January 1881 Snowstorm
Blizzard at its height on 19 January.
TypeBlizzard
Formed10 January 1881 [1]
Dissipated23 January [2]
Lowest pressure985[3] mb (29.09 inHg)
Lowest temperature−30.0 °C (−22.0 °F)
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		4 ft (120 cm): Dartmoor, United Kingdom [4]
Fatalities100 (estimation)
Areas affectedUnited Kingdom, Belgium, France, Netherlands

The Blizzard of January 1881 (17–20 January 1881) was one of the most severe blizzards ever to hit the southern parts of the United Kingdom.

On 17 January 1881,[5] a low pressure system rapidly developed in the English Channel. 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 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 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.[6]

Other low minima.
LocationDateTemperature
Aberdeen17 Jan-15.6C
Banbury20 Jan-15C
Barnstaple22 Jan-14.4C
Bodmin26 Jan-13.3C
Braemar17 Jan-20C
Camden Square-11.2C
Cork15 Jan-13.3C
Galway17 Jan-10.6C
Hitchin20 Jan-15C
Llandudno26 Jan-9.7C
Derry22 Jan-10C
Manchester17 Jan-12.2C
26 Jan
Norwich26 Jan-17.2C
Omagh23 Jan-19.4C
Skipton25 Jan-18.9C
Waterford17 Jan-12C

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.

County Snow/inches Notes
Norfolk 9
Suffolk 2-7 2-3 inches along the coast up to 7 inches in west
Essex 6-9
Cambridgeshire 7
Bedfordshire 7 10 foot drifts
Huntingdonshire 5-8
Northamptonshire 6 SW of county 12 inches
Oxfordshire 12-13
Buckinghamshire 12
Hertfordshire 6-9
London/Middlesex 9 Snow started falling around 9am on the 18th and lasted until about midday on the 19th. It was accompanied by a violent gale.
Kent 3-7 3 to 4 inches along coast, 4-6 inches inland, 7 inches nearer London. 14 feet drifts on the Isle of Thanet.
Sussex 7-24 7-8 inches to the north. 24 inches at Worthing, 18 inches at Brighton, 12 inches at St Leonard's, 9 to 12 inches at Littlehampton
Isle of Wight and south Hampshire 18-34 A staggering 34 inches in two falls at Newport on Isle of Wight. St Lawrence with 22 inches, Osborne and Ventnor with 18 inches and 24 inches at Ryde. Many roads were filled with snow up to halfway on lamp-posts. 12 feet drifts at Cowes. A hall collapsed at Portsmouth due to weight of snow
Berkshire 9-15 Ranging from 9 inches to east up to 15 inches in west
Wiltshire 6-36 6 inches at Calne, 36 inches at Warminster. 12 feet drifts.
Dorset 12-20 12-14 inches inland, 18 to 20 inches along coast
Devonshire 12-14 12 to 14 inches generally, 3 feet over Dartmoor. 15 feet drifts.
Cornwall 7-12 12 inches in far east, 7 inches generally.
Somerset 8-13 12 to 13 inches in the south and east, 8 to 10 inches in west and north
Gloucestershire 6-10 9 to 10 inches in south, 6 to 7 inches in north. 7 to 10 feet drifts.
Herefordshire 6-11 10 to 11 inches in south, 6 inches in the north.
Shropshire 3-5 3 inches in the north, 5 inches in the south.
Staffordshire 1-4
Worcestershire 5-6
Warwickshire 4-12 4 inches in north, 7 to 8 inches over central parts, 12 inches in SE of county.
Leicestershire 6 6 foot drifts
Lincolnshire 6-7
South Wales 6-9 About 6 inches with 9 inches around Monmouthshire.
Radnorshire 15
Denbighshire 6

Specific towns and cities reports

    City Snow/Inches
    Andover 12
    Basingstoke 4
    Barnstaple 36
    Dorchester 36
    Exeter 12
    Fareham 30
    Guildford 8
    Havant 36
    Lidford 15
    Okehampton 36
    Plymouth 18
    Portsmouth 30
    Ringwood 36
    Salisbury 9
    Southampton 12
    Tottenham 8

      References

      1. ↑ "Reanalysis archives".
      2. ↑ "Reanalysis archives".
      3. ↑ "Reanalysis archives".
      4. ↑ "The History of British Winters - Netweather.tv".
      5. ↑ "Reanalysis archives".
      6. ↑ Top ten recorded temperatures in the UK Retrieved 3 December 2017

      Symons's Meteorological Magazine of 1881

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