Synoptic Situation at 0600 16/12/1962              next day

High, 1037mb, Azores, stationary.  Low, 966mb,  S Denmark, has moved SE and
is continuing to do so.  Ridge from Azores high to Iceland is moving E. Low
600 miles S of Greenland is moving quickly to S of Iceland and may plunge SE
rather earlier than its predecessors.  Occlusion lies from Denmark SE to E
Germany with associated cold front lying due W to near Bordeaux, and linking
with the warm front, associated with the new Atlantic low.

Weather over the British Isles:

A mild, very windy and cloudy day in most areas.  At noon, most places were
in a warm sector and temperatures were in range 12-14C in the S and Ireland,
but around 7 to 9C in parts of Scotland, but only 3C in Lerwick.  Small
amounts of rain were recorded in the S but moderate rain crossed N areas as
the cold front moved SE: Manchester 13mm, Eskdalemuir 5mm, Stornoway 12mm,
Cardiff 3mm, and Benbecula 7mm.


Minima were in range 4 to 7C over England and Wales after the cold front had
passed.  Scotland saw lower temperatures : Mull of Galloway 0C, Glasgow 3C,
Eskdalemuir 2C, Lerwick 1C, Tiree 4C, Dyce and Wick 2C.  Ireland was in the
range 3 to 7C, lowest in the far NE, Belfast 3C and Valentia 7C.  Showers
turned wintry in the far N of Scotland overnight.

Weather over the rest of Europe:

The low moving SE from Scotland brought rain/snow to parts of S Scandinavia,
and countries stretching from France to W Russia.  Some snow fell ahead of
the frontal system as it moved S and E.

Maxima: Moscow 2C, Minsk -2C, Warsaw -1C, Prague -1C,  Bucharest 2C,
Belgrade 5C,  Bern 0C, Paris and Bordeaux 12C, Nimes 6C, Madrid 9C. N
Scandinavia was in range -22 to -28C and the S around zero, Stockholm 1C and
Helsinki -1C.  Coastal Norway was -1 to -3C in E winds and Iceland was -2
to -4C in moderate N winds.

Minima: Lowest values were in N Scandinavia -12 to -26, Oslo 1C, Stockholm
0C, Helsinki -9C.  Warsaw was 0C, Berlin 5C, Paris 3C, Brussels 7C, Brest
10C, Bordeaux 12C, Madrid 1C, Nimes 12C, Venice -3C and  Belgrade 3C.

Forecast:

Gales will slowly subside and there will be sunny intervals in all areas,
with a few showers in N and W, wintry over high ground. Frost will develop
in a few places in the E before more rain and gales come in from the W
tomorrow.

Some temperatures elsewhere at 1200 GMT:

Oimyakon -46C, Murmansk -6C, SW Greenland -6C, Thule -16C, Chesterfield -33C,
Goose -24C, Gander -6C and Montreal -17C.  Over the USA the remnants of the cold
were in the E and SE: New York -9C, Washington -6C, Charleston -9C,
Pensacola -6C, but places further W were milder, Kansas 0C, Dodge City 2C and
Fort Worth 5C.  Regina -8C, Fort Smith -6C, Fairbanks -6C and Vancouver 8C.