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Winter of 2010–11 in Europe

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The winter of 2010-2011 in Europe began with an unusually cold November caused by a cold weather cycle that started in southern Scandinavia and subsequently moved south and west over both Belgium and the Netherlands on 25 November and into the west of Scotland and North East England on 26 November. This was due to a low pressure zone in the Baltics, with a high pressure over Greenland on 24 November.[1]

From 22 November 2010, cold conditions arrived in the United Kingdom, as a cold northerly wind developed and snow began to fall in northern and eastern parts, causing disruption. The winter arrived particularly early for the European climate, with temperatures dropping significantly lower than previous lows for the month of November. On 28 November, Wales recorded their lowest-ever November temperature of −17.3 °C (0.9 °F) in Llysdinam, and Northern Ireland recorded their lowest ever November temperature of −9.5 °C (14.9 °F) in Lough Fea. The UK Met Office issued severe-weather warnings for heavy snow for eastern Scotland and the north-east of England.[2]

Meteorological history

The weather phenomenon was caused by a cold weather cycle that had started in southern Scandinavia and subsequently moved south and west over both Belgium and the Netherlands on 25 November and into the west of Scotland and North East England on 26 November. This was due to a low pressure zone in the Baltics a high pressure over Greenland on 24 November[1].

A cold front moved out of Siberia on 24 November, and cold spell and snow storms also hit the Alps, on the 26th before hitting the UK on 29 November.[1] Other earlier, but unrelated, storms had dusted Northumberland and Scottish Borders Region on 23–24 November, before being absorbed in to the advancing Scandinavian weather system[3]. Ireland was first hit on 26 Nov.

Heavy Snow caused many problems across the UK and the first disruption of Snowfall occurred on 24 November in the Grampians, Eastern Scotland and Cairngorms, where snow showers blown from a northerly wind caused havoc as accumulations up to 20 centimetres (8 in) in Aviemore made conditions difficult and major roads in Aberdeen had gridlock problems in the rush hour. Further snow disrupted all of Scotland, Southern Wales, Nothern Ireland, South West and England and much of the North and East of England as snow accumulated to over 60 centimetres (24 in) in rural settlements in Scotland. The snowfall was the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993. Some forecasters have warned of temperatures dropping to −20 °C (−4 °F). Temperatures in Carterhouse, Scottish borders fell to −7.8 °C (18 °F), and several inches of snow were recorded in Devon and Cornwall.

Timeline

November to December 2010

On November 22 forecasters Baltic nations saw snow storms expected some in parts of Sweden on the 23rd, especially in the south of the country. Snow flurries were reported by the afternoon[4]. The Scandinavian low moved southward bringing snow and frost to both The Netherlands and the north west coast of Germany.

UK

The earliest winter snowfall in the United Kingdom for 17 years was recorded in November 2010 [5]. A low night temperature of −9.1 °C (15.6 °F) and heavy snow fell over the night of the 25th/26th, which was recorded at Redesdale Camp, Northumberland. A similar quantity of snow fell in Aberdeenshire, 4.7 in (12 cm) and 4 in (10 cm) in Durham that night[1]. A Thomsonfly Boeing 737-800 plane with 196 passengers overshot its landing position at Newcastle upon Tyne airport due to an icy runway.[6] On 26 November, nighttime temperatures plummeted well below 0 °C, with the Welsh towns of Sennybridge and Trawscoed being among the coldest places at −10.2 °C (14 °F). The town of Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands saw the temperatures fall to –8.2 °C and Chesham in Buckinghamshire fell to –7 °C, and Preston in Lancashire recorded –5.8 °C. Inverness recorded a night time low of −13 °C (9 °F) with a day time high of 0C[7]. The Met Office then issued severe weather warnings for almost every part of the UK[7]. The Welsh village of Hawarden recorded its coldest November temperature since 1944 with a reading of −9 °C (16 °F).[8]

The thermometers at Llysdinam, near Llandrindod Wells, Powys, recorded a low of −17.3 °C (0.9 °F), the coldest temperature for the month of November in the UK since 1985, and the coldest November night in Wales on record.[9] Shawbury, in Shropshire was hit with −12.5 °C (9.5 °F); Lough Fea, in Northern Ireland was left hopping with -9.2C; and Church Fenton in North Yorkshire chilled out with a nocturnal low of −11.9 °C (10.6 °F)[10].

