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Sad at Missing Out on a White Christmas? Disappointed Your Children Can't Go Sledging? You Can Blame England, Say the Weathermen

Posted on: Friday, 30 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By MOLLY WATSON Western Mail

Wales saw its first festive flakes of snow yesterday, but barely enough to make a snowball let alone a late white Christmas. While much of the UK has spent its week off sledging or getting cut off in snowdrifts, here in Wales we've been left freezing cold but snowless.

And, according to weathermen, we can blame our English neighbours for using up all the good snow. Because this blast of icy weather has come from the east, England has taken the brunt of the snowstorms, and left us with precious little. But in parts of Wales there was snowfall late last night, particularly in the South Wales Valleys, before rain moved in.

Experts at the Met Office said the areas worst hit by this week's snowfall were Yorkshire and East Anglia. Both lie on the east coast, directly in the path of a front of cold air which moved in from Scandinavia. As the air moved across the North Sea from northern Europe it picked up moisture which it dropped when it hit the land in the form of snow. Snow continued to fall as it moved across England but by the time it reached Wales, the air was simply all snowed out.

PA weather forecaster Rachel Vince said, 'The air over the last few days has been coming from Scandinavia where it is cold but dry

. Once it hits the North Sea it picks up moisture and then releases it when it gets to land but by the time the air reaches Wales the snow has died out because all the moisture has fallen. 'It would be true to say that England has stolen Wales' snow.' John Stubley, a Met Office weatherman in Cardiff, added, 'It's not that there are any geographical features in the way which cause the snow to fall, it's just the distance of Wales from the North Sea.' But the freezing temperatures across Wales haven't been in vain. Last night, a change in weather patterns resulted in a front moving in from the Irish Sea which would normally have resulted in rain, but which, due to the cold temperatures on land, fell as snow. The chances of it lying, or of any more falling, are low as the cold snap gives way to milder temperatures today and over the weekend. Miss Vince said yesterday, 'The snow will fall mostly on high ground. In cities like Cardiff and Swansea it will melt before it reaches the ground because cities are warmer and the buildings produce heat. By the time most people wake up [today] all traces of it will have disappeared.' Even the three to four inches which were expected to fall on high ground, over 600ft, were expected to have melted by today. Mr Stubley warned the snow melt would cause widespread disruption and bad conditions across Wales today as a new front of mild weather moves in. He said, 'Conditions are going to be pretty miserable. There's a risk of heavy rain and a risk of flooding as the snow which has fallen on the hills melts and runs into the rivers. The Highways Agency has warned drivers to take care, and the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents warned sledgers and skaters across the UK to take care. Many children across Wales will be wishing they could be so lucky.: Did you know?:Snowflakes are created inside clouds by tiny ice crystals colliding and sticking together when the air temperature is at or below freezing. Flakes are usually hexagonal and not more than half an inch across. Most melt on their way to the ground and fall as rain. Only when the air near the ground is cold enough will snowflakes fall as snow.: Man dead in doorway:A man was found dead on the steps of a town hall amid freezing temperatures. The man, in his 40s, was found by a passer-by, dressed in a bomber jacket, shirt and jeans, in the doorway of West Bromwich Town Hall at around 10am on Wednesday and police fear he may have frozen to death. The full circumstances surrounding his death were still not known, said West Midlands Police. However, the force said it would not treat the death as suspicious until a post-mortem examination had been held. Detectives urged anyone who saw the man in the hours before he died to contact them. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Marriott, of Sandwell North CID, said it was thought he had been sleeping on the steps of the building.

Source: Western Mail

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