1962/1963. The winter of 1963 was the coldest for more than 200 years. In fact, the temperatures plunged so much that it’s known as the ‘Big Freeze’. Still considered to be the worst winter in modern British history, it didn’t actually break any temperature records.
What was the worst British winter on record?
The winter of 1963
The winter of 1963 – the coldest for more than 200 years
With temperatures so cold the sea froze in places, 1963 is one of the coldest winters on record. Bringing blizzards, snow drifts, blocks of ice, and temperatures lower than -20 °C, it was colder than the winter of 1947, and the coldest since 1740.
What year was the worst snow in UK?
1947
UK snow events
The snowiest winter of the twentieth century in the United Kingdom was 1947. Between 22 January and 17 March, snow fell every day somewhere in the country. The most disastrous avalanche in the United Kingdom occurred in Lewes, East Sussex on 27 December 1836.
Was the winter of 1976 cold in the UK?
1875-76: Amazingly snowy winter for the UK, especially the South East early on, the first week of December dumped 1-2ft in some places, worst in the South East. March of this month had many snowstorms, and April recorded nearly 2ft of snow in the Midlands!
How long did the big freeze of 1963 last?
three months
The Big Freeze, as it came to be known, began on Boxing Day 1962 with heavy snowfall and went on for nearly three months. Drifts reached up to 20 feet in places and the whole of the country was caught in its icy grip. Off the coast of Kent, the sea froze for up to a mile from shore as temperatures reached record lows.
What year was the big freeze UK?
1963
South Today has taken a look back in its archives at the winter of 1963 when a cold spell gripped the UK for several months. Viewers were also asked to send in their images depicting how snow and ice covered Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire.
Was 1977 a cold winter UK?
The UK was under a cold northerly to northeasterly airflow during the second week of January 1977 caused by a depression over Scandinavia and high pressure over Greenland. A deepening low pressure was moving into the southwest and the frontal systems enegaged the colder air producing widespread snowfalls.
Will it be a cold winter 2023 UK?
“The most likely scenario as we head into 2023 is for the risk of high-pressure to decrease, and a return to more unsettled conditions with wet, windy, and mild spells possible. However, there is still a risk we could see a Sudden Stratospheric Warming.
How long did the big freeze of 2010 last?
But, 10 years ago, snow had blanketed most of the UK from December 17, 2009, to January 15, 2010 – in a winter which was described as the “big freeze”. It was the most widespread and prolonged spell of wintry weather across the country since 1981.
What was the worst winter in history?
The winter of 1880–1881 is widely considered the most severe winter ever known in parts of the United States.
What is the coldest year on record in the UK?
1962/63
The coldest winter in 200 years – 1962/63
Believed to be the coldest winter since 1740, the ‘Big Freeze of 1963’ is considered the worst in modern British history.
Whats the coldest the UK had ever been?
In January 1982 the record minimum temperature for England, -26.1°C was recorded when skies cleared immediately following a deep powdery snowfall. Very cold continental airstreams affecting Scotland are subject to greater warming as they approach over longer stretches of sea.
What is the coldest UK has ever been?
A record-breaking winter took place in 1982, with an average temperature of 0.3C plaguing Britain. The freezing winter also saw the coldest registered temperature in UK modern history recorded in Braemar, Scotland, when -27.2C was recorded.
How cold was the 1962/63 winter?
-30C
With temperatures plummeting to -30C at a time before most homes had the benefit of central heating, this was cold like people had never experienced before. It froze rivers, waterfalls, fountains and bottles of milk. That is, if the milkman could even reach your doorstep to deliver.
What was the weather like in January 1963?
January 1963 was the coldest month of the twentieth century, indeed the coldest since January 1814, with an average temperature of −2.1 °C (28.2 °F).
What year was the coldest on record?
1983
Brutal cold in Antarctica, impressive even for the coldest place on Planet Earth. The end of September came close to the world record for lowest temperature in October (-80°C). The all-time cold record is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) from Vostok Station on 21 July 1983.
How long did the winter of 1947 last?
2 months
Winter 1947 overview
This allowed bitterly cold air to flood right across western Europe and to persist for 2 months with hardly a break. Unlike the great winter of 1963, 1947 was particularly snowy as low pressure areas tracked further south than usual bringing blizzards instead of rain to much of the UK.
How long did the freeze of 1947 last?
The cold weather began around the middle of February and lasted through March. Up to 600 people are said to have died. 1947 was the year of the Big Snow, the coldest and harshest winter in living memory.
When was the big snow in the 80s?
This weekend marks 40 years since the ‘big snow’ of 1982 which caused chaos across the State. Snowfall on January 8-9th that year recorded depths of up to 25 cm of snow along the east coast.
Why was 1977 so cold?
It occurred following the passage of a strong cold front, in combination with a high-pressure area situated over the Mississippi River Valley. As a result, cold air moved far to the south across Florida, causing both snow flurries and record low temperatures.
How cold was the winter of 1970?
In 1970, there were no fewer than 34 days where the mercury dropped below -20C. Not only that, there were eight cold snaps with consecutive glacial temperatures. The rest of that decade wasn’t much better.