December 2011 day by day

Early on December 3rd remained wet & windy for many esp in the west. Loch Glascarnoch in NW Scotland gusted to 78mph. December 4th saw a rather cold and wintry day for many in the NW as a chilly polar maritime flow covered the UK with troughs embedded in the flow. A polar low type disturbance ran SE from west of the Orkney Islands as well by day. In some places in the Highlands it didnt get much above freezing all day with reports of 5-15cm of snow over the hills there. Inverness airport was closed by snow early on. There were some heavy and thundery wintry showers with hail running onto NW and western coasts also and through the Cheshire Gap. December 5th saw the cold polar maritime NW'ly flow continue, though it mainly affected the north & NW. Wick Airport in the far north was closed for a time due to snow. Wintry showers continued to run down across northern & western parts with further snow settling across many northern hills with attendant road closures and transport problems. It was very cold in places, Loch Glascarnoch in the far NW of Scotland fell to -6.8C despite the winds. The M74 was closed for three hours at Lesmahagow in South Lanarkshire after a lorry jackknifed in the snow and the A9 for 2 thours at Dunkeld, a handful of schools in South Lanarkshire and the Highlands were closed and there was a temporary closure of snow gates on the Forres to Grantown on Spey stretch of the A939. There was thunder in a few places in the north & west as well by day for example near Manchester around noon. There were reports of major traffic congestion in/around the roads of Buxton by the evening with reports of drivers abandoning vehicles after roads re-froze.

December 6th saw poor conditions continue across the Northern Isles with 7cm of snow reported at Lerwick. Gusts reached 64kts early on in near whiteout conditions as the low generating this headed away SE towards the Skaggerak. However a wrap around front delivered a little more snow during the morning to some NE parts of Scotland. Elsewhere it was locally a cold night with further showers near coasts and icy patches inland and locally in the Highlands cold all day, Tyndrum didnt get above freezing in fact after falling to -4.7C by night .December 7th saw troughs running ESE in a polar flow bringing showers in places esp the west and NW with sleet and snow in places across the north, mainly over high ground. Some of the showers were heavy with hail and thunder, for example, Waddington (Lincs) gusted to 55mph in a hail shower about 9am. It was wet in the Highlands though with 35mm to 21Z at Cluanie Inn. It was a chilly night in places early on as well with temperatures as low as -6.0C at Altnaharra (Sutherland). On December 8th a deep low ran east across Northern Scotland of about 957mb at 12Z moving away by evening into the northern North Sea. This brought very wet and windy weather to many areas but especially Scotland. It was perhaps the worst storm in the last decade across Scotland as a whole. Exceptionally strong wind gusts were brought down from the 100-120mph flow only just above the surface and a gust of 105mph was reported at Tulloch Bridge and 101mph at Eopodie on North Lewis (this reading unoffically) with 98mph at Foula in the Orkneys later on in the day. On Cairngorm a gust of 165mph was recorded, not far off the all time record there. As the storm moved away there was a very strong gradient on its west side. Pressure rose by an astonishing 14mb in 2 hours at Stornoway later in the day. It was very wet as well in places with 65mm recorded in the 24 hours to 21Z at Loch Glascarnoch. Various aspects of wind damage along with attendant traffic disruption was caused right across Scotland as a result. Some of the most notable included the fact that 150,000 homes were without power with many not expected to be reconnected until the weekend. The sea washed away part of a causeway road on the Orkney island of Hoy. One person was injured when the static caravan they were in was blown over at Lochailort. Strathclyde Police said a school bus overturned just outside Dalry, but there were no children on board and the driver was not injured. A roof was blown off a building in Fort William onto the nearby bypass In Aberdeen, several families were evacuated from a tenement in the Kincorth area after the gable end of a house collapsed on to a car though no-one was injured. A wind turbine fell down about one kilometre north of Coldingham village at the Lumsdaine junction on the A1107. An electricity worker in the Borders had a lucky escape on Thursday night when he got out of his van to check lines near Walkerburn and came back to find a tree had fallen on it. Many callouts were to remove trees and chimney pots and put out grass fires caused by cables coming down. In the Highlands, the Skye Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles. The A82 was closed at the Corran Ferry, south of Fort William due to a landslide. The A890 was closed at Strome Ferry due to a rock fall and the A87 at Sheilbridge was closed due to a land slide. In Stirling, Baker Street was closed between Friars Street and Bank Street because of fallen masonry. Roof damage forced the closure of Russell Street in Falkirk. All schools in Caithness and the north coast of Sutherland were still closed on the 9th.

