Why does Brighton not get much snow?

Parts of Sussex have had dustings of the white stuff in the past week, including Crowborough, where residents woke up to a soft blanket of snow on Wednesday.

But while other parts of the UK enjoyed festive scenes in the days following Christmas, snow fans in Brighton and Hove were not so lucky. 

Meanwhile parts of Spain have been hit with rare heavy snow in the past few days amid Storm Filomena - the worst snowstorm to hit the country in 50 years.

Snow in Crowborough earlier this week. Credit: Phil Blackwell

We spoke to Grahame Madge, climate spokesman at the Met Office, on why Brighton generally does not get much snowy weather, and whether there could be any in store this winter.

Why have other places in the UK seen snow recently and Brighton hasn't?

Grahame Madge at the Met Office said: "Firstly, there is of course the question of geography. Snow depends to a large extent on the direction of where cold weather is coming from, as the conditions which bring snow do depend partly on the direction of the air.

"At the moment the direction of snow is coming down from the north, and obviously location-wise, Brighton has a certain amount of protection from the South Downs.

Swimmers braved the snow in Brighton in 2010

"The conditions we have seen over Christmas and New Year have been wind and air coming down from much further north - sometimes all the way from Greenland. 

"The air will be quite moist as it's gone all the way over the ocean, but by the time it gets to the south of England it is dry, as it has gone all the way over the UK, and there's then not as much snow or rain to fall.

"When you get winds coming from London and the midlands they are going to pass over the South Downs so some of these villages may get snow, but by the time it gets to Brighton there is less moisture."

Why is Brighton generally unlikely to see snow?

Mr Madge said: "For snow you need moist air coming from a direction that is cold, or you get cold conditions over the UK and then warm moist air coming up from the Atlantic - these conditions can generate a large fall of snow, as we saw with Storm Emma in 2018.

"But the cold air that was coming from Siberia - the 'Beast from the East' -was that dry, powdery snow which is not so good for making snow balls.

"If you are getting cold winds coming from across the Channel, or south easterly winds, there's not much of what we would call 'fetch' - which is the passage of air over water. If you get a wind coming from France or Belgium it has only crossed the channel and there's not much time for that air to pick up moisture from the ocean.

"Brighton is also in the warmest quarter of the UK and the Channel keeps Brighton warm too. That's a dividend all south coastal towns get, which is why they're so popular.

"When you get all of those features together, it's less likely to snow in an area like Brighton, compared with say, the north west of Scotland.

"It doesn't mean Brighton will never get snow but the odds are stacked against it because of factors of geography."

Could Sussex see any more snow this winter?

Mr Madge said: "Obviously we are still in January and never far from cold weather. But at the moment conditions do look like they're going to warm a little, with a high band of rain coming later this week.

"UK winters on average are also getting a bit warmer, which is another factor that goes against getting more snow. The difference between whether you get rain or snow can sometimes just be half a degree in temperature whether you get one or the other - so it is a forecaster's nightmare.

"We look at global weather patterns and a lot of it is driven by what happens in the tropical pacific. We are in a phase at the moment where it is a bit cooler, which means our winters can be warmer and wetter."

According to the Met Office, from Thursday through to Saturday conditions will be unsettled, with milder temperatures and heavy, prolonged periods of rainfall more likely in the south and west.

However, the long range forecast from Saturday, January 23 up to Saturday, February 6 states that "Atlantic systems are likely to track further south than normal".

Roads in Sussex during a snowstorm in 2010

The forecast says: "Through this period there is a greater than average chance of cold spells across the UK with the associated risk of wintry hazards.

"There is potential at times for significant snowfall on the boundary between milder and colder air masses, with greatest risk across central and northern areas."