Heavy Snow, Southampton, Hampshire - December 2nd, 2010

Winter has started early this year with record cold in places and sub-zero maxima at the end of November in this area; the first I've recorded so early. Late on the 1st of December a band of moderate to heavy snow moved in from the east across Southern England giving significant accumulations. By morning Southampton had collected around 16-18cm of level snow which is probably the deepest since the mid-1980s and the earliest for several decades. I got out with the camera early, whilst the snow was still falling, to try and capture the fresh snowfall:

The light was quite unusual at dawn as the sky above the low cloud turned a shade of pink:

It was difficult to get many cars out of the snow; my car was buried up to the sills, but luckily I had the day off work anyway:

This is the church at Highfield, recreating a scene from winters gone by:

I looked for older cars that made the photos look like they were taken in the 1980s. This Mini, plus the old lampost almost makes it believable:

Side roads were difficult, but the main road into the city was relatively snow-free. It was very quiet however:

Southampton Common was a winter wonderland:

The obligatory postbox shot: