Blizzard of January 1881 explained

January 1881 Snowstorm
Image Location:January 1881 UK_Snowstorm.png
Image Name:Blizzard at its height on 19 January.
Formed:10 January 1881 [1]
Dissipated:23 January [2]
Lowest Pressure:985 [3]
Lowest Temperature:-30°C
Maximum Snow:4feet

Dartmoor, United Kingdom [4]

Casualties:100 (estimation)
Areas Affected:United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Netherlands

The Blizzard of January 1881 (17–20 January 1881) was one of the most severe blizzards ever to hit the southern parts of the United Kingdom.

On 17 January 1881,[5] a low pressure system rapidly developed in the English Channel. The snowfalls began on the 17th in the southwest and as the system deepened as it moved through the Channel, a gale force easterly developed over southern parts with heavy blizzards and drifting snow. The blizzard paralysed all transport, communication, trade and industries. Hundreds of miles of rail track were blocked by drifting snow, dozens of feet high in places. Even in central London, there were 3-foot drifts in places. Around 100 people are believed to have died as a result of the blizzard. The storm was accompanied by extreme cold.

Temperatures

The severity of the frosts was remarkable and they were probably second only to those that occurred during February 1895 in intensity and length. The Central England temperature for the period of 8th to 27th was -4.4C.

Note that, due to non-standard exposures, many of the contemporary reported temperatures are no longer accepted by the Meteorological Office.[6]

Other low minima.
Location Date Temperature
17 Jan -15.6C
20 Jan -15C
22 Jan -14.4C
26 Jan -13.3C
17 Jan -20C
-11.2C
15 Jan -13.3C
17 Jan -10.6C
20 Jan -15C
26 Jan -9.7C
22 Jan -10C
17 Jan -12.2C
26 Jan
26 Jan -17.2C
23 Jan -19.4C
25 Jan -18.9C
17 Jan -12C

At Orleton, the maximum never got above -7.0C on the 25th. Rivers in the area had frozen over by the 15th.

Boston: 15 days the mean temp was -6.1C, 6.5 inches thick ice on river.

Haverfordwest: River Cleddan frozen over. A maximum of -7.8C on the 20th.

Killaloe: Large part of Lough Derg frozen over.

An aurora was widely seen over the UK on the 31st.

Reports from counties of snow depths

From the Wirral to just north of Flamborough Head northwards, no snow fell from this storm although there was a deep cover of snow over a wide area. For instance, parts of the Lancashire plain had a general cover of 6 inches.

!County!Snow/inches!Notes
Norfolk9
Suffolk2-72-3 inches along the coast up to 7 inches in west
Essex6-9
Cambridgeshire7
Bedfordshire710 foot drifts
Huntingdonshire5-8
Northamptonshire6SW of county 12 inches
Oxfordshire12-13
Buckinghamshire12
Hertfordshire6-9
London/Middlesex9Snow started falling around 9am on the 18th and lasted until about midday on the 19th. It was accompanied by a violent gale.
Kent3-73 to 4 inches along coast, 4-6 inches inland, 7 inches nearer London. 14 feet drifts on the Isle of Thanet.
Sussex7-247-8 inches to the north. 24 inches at Worthing, 18 inches at Brighton, 12 inches at St Leonard's, 9 to 12 inches at Littlehampton
Isle of Wight and south Hampshire18-34A staggering 34 inches in two falls at Newport on Isle of Wight. St Lawrence with 22 inches, Osborne and Ventnor with 18 inches and 24 inches at Ryde. Many roads were filled with snow up to halfway on lamp-posts. 12 feet drifts at Cowes. A hall collapsed at Portsmouth due to weight of snow
Berkshire9-15Ranging from 9 inches to east up to 15 inches in west
Wiltshire6-366 inches at Calne, 36 inches at Warminster. 12 feet drifts.
Dorset12-2012-14 inches inland, 18 to 20 inches along coast
Devonshire12-1412 to 14 inches generally, 3 feet over Dartmoor. 15 feet drifts.
Cornwall7-1212 inches in far east, 7 inches generally.
Somerset8-1312 to 13 inches in the south and east, 8 to 10 inches in west and north
Gloucestershire6-109 to 10 inches in south, 6 to 7 inches in north. 7 to 10 feet drifts.
Herefordshire6-1110 to 11 inches in south, 6 inches in the north.
Shropshire3-53 inches in the north, 5 inches in the south.
Staffordshire1-4
Worcestershire5-6
Warwickshire4-124 inches in north, 7 to 8 inches over central parts, 12 inches in SE of county.
Leicestershire66 foot drifts
Lincolnshire6-7
South Wales6-9About 6 inches with 9 inches around Monmouthshire.
Radnorshire15
Denbighshire6

Specific towns and cities reports

!City!Snow/Inches
Andover12
Basingstoke4
Barnstaple36
Dorchester36
Exeter12
Fareham30
Guildford8
Havant36
Lidford15
Okehampton36
Plymouth18
Portsmouth30
Ringwood36
Salisbury9
Southampton12
Tottenham8

References

  1. Web site: Reanalysis archives.
  2. Web site: Reanalysis archives.
  3. Web site: Reanalysis archives.
  4. Web site: The History of British Winters - Netweather.tv.
  5. Web site: Reanalysis archives.
  6. https://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2012/10/16/top-ten-coldest-recorded-temperatures-in-the-uk/ Top ten recorded temperatures in the UK

Symons's Meteorological Magazine of 1881