Winter Looking Wonky :-(

Looks like bad news for anyone hoping for a snowy, crisp, wintery, erm, winter. If the weather forecasters are to be believed we're in for more dull, mildish weather over the next month or so.

Metcheck says that 'the general lack of cold and snow across the UK is remarkable so far this winter with some places recording only two or three days with an actual air frost and minimum temperatures barely below freezing.'

They say that a large low pressure area in and around Iceland - the country not the frozen food store - has created something called a 'zonal flow' which causes low pressure to flow into the UK creating 'generally mild and very wet weather'.

What's more we can expect at least two more weeks of the miserable mildness they say.

Patchy snow cover on the Ben in June - Steven Horner from his OM album

Meanwhile the Met Ofice has just issued its January update to the Winter 2006/07 forecast first released in December. It's slightly more encouraging for winter mountaineering fiends, but the forecast is for average or above average temperatures albeit with the possibility of a 'number of cold snaps with some snowfall, later in January and at times through February'.

So far, their statistics show, temperatures have stayed mostly above average albeit with a short sharp interval of colder conditions just before Christmas. The forecast is for average or above average precipitation over the winter months as well...

Over at the Scottish Avalanche Information Service avalanche forecasts are up and running for the winter, there's a bit of promise in today's forecast - Thursday that is - with things getting colder after a mild, damp Wednesday. Let's cross our fingers for some snow dumps and a bit of a freeze thaw cycle...

So, not great if you want to polish up your axe and crampons. Then again, who trusts weather forecasts anyway...