The icy
blast of arctic air that has engulfed the country
since the 24th November brought snow to many parts
of the country, but Oxfordshire and some neighbouring
counties largely escaped the worst of this weather,
until now. The snow finally arrived on the morning
of 18th December when 14cm of snow fell in Radley
in about 3 hours. A further centimetre or so fell
over the next couple of days bringing the total fall
to about 15cm (6 inches). The amount of snow was comparable
to last January except that this was dry powder snow
which is easier to walk in but no good for making
snowballs or snowmen.
|
| |
| Long midwinter nights, clear
skies and snow cover are harbingers of severe frosts and
on morning of 20th December the temperature fell to around
-12C. |
| |
| Since then, cloudy skies have
kept night time temperatures up (relatively) and there
has been a slow thaw during some days. However, since
24th November, there have been about 5 days when the temperature
did not rise above freezing. |
| |
| As was the case throughout
most of the country, transport was badly hit. Major roads
were cleared quite quickly so the buses could keep running
but most journeys involve minor roads at some point, and
many of these routes were impassable or passable with
difficulty for a some days. The railway continued to run,
but the timetable was disrupted throughout the following
week and many services were cancelled as a result. However
this is the time of year when many people are trying to
travel to Christmas destinations, while others are busily
engaged in frantic Christmas shopping, so the impact of
the disruption on people's lives has obviously been greater
than it might otherwise have been. The snowy weather would
have been much less unwelcome had it come just a week
later! |
| |
| One casualty of the bad weather
was the Radley Christmas Carol service, which was due
to have been held last Sunday but which was cancelled
at short notice much to the disappointment of many who
made the effort to turn up, despite the conditions, only
to find the church empty and locked. |
| |
Below
are some photographs taken in the parish, in the area
of Foxborough Road and Thrupp Lane, on Sunday 19th December,
the day after the heavy snowfall.
|
On
the public footpath leading to Abingdon |
near
Thrupp Lane |
| |
|
Above
and right: Tracks in the snow - Barrow Hills
|
|
| |
|
The
byway by Thrupp Lake
|
Lovely
view, shame about the house.
Sandles
house by Thrupp Lake.
|
| |
|
Bullfield
Lake, completely frozen over.
|
Thrupp
Lake, mostly covered in ice and snow.
|
| |
|
Thrupp
Lake showing many birds penned in by the encroaching
ice.
|
Some
of the many birds crowded within a shrinking area
of unfrozen water on Thrupp Lake.
|
| |
|
A
closer view of some of the water birds, mostly coot
and swans, on Thrupp Lake.
|
| |
More
photographs (Christmas Day 2010) > |
| |
| A word of warning. The ice
on these lakes is treacherous. Never be tempted to venture
out onto it for any reason. (You can see from the photos
that the ice is of variable thickness, due to the varying
water depths underneath. This may not always be so obvious.)
Do not let your dog venture onto it either. Dogs can easily
get into difficulties too, and this is a major reason
why some people feel compelled to take risks. DON'T! In
such an event, your dog is far more capable of rescuing
itself than you are. One person has already fallen through
the ice on Thrupp Lake trying to rescue their dog and
is very lucky to be alive. |
| |
[Update
05/01/2011]
The
snow remained through Christmas
Day. On Boxing Day, the thaw began, and by 28th
December it was virtually all gone.
The
Met
Office has confirmed that December 2010 was the
coldest December in the UK since before records began
(in 1910).
|
| |
Related
Links
Oxford
Mail 5 January 2011
Met
Office News Release
Photographs
of Thrupp Lake taken on Christmas Day 2010
Snow
clearance advice from Oxfordshire County Council
Oxford
Times 24 December 2010
BBC
In Pictures: Stories of the Oxfordshire Snow, December
2010
Oxford
Mail 18 December 2010
Oxford
Mail 01 December 2010
Fire
Net 01 December 2010
Oxford
Times 30 November 2010
Herald
30 November 2010
BBC
News 29 November 2010
Practical
information on local services etc
Severe
weather advice from the Met Office
Weather
Page
|
| |