Further south heavy rain led to flooding in the Windermere area of Cumbria. Sections of the A591 at Ambleside and Windermere were closed because of the flooding, along with a section of the A592 at Troutbeck Bridge. The Low Wood Hotel on the shores of Windermere was flooded, with staff pumping out rooms and using sandbags to prevent further problems. Flood warningswere in place across Yorkshire and a number of people were rescued by emergency services.Two people were airlifted to hospital after their car was swept into a swollen river in the Yorkshire Dales with flood warnings issued on the rivers Swale, Ure, Ouse, Nidd and Wharfe.North Yorkshire Police said a bridge at Grinton had collapsed . However it was windy even in the far south though as well, Hurst Castle at Milford gusted to 69mph during the afternoon.

December 10th saw a  cold start to the day in many places, in a light NWly flow. Over the snow cover in the Highlands it was cold. Braemar fell to -7.8C and both Braemar and Dalwhinnie were still -7C at 09Z. Even in the south though Southampton Airport fell to -5C and it was as low as -11C on the grass at Aboyne (Highlands), -10C at Topcliffe (N Yorks) and -8C at Hurn (Dorset). Initially a band of sleet and snow worked south though in Southern Scotland bringing 2-5cm in places, mainly over the hills here. December 12th saw a quiet start with a localised frost in the north milder wet weather pushed in a cross all areas and it was very wet later in the south & west. Okehampton saw 26mm in the period to 21Z. It became very windy in the south as well ahead of a warm front with gusts to 83mph at Hurst Castle nr Milford, Hants. There were localised reports of trees down and minor disruption in places as a result. The former ambassador to Venezuela and Chile was been rescued by firefighters in Winchester after a falling tree crashed through the roof of his house. Police dealt with more than 200 weather-related calls across Hampshire alone and flood alerts were in place across Hampshire and Dorset, At least a dozen roads were blocked in Sussex for a time as well.

December 13th was a very disturbed day as an exceptionally deep low (as low as 942mb) moved slowly ENE over the NW Scottish Isles, bringing an area of very strong winds into W Scotland and N Ireland, Islay reached 77mph, however it was windy in the south in showers as well for instance Portland, (Dorset) gusted as high as 78mph at 1620Z. The Mumbles Swansea, gusted to 81mph. It was extremely wet in parts of the NW, Tyndrum (Highlands) reported 54mm in the 24 hours to 21Z today. It was cold enough for snow in the showers as well just about anywhere and the showers were thundery in places also, Brighton had thunder in the early evening for instance.

December 14th had a windy start as a deep low moved away NE across NE Scocland. Dundrennan reached 68mph. Then a chilly showery day for many parts in a more W'ly flow with hail and snow showers in places and localised thunder. It was esp wet in parts of Northern Ireland with 34mm at Banagher in the 24 hours to 21Z .Snowfall and heavy rain caused disruption to many parts of Northern Ireland. Counties in the north and west were worst affected with snow lying in areas including Draperstown, Dungiven, Ballymena, Ballyclare, Carrickmore, Castlerock and Cookstown and flooding was reported at 28 locations across Londonderry on Tuesday into Weds .The south coast in particular saw a multitude of showers many with hail, some thundery move onshore during the day and esp the evening as a trough moved east. It became windier later in the evening again in the west as another low moved east south east towards W Wales with gusts in the Celtic sea to nearly 80mph. There was damage reported in various places as a result. Dover Ferry Port was closed for five hours last night due to rough seas in Kent with local roads closed due to tress down. There was also some flooding on the county’s roads because of heavy rain. Overnight falls of snow led to rush-hour delays and slippery roads in places further north . Poor driving conditions were reported on roads in several areas, including areas around Sheffield. In parts of Scotland widespread ice caused at least 20 crashes on roads across Tayside, as rain in the region overnight was followed by clear skies and sub-zero temperatures, which caused issues on many roads.Tayside Police said Perth and Kinross had been worst hit, but added ice was also causing problems in Angus.Many of the incidents were minor, but one man had to be cut free from his lorry after crashing on a back road.

