SNOW JOKE AS DANGLER BRINGS IN WHITE STUFF
WALES is experiencing the first cold snap of the autumn – and there’s even been a bit of snow on high ground. There have been reports of heavy show showers on Snowdon and a dusting on the Preseli mountains as UK temperatures fell to – 2.9°C overnight between Friday and yesterday.
Some of the showers have been caused by a weather phenomenon known as the Pembrokeshire Dangler which brought wintry showers in parts as temperatures dipped.
Welsh weather forecaster Derek Brockway said yesterday: “Conditions are perfect for a ‘Pembrokeshire Dangler’ today with a north wind and trough lying through the Irish Sea. If you’re under the Dangler you can experience persistent heavy rain or snow, hail and thunder too.”
The weather term is described as “a persistent, narrow band of showers in the Irish Sea”. The band of showers often sit over Pembrokeshire – hence the term “dangler”.
According to weather presenter Liam Dutton, it is caused when a northerly wind blows down through the Irish Sea and maintains its original direction over water. But when it approaches land, friction causes the northerly wind to change direction slightly.
The friction over land causes the wind direction to change – and as the wind with an altered direction collides with the northerly wind over the sea, it forces air upwards to create clouds, meaning showers, spells of rain, snow or hail.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the UK, parts of Scotland, County Durham and Yorkshire woke up to heavy snow yesterday morning.
The chilly snap will bring an end to the largely mild start to autumn.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “It will be a fairly chilly start, with temperatures widely close to freezing and that means you’ll perhaps have to scrape your car windscreen and you’ll see a frost in place first thing.”
Met Office forecaster Bonnie Diamond added: “We have had a pretty mild October so far and a warm start to autumn in places so it will be a big change for everybody as we go through the weekend. longer
“Certainly it’s time to get the warm winter clothes out.”
The cold snap coincides with the annual October change to Greenwich Mean Time, as the clocks went back early this morning, giving us all an extra hour in bed.
The Met Office forecast for today predicts plenty of sunshine after a frosty start. There is the risk of one or two isolated showers, again perhaps wintry over the high ground.
It should feel a little less cold, with light winds, and a maximum temperature of 11°C.
There will be a cold start tomorrow, then fine, with plenty of sunny spells, but things could turn more unsettled from Tuesday onwards with the risk of some rain. It will slowly turn less cold.