Snow & Beast from the East 2

The first snow of winter in London was on 24 January 2021, it snowed in the morning but had mostly gone by the evening. The west side of the country had a lot more. After that, it rained on many days. January was declared the coldest for 10 years.

February started with mild weather and on the 5th it was a sunny day with blue skies.

Then Storm Darcy arrived, followed by the Beast from the East 2. In 2018 the Beast from the East hit the east side of England and London had snow. That was at the end of February. The cold air came from Siberia. This Feb, 2021, the Beast from the East 2 arrived in early Feb. This time the cold weather came from the Black Sea area. It started with Storm Darcy, named by the Dutch weather service. Strong winds and heavy snow spread from the Netherlands to the southeast side of England. 

London didn't really have much wind. Feb 6th was still mild, 7° C in London. That changed on the 7th, when it snowed off and on all day, though didn't really settle in London as the ground was so wet. It then snowed during the night and next morning and went down to - 2° in London. 

On the 8th afternoon I went for a walk to enjoy the snow.

There was more snow on 9th morning. 3 foxes were looking for food -

The sun came out on the 10th. Note the fox footprints on the shed roof -

The media had some nice photos of the frozen fountains in Trafalgar Square. I went to have a look a couple of days later, but there was nothing, so don't know if they had been cleared. 

The coldest morning for 25 years on 11 Feb. In London it was -2°  C    -

There was a bitterly cold wind at the end of the week, but the forecast was for warmer weather.

And the Thames froze in a few places, the first time since 1963

Icicles -

Sunrise on 12 Feb, Chinese New Year -

The 13th morning temperature in London -

Icicles on Horniman's museum roof

The snow lasted a week in London. On the afternoon of the 14th it was above 0°  C and rained in the evening, removing the last of the snow. It was nice whilst it lasted.

Snow and the Beast from the East

The Beast has arrived and brought a decent snowfall to London :-)  I'm happy.

For the last week or so, the media has been dominated about the arrival of the bad weather coming from Siberia, nicknamed the Beast from the East. The build up was ridiculous and actually became irritating. We were warned of really low temperatures and lots of snow.

This was supposed to arrive on 26th and hit the east side of UK first. London transport even shut down their services during the late evening. There were a few snow showers in London, but plenty of sunny spells in between. And nothing happened that night. There was a clear sky with stars. And surprisingly there was no frost, as the air was so dry.

However 27 Feb the snow arrived. It started properly after lunch and there were several snowfalls during the afternoon. It was about -4 C in London. I was happy.

When I woke up on 28th I was even happier as there had been fresh snow overnight. It was so beautiful. Lovely to see so much snow in London. But surprisingly the west side of England didn't get any, likewise some of the south coast.

Fox tracks made overnight -

 

 Note how the crow holds the bread in place with it's foot. It is the only bird I've seen do this.

My phone app said -5C in London, but a friend's digital thermometer said -7C.

From BBC 28 Feb 2018:
Much of Europe has been blanketed in snow as cold weather spreads as far south as the Mediterranean coast.

The cold spell, nicknamed "the Beast from the East" in the UK, is carrying freezing winds across the continent, and temperatures as low as -30C (-22F).
--

As far as I know, the last really heavy snow in London was Dec 2009 / Jan 2010.

Snow in London Dec 2009

I am so happy. I am seeing snow for the first time for years, maybe for 20 years. And it is a decent amount of snow for London. It's really beautiful. It started on the evening of my birthday which was a nice present. It was a really bitterly cold day with a very strong easterly wind blowing straight from Siberia, and the snow started about 8pm. The eastern part of England got the snow, including SE London where I am. This morning I started taking photos, but it was still quite dull out. Now the sun is shining, but hopefully the snow will last all day. I feel as excited as a young child! Problem is I only have one pair of shoes in London, and they have holes in them, and I really need to go out later. I am going to get wet and cold feet.
View from the lounge

looking out at 8am

Same view in October

so nice

front garden, no footsteps
back garden with fox footprints

kitchen window sill with snow

Looking at the back garden, tracks made by foxes

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission