The southern parts of the United Kingdom were hit by a severe blizzard from 17 to 20 January 1881.
On 17 January 1881, a low pressure system rapidly developed in the English Channel. The snowfalls began on the 17th in the southwest and as the system deepened as it moved through the Channel, a gale force easterly developed over southern parts with heavy blizzards and drifting snow. The blizzard paralysed all transport, communication, trade and industries. Hundreds of miles of rail track were blocked by drifting snow, dozens of feet high in places. Even in central London, there were 3-foot drifts in places. Around 100 people are believed to have died as a result of the blizzard. The storm was accompanied by extreme cold.
Temperatures The severity of the frosts was remarkable and they were probably second only to those that occurred during February 1895 in intensity and length. The Central England temperature for the period of 8th to 27th was −4.4 °C.
Note that, due to non-standard exposures, many of the contemporary reported temperatures are no longer accepted by the Meteorological Office.Top ten recorded temperatures in the UK Retrieved 3 December 2017 Other low minima. Location Date Temperature Aberdeen 17 Jan −15.6 °C Banbury 20 Jan −15 °C Barnstaple 22 Jan −14.4 °C Bodmin 26 Jan −13.3 °C Braemar 17 Jan −20 °C Camden Square −11.2 °C Cork 15 Jan −13.3 °C Galway 17 Jan −10.6 °C Hitchin 20 Jan −15 °C Llandudno 26 Jan −9.7 °C Derry 22 Jan −10 °C Manchester 17 Jan −12.2 °C 26 Jan Norwich 26 Jan −17.2 °C Omagh 23 Jan −19.4 °C Skipton 25 Jan −18.9 °C Waterford 17 Jan −12 °C
At Orleton, the maximum never got above −7.0 °C on the 25th. Rivers in the area had frozen over by the 15th.
Boston: 15 days the mean temp was −6.1 °C, 6.5 inches thick ice on river.
Haverfordwest: River Cleddan frozen over. A maximum of −7.8 °C on the 20th.
Killaloe: Large part of Lough Derg frozen over.
An aurora was widely seen over the UK on the 31st.
Reports from counties of snow depths
From the Wirral to just north of Flamborough Head northwards, no snow fell from this storm although there was a deep cover of snow over a wide area. For instance, parts of the Lancashire plain had a general cover of 6 inches. +CountySnow/inchesNotesNorfolk9Suffolk2-72-3 inches along the coast up to 7 inches in westEssex6-9Cambridgeshire7Bedfordshire710 foot driftsHuntingdonshire5-8Northamptonshire6SW of county 12 inchesOxfordshire12-13Buckinghamshire12Hertfordshire6-9London/Middlesex9Snow started falling around 9 am on the 18th and lasted until about midday on the 19th. It was accompanied by a violent gale.Kent3-73 to 4 inches along coast, 4-6 inches inland, 7 inches nearer London. 14 feet drifts on the Isle of Thanet.Sussex7-247-8 inches to the north. 24 inches at Worthing, 18 inches at Brighton, 12 inches at St Leonard's, 9 to 12 inches at LittlehamptonIsle of Wight and south Hampshire18-34A staggering 34 inches in two falls at Newport on Isle of Wight. St Lawrence with 22 inches, Osborne and Ventnor with 18 inches and 24 inches at Ryde. Many roads were filled with snow up to halfway on lamp-posts. 12 feet drifts at Cowes. A hall collapsed at Portsmouth due to weight of snowBerkshire9-15Ranging from 9 inches to east up to 15 inches in westWiltshire6-366 inches at Calne, 36 inches at Warminster. 12 feet drifts.Dorset12-2012-14 inches inland, 18 to 20 inches along coastDevonshire12-1412 to 14 inches generally, 3 feet over Dartmoor. 15 feet drifts.Cornwall7-1212 inches in far east, 7 inches generally.Somerset8-1312 to 13 inches in the south and east, 8 to 10 inches in west and northGloucestershire6-109 to 10 inches in south, 6 to 7 inches in north. 7 to 10 feet drifts.Herefordshire6-1110 to 11 inches in south, 6 inches in the north.Shropshire3-53 inches in the north, 5 inches in the south.Staffordshire1-4Worcestershire5-6Warwickshire4-124 inches in north, 7 to 8 inches over central parts, 12 inches in SE of county.Leicestershire66 foot driftsLincolnshire6-7South Wales6-9About 6 inches with 9 inches around Monmouthshire.Radnorshire15Denbighshire6
Specific towns and cities reports
+CitySnow/InchesAndover12Basingstoke4Barnstaple36Dorchester36Exeter12Fareham30Guildford8Havant36Lidford15Okehampton36Plymouth18Portsmouth30Ringwood36Salisbury9Southampton12Tottenham8
References
Symons's Meteorological Magazine of 1881