meteorological Office, more popularly known as the Met Office, is forecasting a number of weeks of odd weather, then expects temperatures to drop below average going into October. Emergency services have been warned to expect conditions similar to the record-breaking winter of 1962-63, where temperatures dropped low enough to freeze the River Thames, and could cause major transportation and fuel delivery problems. University of Texas Institute of Geophysics associate Jud Partin says that Northern Europe could face many years of colder winters, thanks to the current conditions in the Atlantic. “A slowdown of the ocean circulation is a double-edged sword. If we see some temperature changes associated with it … and somehow are quick to act and alleviate the change, then we have the potential to stop it.” http://www.ebay.com/sch/Snowmobiles-/42595/i.html
Never take notice of the weather predictions here in the U.K. as they almost always wrong. Wouldn't mind a cold one though. Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Seems the met office are a little more circumspect; http://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/category/met-office-news/ & Want to know what the weather is doing? Stick your head out of the window
I would love to have real winter here in Scotland. At least -10C and 50cm of snow. Perfect Christmas. Schools and work delay
More from The Met Office Blog: http://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2015/09/15/what-do-we-know-about-the-coming-winter/ In particular: "The influence of an El Niño over the UK and western Europe tends to be weaker and less predictable than elsewhere because of how far away we are from the event itself. There is a link in late winter, when we can see a slightly higher risk of a colder than usual end to winter in El Niño years."
Problem is you guys are used to winters getting that cold so your houses, infrastructure and everything else is gear towards cold winters. In the UK -20°C would be an extreme winter, one that very few people would be prepared for.
I hope for snow, bought loads of snow shovels at a discounted rate 3 years ago, barely sold 5% of them! There's been no snow!!!!! Bring on the Snow!
Yep, and also one that would probably claim many lives (the elderly in particular). In saying that, I miss the really cold winters and I hope that we at least get to -5 this year. I remember the crazy snowfall we got a few years back and at -10 or -11 it was perhaps a little too cold even for me!
Let's faced it, we've f'd up the environment in the past, we're f'ing it up now and we'll be f'ing it up in years to come. We've changed the balance of gasses in the atmosphere and that is increasing average temperatures. The effect? Weather extremes will become more extremier and predictions will not get any easier. As to this winter, here's the official stance: "with all the competing influences in the climate it remains too early to predict the coming winter with much confidence." So ignore anyone who says we're in for a crazy cold winter, they're basing their knowledge on at worst scaremongering and at best wild predictions with massive margins of error. It's worth noting that when a forecast says something like '60% chance of a super cold winter' they also mean that there's a '40% chance of the winter being something completely different'. Do not read this as that there's a 60% chance of super cold and the other 40% are something close to super cold. That's not how long term climate physics predictions work. It means their prediction stands a 4 in 10 chance of being completely wrong and they're not saying what could happen if they're wrong.
Let's face it, the environment has been f'ed up in the past before humans even walked the earth, it's happened before and it will happen again, while humans and most other species probably wouldn't survive, earth as an environment would eventually reset itself paving the way for whatever comes after us. What is it they say, something like 98% of all species have gone extinct, it's not a matter of if, just a matter of when. Man I feel depressed now.
