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Old 10-04-2013, 03:49 PM
 
Location: Glasgow, UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac15 View Post
Snow lying is snow lying. Whether it to be an inch or a dusting, if it lies its there.
Well, that would be fine for those of us who just wish to enter into pissing contests about who lives in the most exciting climate...but the problem is that it doesn't provide useful information for any other purpose. And what is the point of keeping these statistics if they don't inform anyone? Even in Britain, a light dusting of snow isn't going to bring traffic to a standstill...and neither is it likely to excite the cold-lovers among us.
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Old 10-04-2013, 03:51 PM
 
Location: North West Northern Ireland.
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But the snow still lies so I still count it.
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Old 10-04-2013, 03:57 PM
 
Location: Glasgow, UK
865 posts, read 1,073,856 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac15 View Post
But the snow still lies so I still count it.

Yeah, but if on half of those days you only got a fine dusting, what use is that information, other than to enable you to come on here and brag about your area getting an average of 10-20 snow days per year? The traffic isn't going to grind to a halt. The schools aren't going to be shut. The trains and buses are going to be running. The planes are going to be able to land as normal (for those who live near an area). Nobody is going to be out sledging down the hills in the area. Nobody is really going to be jumping for joy either, because they can't do anything with the snow and it's going to melt soon.

I don't understand the point of having such a loose standard, when it is necessary to have information on depth in order for that information to be of practical use to anybody.
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Old 10-04-2013, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Finland
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The BBC once said that one single flake of snow falling anywhere in the UK on 25 December is a White Christmas.

The US indeed uses the one inch treshold, Finland and Sweden uses 1 cm on the ground in the morning (8am in Finland).
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Old 10-04-2013, 03:59 PM
 
Location: North West Northern Ireland.
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Well thats not a white christmas to me.
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Old 10-04-2013, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Leeds, UK
22,118 posts, read 29,520,360 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by micC View Post
Well, that would be fine for those of us who just wish to enter into pissing contests about who lives in the most exciting climate...but the problem is that it doesn't provide useful information for any other purpose. And what is the point of keeping these statistics if they don't inform anyone? Even in Britain, a light dusting of snow isn't going to bring traffic to a standstill...and neither is it likely to excite the cold-lovers among us.
Are weather statistics there to inform the public on the likelihood of disruption? I don't think they are.. they're just there for people who are interested. If the Met publish these statistics to inform the public, then they should make it more comprehensive. They should gather and publish averages for days above 30C, so elderly people and rail commuters know how much they will have to contend with stifling conditions. They should publish the average days of gales so people know how often disruption from wind is likely, and so on.

If there is snow on the ground, then there is snow on the ground. Even if it melts in a few hours, snow was observed and it settled on the ground. It's silly not to count it.
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Old 10-04-2013, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Glasgow, UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariete View Post
The BBC once said that one single flake of snow falling anywhere in the UK on 25 December is a White Christmas.

The US indeed uses the one inch treshold, Finland and Sweden uses 1 cm on the ground in the morning (8am in Finland).
Yes, that is indeed the standard for a white christmas, over here. It may be for the sake of stimulating the bookmaking industry, so that they can give odds of 5/1 (or something) instead of 40/1 or something. The data on days with snow lying is almost as useless, as it only requires that at least 50% of the ground be covered in snow.
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Old 10-04-2013, 04:04 PM
 
Location: Glasgow, UK
865 posts, read 1,073,856 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno what to put here View Post
Are weather statistics there to inform the public on the likelihood of disruption? I don't think they are.. they're just there for people who are interested.
Well I'm a weather enthusiast and my interest is certainly not piqued all that much by the knowledge that we typically get at least a fine dusting of snow lying at 9am on 5-10 mornings out of the year.

Without any information or qualifier regarding depth, the statistics are practically useless.
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Old 10-04-2013, 04:04 PM
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Location: Western Massachusetts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac15 View Post
But the snow still lies so I still count it.
But if grass is sticking above the snow or some spots have bare ground than it doesn't feel like everywhere is snow covered. I'd say one inch or so is necessary for an area to be snow covered.
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Old 10-04-2013, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Finland
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Here's a rough map of the max snow depth during peak time on 15 March:



Quote:
Originally Posted by nei View Post
But if grass is sticking above the snow or some spots have bare ground than it doesn't feel like everywhere is snow covered. I'd say one inch or so is necessary for an area to be snow covered.
As in the UK, we use the minimum of 50% of open ground covered. So if it's snow under a tree or on an obscure hill, that is not a day with snow cover. But a light dusting of 0.4 in from 7am to 1pm is a snowy day.
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