The Spring 2013 United Kingdom cold wave was a period of unusually cold weather in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

between 6March and early April 2013. The cold wave consisted of very low temperatures and significant

snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

. Freezing temperatures worsened due to the significant overcast and cloud covered skies. Extensive snowfall occurred on 11 and 12March in the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

of England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Most parts of England, north Wales and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

also suffered heavy persistent snowfall on 22 and 23March 2013.

Overview

During the cold spell, the low temperatures were not extreme, yet they were notable because of the extended duration of below average temperatures. Official weather reports show that temperatures stayed below for nine consecutive days. March 2013 was reported to be tied for the country's fourth-coldest March since 1910. Mean temperatures were below-average from February to early April, and there was a continuous, strong, cold easterly wind. 31March was confirmed by the

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

as the coldest Easter Day on record, with the lowest temperature reaching in

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' prop ...

. The Central England Temperature, a long run of weather records dating back to 1659, reported its lowest March average since 1883. Furthermore, March was the coldest month of 2013 and the coldest month of the

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

season of 2012–13.

Snowfall

The snowfall on 11 March primarily affected Northern France but it also disrupted communities and roads in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in Southeast England. On 22March, the UK saw another snowfall. It was described as the worst March snowfall in 30 years. Areas of Northwest England, North Wales, Southwest

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

were affected the most. Up to of snow was reported to have fallen with up to snow drifts. There was a continuous covering of snow throughout the country from 11March to 1April. Moreover, from the 22 of March the

recorded its heaviest snowfall since 1963. Strong winds and very heavy snowfall resulted in horrendous conditions with drifts up to 4-foot deep particularly across eastern half of the island. Consequently, roads on the island were extremely hazardous with blockages, hundreds of homes left without power and a significant loss of livestock.

Impact

The cold weather caused several problems with electricity, agriculture and road networks. Some migratory birds such as the chiffchaff,

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the w ...

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

, blackcap, and the little-ringed plover arrived late in 2013 as a result of the abnormally harsh weather. The spring germination and growth of plants was delayed, affecting

nurserymen A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

and

market gardener A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...

s, and causing the

daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''Is ...

flower crop to bloom too late for Mothering Sunday and Easter. There were also significant issues with livestock, especially mass deaths of sheep and newborn lambs.. As an example of the delay to nature, bluebells were observed in full bloom as late as June 2nd in woodland near to

Maiden Bradley Maiden Bradley is a village in south-west Wiltshire, England, about south-west of Warminster and bordering the county of Somerset. The B3092 road between Frome and Mere forms the village street. Bradley House, the seat of the Duke of Somerset, ...

, Wiltshire, in normally-mild central southern England and around a month later than the typical season.

References

Further reading
"The 10 Worst British Winters Ever"
from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''
"Spring will be coldest in 50 years, Met Office says"
from ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'' {{Weather events in the United Kingdom Cold waves in the United Kingdom 2013 in the United Kingdom 2010s cold waves 2013 meteorology 2013 natural disasters March 2013 events in the United Kingdom April 2013 events in the United Kingdom