December 15th was an unsettled showery day in places but mainly dry for most until evening when some moderate- heavy rain moved across the south as a deep low ran along the English Channel as it deepened. Pressure fell by 13.1mb in 3 hours at the Channel LV up to 22Z. The rain tuned to snow across some high ground later on. The strongest winds were across the Channel in western France though with gusts near 90mph.

December 16th was a cold day everywhere after a very cold night in the north, Braemar fell to -8.7C the coldest night of the winter so far with -11C on the snow covered grass at several stations including Lossiemouth & Aviemore, here it rose to just -3C by day. . There was some snow in places early on as well with Glasgow reporting 7cm at 06Z and more snow in the south & Midlands esp over high ground as a deep low worked east through Channel. The strong winds on this system were mainly further south than the UK and ran across the Bay of Biscay into Brittany with gusts to 90mph and here a cargo ship ran aground off the Brittany coast but Jersey gusted to 62mph.

December 17th saw a cold frosty start to the day in many inland areas with widespread icy roads. Wintry showers fell in places. The temperature fell as low as -6C at Dalwhinnie and -10C on the 4cm of snow covered -grass at Braemar. Glasgow still reported 6cm at 06Z.

December 18th saw a cold night to start, -9.4C at Loch Glascarnoch, the lowest UK temperature reported this December and -11C on the snow covered grass at Tulloch with a slight frost & icy patches inland elsewhere. Showers continued in the SW, west & north in the polar N-NWly flow and later in the night an area of snow worked across the Midlands and down into the northern Home counties by dawn giving a light covering in places. Showers also worked across parts of the south again later on , some wintry, even on the south coast Brighton saw a wintry shower with hail mixed in as well.

December 19th- As cloud increased in the far west overnight a front brought milder air and rain eastwards. However temperatures fell below freezing inland for many giving a frost with icy patches and as the rain fell onto this there were some reports of freezing rain in the east Midlands and east Anglian & Lincs areas. It was still snow covered across parts of Scotland, Glasgow and Avemore reported 4cm at 06Z. On the snow cover, temperatures fell as low as -8.7C at Altnaharra before the milder air arrived & -12C on the grass at Aberdeen. Even High Wycombe fell to -10C on the grass. Things then became much less disturbed over the next  week. December 22nd saw a very mild day in a moderate W'ly becoming SW'ly flow for most as a warm front moved NE over Scotland giving some rain here after a notably mild night in places, it was 14C around midnight in the Liverpool area and also parts of the W Isles. However on December 23rd an active cold front moved east by day giving a lot of rain in places ahead of it, esp across Wales. Capel Curig in North wales saw 43mm in the 24 hours to 21Z. On the south coast Portland gusted to 69mph. December 24th saw high pressure to the SW and a chilly start with a slight ground frost in places, -6C on the grass at Aboyne . A green Xmas Day everywhere but on December 26th the north was wet & windy and locally very mild with 15.5C at Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire however Kinlochewe saw 89mm in the 24 hours to 21Z in the SWly winds .

On December 28th a deep low of around 971mb at 12Z ran ENE, north of Scotland bringing rain & gales in the far NW in particular. There were gusts of 70-80mph in places, Tiree saw 80mph for instance in the early afternoon . There was some slight structural damage reported in places with structural damage to Motherwell's Fir Park ground causing a match to be postponed. Scottish Hydro said electricity was cut off to up to 12,000 properties at one stage. It was very wet too in places esp across the western Highlands where Cluanie Inn reported 75mm in the 24 hours to 21Z.