The Blizzard of January 1881 (17–20 January 1881) was one of the most severe
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
s ever to hit the southern parts of the United Kingdom.
On 17 January 1881,
a
low pressure system
In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
rapidly developed in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. 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. Comparisons are drawn to the
Great Blizzard of 1899
The Great Blizzard of 1899, also known as the Great Arctic Outbreak of 1899 and the St. Valentine's Day Blizzard, was an exceptionally severe winter weather event that affected most of the United States, particularly east of the Rocky Mountains ...
which affected the United States.
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
The Central England Temperature (CET) record is a meteorological dataset originally published by Professor Gordon Manley in 1953 and subsequently extended and updated in 1974, following many decades of painstaking work. The monthly mean surface ai ...
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.
[Top ten recorded temperatures in the UK]
Retrieved 3 December 2017
;Other low minima.
*Canden Square: -11.2C (17th)
*Hitchin: -15C (20th)
*Banbury: -15C (20th)
*Norwich: -17.2C (26th)
*Barnastaple: -14.4C (22nd)
*Bodmin: -13.3C (26th)
*Manchester: -12.2C (17th, 26th)
*Skipton: -18.9C (25th)
*Llandudno: -9.7C (26th)
*Braemar: -20C (17th)
*Aberdeen: -15.6C (17th)
*Cork: -13.3C (15th)
*Waterford: -12C (17th)
*Galway: -10.6C (17th)
*Londonderry: -10C (22nd)
*Omagh: -19.4C (23rd)
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.
Specific towns and cities reports
*
*
References
Symons's Meteorological Magazine of 1881
{{Heat waves in the United Kingdom
1881 in England
1881 natural disasters
1881 disasters in the United Kingdom
Blizzards
Weather events in the United Kingdom
1881 meteorology
1881 in Wales
January 1881 events
European windstorms