The severe winter weather resulted in school closures as Northern Scotland, North East England and parts of North and East Yorkshire were blanketed in up to 6 in (20 centimetres) of snow. Sub-zero overnight temperatures were recorded across the country, with the t 2 of the coldest place being at Carterhouse in the Scottish Borders at −7.8 °C (18.0 °F) while Benson in Oxfordshire fell to −7.6 °C (18.3 °F). By the middle of 27 November, up to 1.5 inches (38 mm) of snow fell in parts of Staffordshire overnight while residents in the Black Country also woke up to a covering today with warnings of way with blizzards expected in the region with a predicted snowfall of 8 inches over the next few days[11][12]. Scotland saw the temperature at Loch Glascarnoch fall to −15 °C (5 °F), a new record low for a Scottish November[13].

Northern Ireland hit a new low of −9.5 °C (15 °F) at Lough Fea, Co Tyrone, and Scotland set a November record at Loch Glascarnoch, with −15 °C (5 °F) as snow fell in Scotland, Northern Ireland and North East England[14]. Topcliffe in North Yorkshire, saw a temperature of -13.5 °C (8F) [14].

The City of Edinburgh, had 18 cm (7 inches) of snowfall. As a reult of the chaos causee the city's airport was closed. It was also reported that around 3,000 homes in the Tayside and Perth areas were without power [15].

The AA said that 29 November 2010 was one of its busiest times in its entire 105 year history as they were called to more than 200,000 broken down drivers across the UK[7].

The morning of 30 November saw about 30 centimetres (1 ft) of snow hit Banburyshire and Oxfordshire with 2 to 5 centimetres (0.8 to 2.0 in) snow falling many more parts of the UK, but much less fall in Scotland and Northern Ireland[7]. Over 1,000 schools were closed across the Kingdom, mostly in Scotland and the north of England with, 50 schools in Northumberland, County Durham, and Tyne and Wear closed[7].

The evening of 1 December and the morning of the 2nd December there was extremely heavy snow in Southern England, especially on the South Coast, 30–40 cm (12–16 inches) of snow was recorded throughout East and West Sussex with the South Downs receiving close to 60 cm of snow (24 in).

Repuclic of Ireland

Photograph of snow in Ireland taken by the NASA Aqua satellite on 2 December 2010

Ireland was first hit by the snow on the morning of 26 November 2010. The morning of Saturday, 27 November, saw Ireland freezing in what could be a rather costly cold snap as it emerged that the extreme weather earlier in 2010 had cost a colossal €297m in insurance payouts, due to the snow causing damage was also caused to homes and other buildings all over the country. The Irish Insurance Federation revealed there were 22,450 claims from the public, the vast majority of which involved snow or ice damage to people's homes[16]. Road conditions in the Dublin area were made dangerous after freezing temperatures and snow led to icy surfaces and paths were made Icy by frost[16].A prolonged freeze disrupted businesses and schools as travel was made hazardous.[16] s. The DART and the northern commuter and Maynooth commuter lines were not running and Belfast and Rosslare train services out of Dublin were also affected. The main runway at Dublin airport due to snow and ice for most of the day[16].

The extreme weather was reminiscent of the winter storms of 2009/2010, which were the worst in recent Irish history[16]. Met Eireann said the areas worst affected by the overnight snow were eastern parts of Leinster, Donegal and Connacht and said the bad weather was expected to last for up to a week, with depths of up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in places. Met Eireann put a weather warning in place and more snow for the counties in the east, north and north west. The also put a gale and small craft warning in effect[16].

Switzerland

Heavy snow fall was reported across higher parts of the country on November 26 and in lowland Switzerland on the 27th. The temperatures hovered between +5 and −5 °C (41 and 23 °F) for the next 8 days, with November 30 to December 1 having a nighttime temperature of −11 °C (12 °F). Similar weather was predicted for the Austrian Tyrol[17].

France

A record −15.3 °C (4.5 °F) was measured during November[when?] in Orleans, France, where the record for November was last set in 1946.[clarification needed][18] Ice and snow led to power outages in Orleans.[19]

Scandinavia

Trondheim, Norway's third biggest city located in Central Norway, experienced the coldest November since the beginning of recording temperatures in 1788. Especially the last week of November saw temperatures 12–14 degrees Celsius change (22–25 °F) below normal.[20]

Severe blizzards hit Southern Sweden and Denmark, affecting flights at Copenhagen Airport. Over 30 centimetres (12 in) of snow fell. Helsinki and Stockholm recorded their coldest November nights on record, at −20 and −17 °C , respectively (−4 and 1 °F).[citation needed]

Germany

At Germany's busiest airport in Frankfurt, many flights were cancelled for the second day running[when?] due to the severe weather conditions. Munich Airport and rail transport were also affected.[21]

