Will it ever Snow in Sussex again ?

[Uncle Spielberg]

In my lifetime I wonder if I will ever see a proper snowfall in Sussex again. Not the 1/2 inch dusting gone by lunchtime which we only ever get, I mean a good 5 or 6 inches, ooer madam. In the mid 80's we had 3 or 4 winters in a row with a 4-6 inch fall of snow which hung around for weeks. some winters the temperature did not get above freezing for 2-3 weeks.

Now a cold day contitutes today for example 8c with some rain.

When I was a lad one day the maximum temperature in Brighton was -6c and at night it feel regularly to -10 to - 14c.

I brought a sledge in 1991 and to date it is still in the shed having never been used.

We had the usual joke forecasts a few weeks back that this was gong to be the severiest winter for 100 years .

Where is the forst, where is the snow ?. I'm still waiting.

Any Sussex snow tales from the older NSC members ?. I remember the road from Brighton to Rottingdean being closed for a few days with 8 feet drifts, do you remember that ?.

 

[larus]

I do. I was at college in Chichester in 86.

Got a lift from Brighton to Chichester, but had to bus from Telscombe Cliffs to Brighton. One day coming home, there had been so much snow the road was closed to buses coming out of Saltdean, so they weren't running along the coast road.

Was waiting at the bus stop by the Sea-life center and luckily saw someone I knew drive past and got a lift home, otherwise it would have been a long cold walk.

That month of Feb, I don't think it got above freezing for the whole month. The snow was sill laying at the sides of the roads/fields for about 3-4 weeks.

 

[Wozza]

Whatever you do, don't bet on it - we'll never see snow in Sussex again if you do.

 

[perseus]

Their was a Goldstone game in March 1970 when the the television and all the railway stations announced the game was postponed. So when I went down to the railway station, the ticket inspectors said that the game was off because thats what it said on the TV.

It was bloody freezing, so I went home glad. It turned out the game was on afterall and it was just a false rumour that spread.
Understandably the gate was down to an unprecedented low at the time of 5,300 or so. Gates of under 6,000 were unheard of in those days, even in a relegation season.

A game shortly afterwards was against Reading, which is how I got the year right.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Thats the year when Brighton got the full 12 inches isn't it ?. It may have been 69 ?. I do know it snowed Xmas Eve and there was about 5/6 inches , might be 1970.

 

[Giant Seagull]

12th January 1987-classic, about a foot of snow and the temperature didnt rise above -7C

Feb 1991 loads of powdery snow from a full blown easterly.
This was the last decent spell for Sussex.

Everything else since has been appaling tin pot northerlys thats great if you live on top of a mountain in scotland, but crap for us.
Ive said before only when we get a siberian easterly would we get more then a dusting this far south.

Its been 13 years since- horrendous!

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

 

[dougdeep]

Snow joke.

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

 

[timseagull]

While it's very pretty even when we do get a light dusting the whole county grinds to a halt and it's impossible to get to the end of the street. Despite what the local councils say we're very under prepared for snow coz it happens so infrequently. So if it does snow we may as well give up on trying to go about our normal business!

 

[The Auditor]

Snow....the orange ball...the goldstone...memories
Also remember cup tie at Peterboro where the cleared the pitch a bit so we could play ..mid 80's?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

When I was a lad one day the maximum temperature in Brighton was -6c and at night it feel regularly to -10 to - 14c.

I think the cold must have frozen your memory Gareth...

It was only a couple of seasons ago that we were due to play Reading on the Friday night before Xmas. The match was called off cos the ground was frozen solid. It stayed frozen solid for at least a fortnight. The temperature stayed well below zero for the whole period.

And it was only last Xmas that I took money off ya (for REMF purposes) over your clownish prediction of no snow in Brighton.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Oh yes Tom was that the full 1cm of snow that fell in the area.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Oh yes Tom was that the full 1cm of snow that fell in the area.

There's REALLY no need to be so bitter Gareth...

 

[Skintagain 1983]

SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW? SNOW?

 

[sams dad]

Their was a Goldstone game in March 1970 when the the television and all the railway stations announced the game was postponed. So when I went down to the railway station, the ticket inspectors said that the game was off because thats what it said on the TV.

It was bloody freezing, so I went home glad. It turned out the game was on afterall and it was just a false rumour that spread.
Understandably the gate was down to an unprecedented low at the time of 5,300 or so. Gates of under 6,000 were unheard of in those days, even in a relegation season.

A game shortly afterwards was against Reading, which is how I got the year right.

That was against Torquay-finished 2-2
I know 'cos I was there.

 

[Beach Hut]

I do. I was at college in Chichester in 86.

Got a lift from Brighton to Chichester, but had to bus from Telscombe Cliffs to Brighton. One day coming home, there had been so much snow the road was closed to buses coming out of Saltdean, so they weren't running along the coast road.

Was waiting at the bus stop by the Sea-life center and luckily saw someone I knew drive past and got a lift home, otherwise it would have been a long cold walk.

That month of Feb, I don't think it got above freezing for the whole month. The snow was sill laying at the sides of the roads/fields for about 3-4 weeks.

I lived in Rottingdean then and the coast road was closed at Ovingdean as the snow drifted. Also you could get down from Woodingdean or out to Peacehaven because of the Tye being snowed over.

Basically we were cut off from the world for 24 hours.

So what did we do ? The Spanish Lady stayed open all the time - marvellous scenes

 

[dougdeep]

I once got stuck in a snow drift, and had to be towed out by a tractor. It was between Seaford and Newhaven. Around 1990 I think.

 

[Gully]

I can remember a game being postponed due to snow, must have been 86/87 ish as I was living in London at the time and didn't find out that the game was off until I arrived at Victoria Station, not sure who we should have been playing though.

Can remember some pretty heavy snowfalls in the early 80's where the snow lay on the Downs for a good week or so and many roads resembled ice rinks, saw a bus sliding sideways down Old Mill Lane in Storrington.