February 2009 British Isles snowfall
snowfall in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in February 2009
A prolonged period of snowfall began in Great Britain and Ireland on 1 February 2009. Some areas experienced their largest snowfall levels in 18 years. Snow fell over much of Western Europe. The United Kingdom's Met Office and Ireland's Met Éireann issued severe weather warnings in anticipation of the snowfall. More than 30 centimetres (12 in) of snow fell on parts of the North Downs and over 20 cm (8 in) in parts of the London area. Such snow accumulation is uncommon in London. On the morning of 6 February the majority of Great Britain and Ireland had snow cover, with the area surrounding the Bristol Channel (South Wales: Cardiff area; and South West England: Bristol area) being most affected: 55 cm (22 in) had settled overnight around Okehampton, Devon, South West England with similar depths in South Wales. In Ireland the highest totals were recorded around East Kildare and County Wicklow where up to 28 cm (11 in) fell around Naas, County Kildare and even more along the Wicklow Mountains. The last time such widespread snowfall affected Britain was in February 1991. On the 2nd a total of 32 cm (13 in) had fallen in Leatherhead, Surrey just south of the M25.
The public source identifies “February 2009 British Isles snowfall” as snowfall in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in February 2009. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around February, British and Isles.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “February 2009 British Isles snowfall”, the useful work is to connect “snowfall in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in February 2009” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q934169. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2009 and 1991.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “February 2009 British Isles snowfall”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow February 2009 British Isles snowfall primary sources, February 2009 British Isles snowfall archive and February research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “February 2009 British Isles snowfall”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “February 2009 British Isles snowfall” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.