This winter since the turn of the year has been remarkably snowy for locations above 500m. Which, in the UK, means few of us would have noticed.

A pattern of predominant SE’ly winds feels like it has been locked in for weeks and has brought endless rain to many parts of the country. And much snowfall, particularly above 500m.

The Scottish Highlands have been the main beneficiary. And, looking at data on the RoostWeather site, there has been quite a sharp gradient in the decrease of mean temperature. Epic snow drifts on NW facing slopes have resulted in large avalanches. One frequent visitor to the Cairngorms said it is the deepest snow he has seen in 60 years.

A look at the map below reveals thus.