Heavy Spring Snowfall, New Forest - 6th April, 2008 (Part 1)

Generally, snow is rare here in the far south, but occassionally a northerly airstream can produce the goods in late winter/early spring as the atmosphere becomes unstable with the stronger sun and cold airmasses from the north. Some snow was forecast for places on the morning of the 6th, but I wasn't expecting much here. Even so, I headed out to the Forest around 0700, with the first snow falling as I got to Lyndhurst. It quickly became heavy and settled immediately. The first two shots show how heavy it was:

The New Forest ponies seemed quite confused, they haven't seen this much snow for a few years:

Visibility was reduced considerably, down to below 100m at times in strong winds:

After around an hour the heaviest snow eased so I headed through the local villages and lanes:

The roads and trees were covered in snow, an unusual sight around here, keeping the gritting trucks busy: