Extreme Early December Snow Brings The Lake District To Standstill
Saturday 2nd December, the day that extreme snow brought the South and Central Lake District to a standstill. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the event by now, some of you may have even been there, caught up in the chaos. It was a day that will be remembered by many for various reasons. The question is, how did this happen, and how did so many people get caught off-guard? Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which way you look at it, I happened to be around the South Lake District that day. In this blog post, I’ll give a little insight into what happened from my perspective.
Calm Before The Storm
In the days leading up to the 2nd of December, the UK had been experiencing an “arctic blast”, as many weather outlets like to call it. Most of the UK saw bitterly cold temperatures alongside a wind chill factor that comfortably dropped temperatures below zero. The weather for the most part, aside from being cold, was beautifully pleasant. Mostly clear blue skies with the odd bit of cloud here and there. From a landscape photography perspective, enjoying some early wintry conditions was a fantastic opportunity. Towards the end of November, sharp early morning frosts provided beautiful landscape scenes and gave the first real taste of winter 2023.
Heading into December, the temperatures were pretty much consistently below zero. Around this period, lucky photographers were experiencing the first Hoar Frosts of the season. For anyone that doesn’t know, Hoar Frost is a rare type of frost that forms when water vapour in the air comes into contact with a below-zero degrees Celsius object – for example, tree branches. Hoar Frost generally forms during very calm and bitterly cold nights. Because of this, Hoar Frosts are hugely popular with landscape photographers, especially those with a passion for woodland photography. It’s fair to say that the days leading up to the 2nd of December saw a lot of activity from landscape photographers eager to capture the first winter scenes of the year.
Yellow Warnings For Snow And Ice
By the time December crept up on us, I was checking the weather forecasts regularly. I was on the lookout for the unique conditions that produce Hoar Frost. Over the years, I’ve never managed to photograph Hoar Frost. I have always either been busy or completely missed out on the opportunities. This is where I first saw the forecast for the 2nd of December, it looked perfect for Hoar Frost! As always, I used multiple sources to confirm the weather conditions. For the most part, all of the sources more or less agreed with each other, a yellow warning for snow and ice with “snow flurries” expected late afternoon. On the night of the 1st of December, I had another check of the weather, something I always like to do to ensure the forecast still stands. Once I was happy with the sanity checks, I pulled together my camera and lenses and had everything ready to go for the 4:30 am alarm I had set.
Waking up to my alarm at 4:30 am, I did the usual “why am I even awake” procedure, before dragging myself out of bed. Again, before getting dressed and loading my equipment into the car, I had one final check of the weather to see if anything changed. The weather forecast more or less read the same as it had the day before. A yellow warning was still in place for ice and snow (expected), and there were to be light snow flurries around 14:00. With this in mind, I planned to get out, enjoy the morning’s frosty conditions and get out before the snow crept in.
A Morning of Frosty Landscape Photography, Or So I Thought!
Heading into the South Lake District via Ambleside, I had decided that Elterwater and the River Brathay was my location of choice. The River Brathay is a haven for landscape photography and offers endless potential for amazing photos. Driving along the A593 at around 06:00, the roads were clear – no ice and no snow, certainly nothing that would have made you think “hang on a minute, something isn’t quite right”. I parked up near Elterwater and sat in the car for a bit, “no point going outside just yet”, I thought. It was too early, and sunrise wasn’t until after 08:00. I left the car around 07:00 and had a slow walk along the river towards what was my photography location for the morning. The path was a bit icy with remnants of snow but nothing that made the walk challenging.
Once I had arrived at the beautiful location along the River Brathay (I’ll pop a map link below for anyone wondering), I had a wander around and a quick chat with a couple of other photographers who had the same idea as myself. I’ve photographed this stretch of the river countless times in the past and was on the lookout for something more unique. Eventually, the morning progressed towards sunrise. We saw a subtle and short-lived burst of colour in the form of pink and orange hues, but that was about it. I grabbed a few photographs, but nothing too special. This is when things got interesting.
Unexpected Snowfall In the Lake District!
Shortly after sunrise, it felt as if the temperature had increased slightly. It felt noticeably warmer at least. That’s when it happened. The first few snowflakes started to fall. At this point, I was on alert but not to the point where I thought I needed to act immediately. I’m fine driving on snow, so a slight flurry at that point didn’t have me worried. I continued to look around for new and exciting compositions, hoping to make the most of the unexpected snowfall. As time progressed, the snow fell heavier and heavier. It eventually got to the point where I thought, “hang on a minute, this is not right”. I packed up my equipment and started the dash back to the car. I planned to escape the B-roads before they became impassable and make a judgment call from there.
Snow Covered Roads And Utter Chaos
After finally getting back to my car, I realised I was too late! The roads were a nightmare, cluttered with stranded drivers caught in the chaos. Unfortunately, in their panic to escape, many drivers ended up stuck in the snow. Their efforts to escape had unintentionally compacted the snow and effectively made sections of the roads an ice rink. Despite the chaos unfolding, community spirit was high. Drivers and locals pooled together and began to assist stranded drivers. Groups of 10+ people offered assistance in pushing stranded cars up problematic stretches of the road. It was around this time that I think a lot of drivers accepted their fate and made the decision to abandon their vehicles as safely as possible. I decided to leave my car as it was safely parked in a car park, and there wasn’t much point in risking an escape as it would have meant weaving between stranded vehicles. Luckily for me, I had another route home already planned so leaving my car behind wasn’t the end of the world, it was however, a significant lesson learned!
Walking along the A593 towards Ambleside and then the A591 to Windermere, the impact of the freak blizzard became apparent. In all my time driving, I have never seen so many cars abandoned due to bad weather. Cars lined the whole length of the A591, the only vehicles capable of passing the chaos were the 4x4s with winter or all-terrain tyres. By mid to late afternoon, many of the southern and central Lake District roads were deemed impassable. Police had implemented a precautionary road closure along the A591 and various roads throughout the southern and central Lake District due to unprecedented snowfall.
Beautiful Landscapes, Despite The Disruption
As it transpires, from around 10:00 to 16:00 or there about, some 10 inches of snow fell around the southern and central Lake District. Speaking to many locals along the route to Windermere, this was unprecedented. Snowfall of this level had not been seen for almost 20 years. Despite this, the surrounding landscape looked breathtaking! Everywhere you looked was sporting a dense coating of snow, trees completely transformed, and fields of green grass became unrecognisable fields of dense white snow. I managed to capture a few photographs during the blizzard-like flurries which I’ll share with you at the end of this post. It is incredible how much a landscape can change in the depths of winter.
How Did So Many People Get Caught Off-Guard?
I’ll start this discussion by saying this is my perspective based on my decisions and experiences before and during the event. I also consider the feedback from others obtained on the day.
Straight off the bat, the weather forecast. Many people, myself included, had made their decisions based on the weather information that was available to them. Unfortunately, the weather decided it didn’t want to follow that plan and threw a curve ball. I believe by midday on the 2nd of December, the forecast had been updated to an amber warning for heavy snow but by that point, it was too late. Many people had already begun their morning hikes or had ventured out to attend the various seasonal events that had been scheduled to take place around the Lake District that day.
The irony of this situation is that in my previous blog post, I discussed forecasts not always being accurate and not being afraid of trusting your instincts. “Doh!” Click here to view my previous blog post discussing weather forecasts and accuracy.
Like myself, many people I spoke to had a similar thought process. To make the most of the wintry, frosty morning across the Lake District and to escape before the snow arrived. This was another example of one of those unfortunate situations that catches you off-guard and reinforces the valuable lesson of being prepared for all situations.
My Response To Social Media Criticism – Winter Tyres
A few comments across various social media posts pointed to the fact that the volume of stranded drivers wouldn’t have happened if everyone was driving on winter tyres. Having worked in the tyre industry for 8 years, I can see an amount of validity of this. However, for a lot of hard-working families coupled with the tough economic conditions as of late, it’s just not as straightforward as simply saying get winter tyres. Winter tyres come at a cost, and for many families, it’s a cost which simply can’t be justified.
From my own experience in the field, if you are in a good position to purchase winter tyres, you should. Their performance over summer tyres in the winter is significantly better. Winter tyres don’t just perform well on snow and ice, they also excel in wet conditions by displacing a significantly higher volume of road surface water. This offers much greater protection from the chances of aquaplaning on roads that have seen significant rainfall – typical during the average British winter.
Alternatively, you can also purchase all-season tyres. Whilst all-season tyres will not outperform summer and winter tyres in their respective seasons, they will certainly outperform a summer tyre in winter and a winter tyre in summer. It is a jack of all trades, master of none type situation. The convenience of an all-season tyre also means that you do not have to switch between summer and winter tyres, nor will you have the hassle of storing tyres during their off-seasons.
Lessons Learned From the Unexpected Lake District Blizzard
In general, I would say that I have always taken care to be prepared for all possibilities. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”, as the saying goes. I had spare clothes in the car, a sleeping bag, a foil blanket and a first aid kit, so if the worst did happen, I would have been able to keep relatively warm. On every hike, I always carry essentials including a fully charged head torch, first aid kit, water, fully charged power bank, high-energy snacks and waterproof clothing. As I do a lot of walking and hiking on my own, I like to know that I have everything I need should I get into any kind of trouble.
The Weather Doesn’t Always Play Ball, Especially in the Lake District
That being said, a couple of lessons stand out. Firstly, the reminder that the weather doesn’t always play ball! This is especially true within the Lake District. The weather can be fine one minute and horrendous the next. If something doesn’t feel right or doesn’t match your expectations based on information you had at the time, take action. In my case, the minute I saw unexpected snow, I should have been more prepared to leave the location and reassess the situation rather than sticking around stubbornly.
Moisture In Phone Charging Port, A Sobering Lesson
Secondly, and perhaps the biggest eye-opener so far, my mobile phone. I’m sure we’ll all agree, an invaluable tool and an integral part of anyone’s kit especially when things go wrong. Hopefully, we never have to use our phones but in the event we do, it’s so important that they are charged and fully functioning. I had been using my phone throughout the day to keep family updated on the events and that I was okay. When my phone dropped to around 30%, I pulled out my power bank and attempted to recharge it. Nope, wasn’t having it. After taking a call in the blizzard-like conditions, I guess that I unknowingly got water in the charging port – most likely from a bit of snow that had hit my phone and melted. This meant that every time I tried to connect my phone to the power bank it wouldn’t accept it. I was presented with an error message that read something along the lines of “moisture detected in charging port” along with a water drop symbol. Now luckily I was on the ground and safe, however, I regularly hike into the mountains on my own and this has been a huge wake-up call. Had I been in a life-threatening situation high in the fells, I would have been panicking at this point. Fortunately, I wasn’t and I can act on this now to save this from occurring again in the future. As it turns out, my phone’s protective case isn’t best suited for extreme conditions. I’m now looking to purchase a more weather-sealed option, better suited to those extreme conditions – better safe than sorry!
Lake District Community Spirit Pulled Through
After a gruelling few days, the Lake District’s emergency services with the help of the local community managed to get the roads cleared of major snow and ice. This was no small feat, the sheer work involved was a logistical nightmare. Stranded and abandoned cars made it difficult for snow ploughs to clear the roads. With that said, a huge thanks go out to the Cumbrian emergency services, the mountain rescue teams, and the local community for coming together at a time of need and helping to tackle the problems caused by the heavy snow. For those that don’t know the community rallied together in many ways, most notably by offering stranded drivers safe and warm places to stay for the night. Locals alongside farmers also provided invaluable assistance clearing the roads which in turn allowed access to emergency services.
I’ll add website links to the mountain rescue pages below. These heroes cover a range of rescue and support operations and are very well-respected members of the emergency services. I highly recommend checking them out if you are not familiar with their role in providing life-saving operations throughout the Lake District.
Due to their relevance in the South and Central Lake District, you can learn more about Ambleside and Langdale Mountain Rescue here. You can also learn more about the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association and the extensive areas each team covers as well as the operations they have carried out to date.
Ending With Some Wintry Lake District Landscape Photography
I almost forgot that this is a landscape photography blog! Amongst the chaos, I did manage to capture a couple of photographs. The more I think about it, the more I realise that my camera’s weather-sealing has been well and truly tested this year! However, that’s another story!
Anyway, here are a few shots I did manage to capture from a snowy day in the Lake District. I would have loved to have spent more time looking and exploring but my focus was in the right place, safely navigating my way home.
I did manage to capture a couple more shots. However, those photographs require a small amount of editing to bring out their full potential. Keep an eye out on my Instagram profile, where I will post the finished photos once I am happy with the results. You can find my Instagram page here or by tapping the link in the footer of my website.
Closing Comments
I hope that everyone remained safe during the Lake District snow last weekend and that everyone made it home safely. I also hope that if you were in a position to do so, you enjoyed the snow and made the most of the rare occurrence.
Yesterday, I had a brief drive around Great Langdale (7th December 2023), and the roads were clear and passable. Persistent snow remained in many areas away from the road networks, a reminder of how heavily the snow fell last weekend. However, with all the rain over the next few days, I don’t think much of the snow will last. It will be a different story higher up on the taller fells, though!
I hope that you can take something away from this post. If nothing else, just appreciate the fact that something so beautiful can cause so much chaos! I learnt a thing or two, the most sobering lesson being the importance of fully functioning equipment. For now, it’s time to address my feedback and ensure that I’m as ready as I can be for unexpected events.
As always, thanks for reading if you made it this far! Enjoy the wintry conditions but most of all, stay safe out there!