Weatherwatch: When March winds brought deep snow

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/mar/02/weatherwatch-march-snow

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March arrived without a snowflake falling over most of lowland England this winter, a remarkable fact in an exceptional winter. There is mud everywhere but spring flowers are already out, although surprises may yet be in store.

For example quite unexpectedly on March 4, 1970 a huge snowstorm swept across England depositing 18 inches of snow in a few hours from the Midlands to Kent. As would happen now, the storm cut off villages, closed airports, disrupted railways and stopped all sport. Power lines were brought down. In those days it meant 688 men were trapped in Kent coalmines because the lift winches were put out of action. Trains arrived in London from the Midlands eight hours late and passengers complained that the bar and buffet had closed when the train stopped in a snowdrift.

One major difference between then and now was that the weather forecast was dramatically wrong. The Met Office had forecast light snow showers and had not foreseen a low from Iceland suddenly deepening and creating chaos.

New technology in the form of super-computers and a great deal of research into the jet stream means these days the UK would get several days warning of such events. As this winter has shown, the forecast is not always completely accurate but the country has been aware of a string of big storms coming giving people time to prepare.

Even so heavy snow is the most notoriously difficult event to forecast especially in March. The difference of half a degree can turn an ordinary depression into a blizzard.