Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I was at an evening footy match last night, which was cold enough with a 5 minute blizzard near half-time.

Just walked up and back to the corner shop. It's absolutely bitter out there. Colder than at 10:00 last night.

Weather warning for parts of Sussex just been issued on ITV. MORE SNOW, allegedly !

J.R. wrote:I was at an evening footy maatch last night, which was cold enough with a 5 minute blizzard near half-time.

Just walked up and back to the corner shop. It's absolutely bitter out there. Colder than at 10:00 last night.

Weather warning for parts of Sussex just been issued on ITV. MORE SNOW, allegedly !

Here in darkest Essex 1640 hrs it's white with a blizzard which started a few minutes ago. Visibility +/- 100 yds and it is lying; road, pavement and grass covered though not very deep yet. The forecast for East Kent was up to 10cm - 4 inches with an overspill possible into East Sussex

We've had flurries of snow on and off all day, some of them quite thick. But nothing is laying - yet! Fingers crossed.

Apparently quite heavy snow here earlier in the day (Surbiton, Surrey), but it has not settled. My daughter in Kent said that they had heavy snow yesterday.

The traffic report at 6pm said that the A26 between Canterbury and Folkestone was closed due to sheet ice. And my daughter's best friend has her driving test tomorrow in Folkestone poor girl.

I'm just about to brave the elements in Kent.

It does seem to be quite localised from what I've read and heard.

Here in the Mid-Atlantic states, we are under the third big snowfall in 10 days. I'm ready for Spring!

A Dorset Dusting !

Weather warning today issued for East Sussex.

BBC - Brighton.

Nothing here (home), fingers crossed. Bright sunshine, blue sky - but very cold. This snow must be very localised - Brighton is only about 40 minutes' drive away. I don't doubt that forecast however as one of my Facebook contacts has said that he is stuck inside in Brighton, in a blizzard.

Still frozen here - in case there was any doubt!

The BBC News (online) reports from East Sussex and Kent are absolutely horrendous. People up to their thighs in snow, trying to retrieve upside down vehicles which have ended up on top of wind-blown snowdrifts! Is this England?!
Yet not so far away in West Sussex, where I am, zere iz nuzzing (though it is very cold).

Same in Surrey/SW London borders - no snow but bitterly cold.

Please define "bitterly cold" in Surrey - here I've not seen anything over -2 since christmas (ooh -1 would be a lovely warm day ), most days are between -8 and -15 but the only "bitterly cold" day was when the wind picked up and it was -26 daytime temp!!! I had to defrost after a short walk from the bus stop...

mvgrogan wrote:Please define "bitterly cold" in Surrey - here I've not seen anything over -2 since christmas (ooh -1 would be a lovely warm day ), most days are between -8 and -15 but the only "bitterly cold" day was when the wind picked up and it was -26 daytime temp!!! I had to defrost after a short walk from the bus stop...

As you well know, there is a world of difference between the feel of cold in the UK and in Finland.
1. You are equipped for it with proper clothing, reindeeer hides when you camp / picnic / sunbathe etc. etc. For example, how many people in the UK wear hats when outdoors in winter?
2. You have learned the hundreds of "do's and dont's" of survival
3. As you say, wind plays a major part in how cold it feels (see 4).
4. In the UK the temperatures are close to zero celsius so we normally have a damp cold; water, even in the air, is a good conductor of heat away from the skin whilst you generally have a very dry cold which allows a thin layer of still insulating air around the skin.
The Scottish highlands are more dangerous (in that regard) than the Scandinavian mountains which have lower temperatures
5. As Autumn changes to winter your body adapts to the cold - not like here where it can be 10ºC one day and -2ºC the next and back again.
6. I suspect that you have a more suitable diet and physical fitness. (I am aware that alcoholism was (?is) a major problem in Finland and that it saps the body of the ability to withstand cold - we are discussing "normal" people).

Not all Brits feel the cold - I had a work colleague who never ever came to the office except in a medium weight suit, shirt and tie etc.; no vest, no overcoat, no gloves, no hat.

I came back from the west coast of Africa (always above say 35ºC) and immediately started working a couple of hundred kilometres north of you, a bit to the west and well above the tree line - in January. There it was warm when it got up to minus 15ºC; I helped teach survival - sleeping in snow holes etc., There were days when I skiied in shorts, boots and gloves and there were days when it was windy brrrrrrr! Looks like you have relatively balmy weather.