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The long hot summer
and mild autumn of 2003 left us unprepared for the rigours of a cold winter -
but Gloucestershire has had to cope with some BIG chills over the years. With
a major freeze forecast to round off January, see how cold the county has got
in the past. The
coldest of the 20th century was the Arctic spell of 1962-63 when snow started
falling on Boxing Day and the big freeze lasted until early March. Click
on the link below for pictures of Gloucestershire's snowiest recent winters
The
average temperature for December, January and February was just -0.3C (31F) making
it the coldest winter since 1740. The
January average at Cam was was -3.14C (26F) with nine consecutive days from January
16 to 25 when the temperature did not rise above freezing point and the coldest
day of the winter was on January 23 at -8C(18F). »See
more winter 1962-63 memories and photos The
cold weather played havoc with sports fixtures and over 400 League football matches
had to be postponed. 1946-47
The second
coldest winter of the last century - and the aftermath of war and the effects
of rationing on food and fuel made it feel even grimmer. Snow
fell on almost every day in February with blizzards and temperatures down to a
bitter -16C (3F) on February 23-24. It was the coldest February of the 20th century.
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| Cam
Peak in the snow | A
fall of a foot of snow (30cm) in early March was followed by a dramatic thaw with
heavy rain. The
rain and thaw brought the worst flooding ever seen on the River Severn and floodwater
reached halfway up Westgate Street in Gloucester. 1939-1940 The
third coldest winter of the 20th century was the first of the Second World War,
and saw temperatures drop to -17C (2F) with snow on many occasions until mid-February. Freezing
rain on January 28-29 put a thick coating of ice everywhere, turning telephone
wires into cylinders of ice and causing trees and some other structures to break
under the weight of the ice. There
was frost on 49 days and nights between Christmas 1939 and February 18, and a
total of 14 freezing days that winter. January 21 was the coldest day at -6.6C
(20F). 1981-1982 This
was the last really cold winter Gloucestershire has seen, with interruptions of
milder weather. December
1981 was cold with night-time lows of -13C (8F). There was snow on December 8,
a fall of five inches on December 11 and a blizzard on the afternoon of December
13, when the Queen and her entourage were forced to take shelter in the Cross
Hands Inn in Old Sodbury for a while.
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| Kingshill
House, Dursley, 1982 | Christmas
1981 saw a sprinkling of snow but by contrast the New Year was very mild - which
was handy for streaker Erica Rowe who made her headline-grabbing naked run onto
the pitch during an England rugby match at Twickenham on January 2! Winter
returned with a vengeance the following week and frost was followed by 43 hours'
continuous snowfall between January 7 and 9 which deposited 18 inches (45cm) and
led to huge drifts, though not quite as bad as 1962-63. During
the snow clearance operation a digger accidentally picked up a Mini that had been
completely buried at Dursley! Coldest
Days The
coldest night of the 20th century was Wednesday Jan 13 1982. The
temperature fell to -20C (-4F) at Cheltenham and down to -18C in Dursley. Thursday
January 14 was the coldest ever day of the 20th century. The maximum temperature
was -10C (14F), recorded at 1.30pm near Gloucester in freezing fog. In
Dursley it was -7C (19F) and also the coldest day of the 20th century. Other
significant snowfalls The
Cheltenham Gold Cup race was snowed off completely on March 16 1978 when
6-8ins (15-17cm) fell overnight. A rapid thaw followed but the race had been called
off by that time. The
race was eventually run on Saturday April 15 when John Francome rode Midnight
Court to victory. The
Gold Cup was also cancelled due to snow in 1931 and 1937. In
1987 the Gold Cup was again held up by a snowstorm - but this time the start was
only delayed for 20 minutes. The winner that year was The Thinker ridden by the
late Ridley Lamb. »More
about the Cheltenham Gold Cup The
latest snow Gloucestershire has seen in recent years was in 1981 when eight inches
(20cm) fell over the weekend of April 25 and 26. It
was wet snow that brought down power lines and also many trees that were already
in leaf. In some places the power cuts lasted for two days. by
Ian Thomas Click
on the link below for pictures of Gloucestershire's snowiest recent winters
If
you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section get in
touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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