Poland

18 people have died from exposure in Poland[when?], where temperatures have dropped as low as −26 °C (−15 °F).[21]

Record low temperatures

Norway

Trondheim, Norway's third biggest city located in Central Norway, experienced the coldest November since the beginning of recording temperatures in 1788. Especially the last week of November saw temperatures 12–14 degrees Celsius change (22–25 °F) below normal.[20] The average temperature in Oslo was -1.7C in November 2010, the coldest since 1968 which had -2.1C.[22] The record low for Norway in November 2010 was measured in Karasjok in Finnmark, the northernmost county, on the 27th, showing −35 °C (−31 °F).[20]

Floodings and high temperatures in Balkans

Much different temperatures occurred in the beginning of December in the Balkans, where heavy rain caused floodings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.[23] The River Neretva reached its highest level in the past 50 years.[23] The rivers Lim and Drina both caused severe flooding. The River Drina reached a high point of around eleven times its normal level, and the Lim flooded around 250 acres of land, as well as around 50 buildings.[24] A state of emergency was declared in parts of Albania because of floodings near the cities of Shkodra and Durres.[25] In Bulgaria, temperatures in the end of November and beginning of December went to 20 °C (68 °F).[26]

In response to the flooding, upwards of 12,000 people were evacuated in Albania from the areas most affected.[25] An estimated 2,600 houses were flooded, while some 7,500 more damaged.[27] Around 1,400 Albanian military and police personnel were deployed to assist in the evacuations.[27] In addition to domestic resources, NATO dispatched five helicopters from Greece and Turkey, while Italy delivered 25 tonnes of supplies to the country.[25] According to Albanian interior minister Lulzim Basha, the flooding was the worst "in living memory."[28] In Montenegro, upwards of a thousand soldiers were deployed in response to the flooding.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Snow brings parts of Britain to a standstill - Home News, UK". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  2. ^ "The big chill: Your stories of UK snow". BBC News. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  3. ^ "BBC News - 'Beautiful but bitterly cold' weather". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  4. ^ http://stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=6313
  5. ^ "UK On Snow Alert: Severe Weather Warnings In Place For Most Of UK With Heavy Snow Forecast | UK News | Sky News". News.sky.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  6. ^ DAVID DERBYSHIRE. "Plane slides off runway at Newcastle Airport as snow sweeps across UK". Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11871708
  8. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8171028/UK-snow-freezing-weather-forecast-for-rest-of-week.html
  9. ^ "Britain's big chill breaks temperature records". Reuters. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  10. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/28/cold-weather-snow-winter
  11. ^ "Snow hits West Midlands « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  12. ^ "Snow hits West Midlands « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  13. ^ "BBC News - Chaos as heavy snow hits Scotland". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  14. ^ a b "BBC News - Coldest November night on record in parts of UK". Bbc.co.uk. 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  15. ^ http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Snow-Weather-Severe-Weather-Warnings-Arctic-Temperatures-Treacherous-Commuting-Conditions/Article/201011415838366?lpos=UK_News_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15838366_Snow_Weather%3A_Severe_Weather_Warnings_Arctic_Temperatures_Treacherous_Commuting_Conditions
  16. ^ a b c d e f "and it's Novembrrr as snow blankets the city - National News, Frontpage". Herald.ie. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  17. ^ "Geneva, Switzerland Forecast : Weather Underground". Wunderground.com. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  18. ^ http://www.euronews.net/2010/11/30/winter-snow-woes-go-on-for-northern-europe/
  19. ^ http://www.france24.com/fr/20101129-verglas-neige-coupures-courant-grosses-difficultes-circulation
  20. ^ a b c Buan, Vibeke (November 30, 2010). "Kuldebølgen fortsetter i sør". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  21. ^ a b http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11895107
  22. ^ Kristensen, Jørgen Dahl (November 30, 2010). "Kuldekartet viser minus 20,3". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Sandvika, Bærum, Norway. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  23. ^ a b "Balkans flooding prompts emergency call". BBC News Online. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  24. ^ "Rain fury in Bosnia, Serbia; flood worst in a century". NDTV.com. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  25. ^ a b c "Nato joins Albania rescue effort after Balkan floods". BBC News Online. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  26. ^ "Strong winds, thunderstorms across Bulgaria". Sofia Echo. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  27. ^ a b c "11,000 evacuated from homes in Albanian floods". The Telegraph. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  28. ^ "Albania 'hit by worst floods in living memory'". BBC News Online. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
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