It’s been a brutal month weather-wise – but it’s not over yet, with snow forecast to fall in Greater Manchester today.
Winter has so far been uncharacteristically mild and we’ve not had much in the way of snow yet.
But the arrival of Storm Gladys – the UK’s fourth named storm in a fortnight – that might all change.
Yellow weather warning are in place for parts of the UK further north than us.
Despite dodging the worst of the weather warnings this time, there are snow flurries forecast in several Greater Manchester boroughs today.
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Snow in Marple Bridge in Stockport. Credit: Unsplash, Richard Pennystan
According to the Met Office, Oldham is the most likely to see some snow today, but there are glimpses of the white stuff in other boroughs too.
Here’s the borough-by-borough forecast for Thursday 24 February.
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Manchester – It’s a day of heavy showers and scattered sunshine for Manchester today, with highs of 4° and lows of 3° – but it will feel as cold as -2° into the evening.
Oldham – Oldham always seems to be the Greater Manchester borough that gets the best snow, and today is no exception – there are heavy snow showers predicted almost all day, with some potential rain at around 4pm. It might feel as cold as -5° there today.
Rochdale – It might look like snow in Rochdale today, but don’t get too excited – it’s mostly set to turn to sleet and rain as the day wears on. Heavy snow IS forecast to fall at about 7pm, but it may not stick after so much rain.
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Bury – There are heavy showers and scattered sun all over Bury, with some big downpours expected in between 7pm and 9pm.
Bolton – Bolton’s snowfall is forecast to arrive early in the day, with a heavy snow shower expected at around 11am. But it will then turn to sleet, and back to classic northern rain by the afternoon.
Wigan – Much like Bury, Wigan will be hit with some heavy rain showers throughout the day, with a few patches of sunshine in between.
Salford – There’ll be some heavy rain falling at intervals across Salford today, with temperatures feeling as cool as -3° in the evening.
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Trafford – The southern edge of Greater Manchester is looking like it won’t see much in the way of snow today – instead, it’ll be a day of sunshine and showers, with a chance of sleet around 7pm.
Stockport – There are rain showers forecast all day in Stockport, bar some potential dry spells between 5pm and 7pm, and at 8pm.
Tameside – The Met Office is predicting heavy rain showers mid-afternoon and again at around 9pm.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
News
Manchester band Westside Cowboy release ‘thrilling’ debut album that critics are calling one of the year’s best
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s best rising bands have released their debut album today to glowing reviews from critics and fans alike.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
News
UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Daisy Jackson -
24th February 2022 
