Weather in the NEWS

March 1st is thought of as the 'official' start of Spring

The warmth of late February brought many flowers into season - snowdrops were shortly followed by crocus, daffodil and primrose as winter gave way to spring. Now (1st week in March) the spring blossom is on the trees in southern England (photo above) heralding the warmer days leading on to summer.

Cherry blossom time is an important period in Japan - many Japanese will travel to look at the blossom in the spring, a romantic and sensitive appearance in Japanese culture.

The spring equinnox in mid March (22nd March) marks the point at which the Sun is overhead at the Equator. On this day there will be 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night - and the Sun will rise in the East and set in the West. After the equinnox the hours of daylight will lengthen - we are already getting used to lighter evenings and this will become very obvious when the clocks are moved forward by 1 hour to British Summer Time on the last Sunday in March (March 28th).

But, the beginning of March was not all flowers and warmth. The first weekend (March 6th) saw substantial snow falls across Northern England across high ground to the south of the Peak District. Many important soccer matches in the Yorkshire area were postponed due to snow covered grounds on 6th March - FA Cup Quarter Final day.

Avalanches kill 38 across the Alps

Depression over Central Germany on 23rd February 1999 - frontal systems sweeping across the Alpine region

For winter sports enthusiasts, the beginning of 1999 has been one of the best skiing seasons in living memory. Far more than normal snow fell across the Alpine region (Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria) with substantial depths building up - and this was the 'right' type of snow for exciting skiing - dry and powdery conditions.

But the pleasure of the skiers was soon curtailed as the snow continued to fall and the deep snow drifts became unstable - and then fell in a series of massive avalanches. At Galtuer, in the Austian Tyrol, over 30 people were killed when a massive avalanche released millions of tonnes of snow to rush down a mountainside and devastate a village - usually thought to be avalanche free.

As snow continued to fall in mid to late February, the ski runs were closed and avalanche warnings posted across the Alpine region.

The snow fell as a series of frontal systems swept across the Alps - moving south bringing north-westerly winds and cold polar conditions. With the wind and snow arriving from the north, heavy snow falls were recorded on the northern side of the Alps - but the southern regions had little snow and Italian resorts were reporting poor conditions for winter sports. The satellite image (above - 23rd February) clearly shows the limit of the heavy cloud and the falling snow - south of the Alps skies were clear and there is little sign of snow on the mountain tops (look for the sharp edges that define snow - cloud tends to have a softer outline).

Snow conditions:

Austria (25th February) - St. Anton - northern face of the Alps

• depth: 1.5m (150cm) on lower slopes
• depth: 6.9m (690cm) at altitude
• Avalanche risk: 5

Substantial damage, over 30 dead

Italy (25th February) - Cortina - southern slopes of the Alps

• depth: 0.50m (50cm) on lower slopes
• depth: 0.65m (65cm) at altitude
• Avalanche risk: low

Snow conditions: Poor - Skiing - poor