Peak District Weather

Earlier this morning the northern edge of the area of rain and snow reached Derby, Ashbourne and Stoke-on-Trent but that is as far as it got. It’s now receding southwards. The extreme south of the Peak District probably saw a few flakes of snow or sleet but that was it. We got away with it!

It’s been a foggy morning here in Tideswell and there was some ice earlier on. The fog will gradually lift through the morning though the higher parts may stay quite murky for a while. A dry day is in prospect, maybe with a little bit of sunshine.

It looks like we’re stuck with rather cold and unsettled weather for another week with rain and sleet from time to time and also some strong winds. However, the computer models are now showing a hint of something a bit more springlike towards the end of next week. That’s a long way off in forecasting terms so it can’t be relied on but there is hope!

It’s colder than most evenings have been this winter. Currently only 2 deg in Tideswell and there’s already a frost on the grass.

It looks as though tonight’s low pressure centre will track just far enough south to keep the snow away from the Peak District. At the moment it looks as though the northern edge of the precipitation will be around Birmingham or very slightly further north. Even so, it’s still possible that a little snow could get up to the southern end of the Peak District but the possibility of that is now less than 50%.

A wet night across the Peak District last night. 8.3 mm of rain in Tideswell. Sunny intervals and a few showers for the rest of today.

It’s tomorrow that’s catching the interest. A small low pressure centre that’s currently over the Atlantic Ocean at about 50 deg N 25 deg W is expected to deepen and move east across southern England on Friday. There will be a lot of precipitation associated with this low pressure area. Much of it will be rain but to the north of the track of the centre sleet and snow is likely, more especially over higher ground. What remains very uncertain is just how far north will this area of precipitation extend. It may all pass to the south of the Peak District leaving us with a cloudy and rather cold day but mostly dry. On the other hand, if the track of the low is far enough north to bring the precipitation up to the Peak District then areas that are higher than about 250 metres could get quite a bit of snow, certainly more than we have seen so far this winter. Even below 250 metres there could be some snow. At the moment I’d say that it’s around 50/50 whether or not we get the snow. Southern parts of the Peak District are more at risk then the northern parts.

I’ll update these thoughts this evening.

What a splendid afternoon across the Peak District today. A couple of slight showers early on in the afternoon but then lots of bright sunshine. The maximum temperature in Tideswell was 8.4, keeping up this run of very mild days.

There’s a wet night to come tonight but the main focus now is on the developments for Friday. A small low pressure centre is expected to move east across southern England on Friday. The precise track of this low is uncertain at present but to the north of the track there’s likely to be quite a lengthy spell of snow, even down to quite low levels. There’s quite a high potential that this could affect the Peak District. If it does, it’ll give us the heaviest snowfall of the winter so far, though that’s not saying much. Places like Tideswell and Buxton could easily see several centimetres and even lower down there could be some lying snow. It’s by no means a certainty at the moment but I reckon there’s something approaching a 50% probability of a significant snowfall.

Watch this space!

Fine and sunny across the Peak District this morning after a touch of frost on the grass earlier on.  The minimum temperature in Tideswell this morning was +1.7 deg.

Cloud will build up during the day so the sunshine will become a bit more limited. There may be a few showers in the middle part of the day, especially in the northern half of the Park. A bit cooler than recent days with quite a sharp breeze.

 

Tonight we’ll see yet another spell of rain as the unsettled spell goes on and on. We’re now in a gradual cooling down phase and over the next few days we’ll see some sleet as well as rain, with the possibility of a temporary snow cover from time to time above about 350-400 metres. The rather cold and very unsettled weather looks set to continue right through next week so our recent hint of spring is something of a false start.

It’s been a splendid day across the Peak District with sunny intervals and less wind than recently. Here in Tideswell the temperature got up to a very respectable 9 deg. We had a slight shower in the early afternoon and much of the Peak District probably had similar. Apart from that it’s been a dry day.

I’m afraid this early hint of spring isn’t going to last. For the rest of this week, through the weekend and into next week we’ll be back to the very unsettled theme, often windy and with lots of precipitation. It’ll cool down quite a bit, too, so by the end of this week we’re likely to see some sleet. Above 300-400 metres don’t be surprised to see a bit of snow on the ground, at least temporarily.

It’s a damp morning across the Peak District with slight rain falling. The rain won’t last very much longer and we’ll see the cloud breaking up later this morning leading to an afternoon with spells of sunshine. With lighter winds as well, it’ll be a pretty good afternoon for outdoor activities.

The remainder of the week will continue the very unsettled theme that has been so prevalent for the past couple of months. There’ll be spells of rain and it’ll often be quite windy though there will be drier interludes as well. Although it’s starting off mild it’ll gradually cool down through the week and there’s likely to be some sleet later, mostly above 1000 ft.

A cloudy windy day across the Peak District today and very mild. There will be a little rain from time to time and this may become a bit more persistent and heavier during the afternoon. It’s currently 9 deg in Tideswell, very mild for a February morning.

The main feature of the weather today will be the strength of the southerly wind. In open areas gusts over 50 mph will be frequent and there’s likely to be occasional gusts to 60-70 mph. Not a good day for the edges and tops.

The coming week will continue the unsettled theme. It’ll start off mild but then cool down and in the second half of the week we’ll be getting some night frosts and probably some sleet.

It’s a fine morning in the Peak District with long spells of sunshine and good visibility. There’s a cool westerly breeze, though. The current temperature in Tideswell is 5 deg  after an overnight low of 3 deg.

There’s a pretty good day in prospect with a lot of sunshine this morning. During the second half of the day it’ll probably gradually become a bit more cloudy but it’ll stay dry. The wind will back to SW or SSW and strengthen. By the afternoon it’ll be pretty strong over the edges and tops.

A bit of a downhill story for Sunday, I’m afraid. Even stronger SSW winds will bring cloudy weather and an increasing chance of rain. Hill fog will develop over the higher parts and the visibility generally won’t be as good as on Saturday.

The coming week sees a mild start but gradually getting colder later in the week. Still unsettled with rain from time to time and perhaps some sleet or even snow over the higher parts.

Friday got off to an icy start in Tideswell but the ice has already melted by 9 a.m. It’s a sunny, breezy , cold morning with the temperature currently on 2.5 deg.

We’ll see cloud building through the morning and there’s every chance of showers developing across the Peak District from late morning onwards. Some of these will be heavy with the chance of hail and thunder while across the higher parts there may well be some sleet. With a mix of strong winds and showers it’s not a great day for the edges and tops.

We have a very windy weekend to look forward to, especially Sunday. It’ll be mild, though, with winds in the SW. Probably mostly dry on Saturday but there’s potential for increasingly heavy rain on Sunday. Without doubt, Saturday will be the better day of the weekend but due to the wind it won’t be a great day for the higher parts.

Into next week I think we can expect colder weather to return, probably with some sleet or even snow in the latter part of the week.