BALMY BRIGG WEATHER: MILD NOW BUT WE'VE SUFFERED HEAVY SNOW IN PAST NOVEMBERS

Many people in Brigg will have seen weather forecasts suggesting the temperature may reach the upper 50s or even 60F in parts of our region today, which is very mild for mid-November. However, there's nothing as fickle as the 'great British weather.
We recall that 10 years ago, November 2010 proved to be unusually cold with some prolonged snow.
The initial fall came on November 24; however, November 30 saw heavy and prolonged spells of the white stuff.
We were doing Tuesday shifts at the Hull Daily Mail back then, and by early afternoon with the city experiencing significant falls we were ordered home.
Driving conditions along the A15, heading south from the Humber Bridge towards Barnetby were difficult.
We made it back to Brigg by late afternoon, but by early evening a section of the M180 had to be closed to traffic and it was diverted through Wrawby, Brigg, Scawby Brook and Castlethorpe.
Due to traffic congestion, it took us a considerable time to drive from St Helen's Road to Simon Ho's eatery on Bridge Street to pick up a takeaway, and even longer to get home again.
We parked up near Spring's Parade to walk over the County Bridge to Simon's place and took the above picture of the Market Place during a heavy snow shower. The Dickensian-type image was later used to decorate Brigg Town Council's civic Christmas card - at the request of the Town Mayor!
Now living in Brigg but then a resident of Wrawby, Ken Harrison told Brigg Blog on November 30, 2010: "Traffic about Brigg tonight was horrendous! For some time between late afternoon and early evening, Brigg became an isolated island; Mortal Ash Hill was closed with a jack-knifed HGV, while the roads around Barnetby Top were closed owing to accidents. To worsen the already precarious situation,vehicles were unable to get up Wrawby hill. Indeed, 3 'artics' were abandoned at Brigg Road End.
"One lady in Tesco (at 7pm) said it had taken her about 2 hours to travel from the far end of Wrawby. Meanwhile, the tail-back of traffic along the A18 was stacked up along Barnard Ave.
"When I left Brigg to travel home to Wrawby, at 8pm, it took me about an hour; cars formed an orderly jam outside the Rec.. while drivers exchanged greetings, and wondered about the road to break the boredom.
"When I got to Wrawby, the snow had drifted to the extent I was knee-deep in fresh snow. The car was left on the main road - deliberately facing downhill."
Ken said of Brigg Market Place that evening: "The trees were coated in a ghostly white, while the bandstand wore a white, neat bonnet. Drifting created symetrically contrasting black and white bollards. The landscape appeared to have been delicately sculptured in fine filgree lace - enhanced by reflective sparkling from the street lighting. It was surreal, Nige."
However, within living memory the 'record' for the earliest November snowfall belongs to 1971 when heavy snow fell on Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20,
Yet, in those times, there was no thought of cancelling a school football match we played in during the afternoon at Brigg Grammar School, on the grass pitch nearest to the High School.
The next morning we set off to York to watch Grimsby Town play in an FA Cup first round tie, which they lost. We were open to the elements at Bootham Crescent (not in a covered stand) and it was cold and bleak. Worse than that, the Mariners lost. However, they followed a great football tradition and concentrated on the league, going on to lift the Division Four title the following May.
The pictures seen here were taken in November 2010 - some by Brigg Blog, others by the Rev Alec Depledge, then a town resident and councillor. 

Weather patterns are often said to repeat themselves. Hopefully not this month, though; we could well do without the snowfalls of late November 2010
 and 1971!