(Icy) Blast from the Past: The Big Snows of yesteryear

Winter’s full fury arrived in Northern Ireland this week, dumping snow and playing havoc with daily life.

The shimmering white countryside may have a spectral otherworldly beauty, but we, like other regions of the UK, seem ill-equipped to cope with Jack Frost and a deluge of the white stuff.

But the recent ice and snow is nothing compared to winters past.

I can certainly recall really bad winters in the 1970s with snowdrifts as high as the hedges, no central heating in the home and frequent electricity blackouts.

In 1886, before systematic records began, a blizzard with snow up to 60cm deep is said to have struck Northern Ireland.

The early part of 1947 was recorded as one of the most persistent cold spells of the century, with people reported to be skating on frozen ponds in February.

The winter of 1963 was the coldest of the 20th century as a large Scandinavian anticyclone brought easterly winds over Ireland and temperatures plunged to -15C. How would today’s snowflakes cope fighting that sort of cold war?

The winter of 2009/10 was the coldest since 1962/63, with temperatures around two degrees below average.

So, there you have it, our current cold snap seems positively balmy compared to those winters.