2016 winter travels Q&A with Limpeh

Hi guys. I have been talking a lot about my family's visit to London in late November and my sister is rather concerned about knowing what to pack for the weather. The fact is, it could be anything from -5 to 20 degrees when she arrives, such is the range of temperatures one could expect for that time of the year. We currently have a cold snap with temperatures hitting zero at night but that is set to end by the end of next week with temperatures soaring again - yes the temperature can vary week to week and there simply isn't a linear progression of temperatures getting cold and colder towards the end of the year and gradually warming once you get past new year's day. But having discussed the issue of winter weather with my sister as she wants to know what to pack for herself and her son, hence let me run through a few issues that we have discussed when it comes to winter weather. It is time for another winter wear FAQ.

Yes it can get quite cold in London sometimes. But rarely.

"What determines the weather during a British winter then?" 

The key factor that determines how cold or warm it is depends on the wind direction. In the UK, if we get a blast of wind from the north, temperatures fall. If it comes from the south, temperatures rise. And if we get a blast from the west (where the Atlantic Ocean is), we usually get rain. Once in a while, when we get a blast of wind from the east, that's when we get snow if it is cold enough. The wind is most often from the west, so you're most likely to encounter wet and mild weather during the winter here, so make sure you pack the appropriate clothing for rainy weather.

"I am lousy with cold weather."

We are not expecting you to walk around in shorts and T-shirt when it is very cold - in cold countries, people wear whatever they have to wear in order to stay warm. Often, visitors make silly mistakes when they make wrongful assumptions about what to wear. This Venezuelan woman from Caracas once said to me, "I don't need to wear a hat as my long hair keeps my head warm." Good grief, human hair doesn't have that function at all. The fact is she was too vain to wear a hat as she was afraid it would mess up her hair - once the temperature falls below 10 degrees, it is advisable to wear a hat to keep your head warm whether you are bald or have long hair. People who end up shivering in the cold usually only have themselves to blame for not dressing appropriately (ref: the lady from Venezuela with long hair) for the weather - as long as you have the right kind of winter clothing, there is no reason why you should experience any discomfort even in very cold weather. Problems only occur when people have the wrong information - that Venezuelan woman felt feeling very cold despite the fact that she had wrapped up in many layers but her head was unprotected and exposed. So our Venezuelan friend wasn't lousy with the cold, she just needed to wear a hat!

Do you have everything you need for a cold winter?

"Are the night-time temperatures a lot colder than during the day?"

Good question. It varies and is dependent on cloud cover. When you have clear days, it can get warm if you have a few continuous hours of bright sunshine but the moment the sun sets, the heat escapes rapidly and it can fall below zero very quickly. So it is not uncommon to have highs of up to 10 or even 12 degrees on these clear days followed by a sharp night time frost of up to -5 degree at night: that's a huge range in temperatures. The complete opposite can happen on cloudy, rainy days. The days don't really get warm because the cloud cover prevents the sun's rays from warming up the ground, but at night, the same cloud cover functions as a thick, warm, fluffy blanket, covering the ground and preventing any heat from escaping, thus any drop in night time temperature will be minimal and on such days, you'll probably have highs of 8 degrees and lows of 6 or 7 degrees - the range will be that small.

"Will I be able to sleep when it is very cold?"

That's what a good duvet is for. If you're staying at a classy hotel then just whack the heating up to the max as you're not paying the heating bills. But locals like me do have to pay for our heating - the bigger your house, the more expensive your heating bills will be. If you live in a big house, trying to keep your house at a constant 25 degrees throughout the entire winter will be ridiculously expensive. There is a sensible compromise solution many Brits have adopted. The heating is then turned on for two periods a day; during the morning, when you get out of bed and have breakfast. It then goes off for the rest of the day when you're out of the house (presumably whilst the kids are at school and the adults are at work) and then the heating comes back on during the evening hours when you all come home and have dinner together. It then goes off when you go to sleep and you can set for that to be your bedtime.

Oh the comfort of a good duvet...

So yes, if you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, the house will feel frightfully cold at say three or four in the morning - but that's when you create your own micro-climate under your duvet.The duvet will trap your body heat in the small pocket of air between the duvet and the mattress - that pocket of air will be warmed by your body heat and even if the rest of the room falls to say 16 degrees, the pocket of air under your duvet will be cozy and very warm: the actual temperature of that pocket of air will vary depending on the position of your duvet and how thick it is (duvets are measured in terms of their tog ratings). I only use duvets when the temperature at night falls close to zero degrees - otherwise it will be way too warm for me and I would use a lighter blanket instead. Duvets are not that expensive and investing in a good duvet is a lot more economical than spending thousands on your heating bill.

"Will the weather affect my plans in London?" 

Well, there will be winter days which are grey, wet and dreary. It is not much fun trying to go out sightseeing when it is constantly raining. But also, the days are shorter in winter - the sun rises at about 7 am but sets by about 4 pm. When you're on holiday, you may wish to take it easy over a nice breakfast, have an extra cup of coffee but that could mean losing precious hours of sunlight every hour after 7 am you linger over breakfast or stay in bed. So the short daylight hours are probably the biggest shock to the system for those of you coming from somewhere like Singapore - imagine if you had a lazy morning with a big breakfast, then you went somewhere indoors like a museum or a shopping center and it was quite a dreary, grey day, Before you know it, you look out of the window and it is already night again: that's when you think, hang on, I didn't see any daylight today, did I? That's why people get S.A.D. during the winter months here. Mind you, if you think it is bad here in London, I visited Iceland in December and I barely have any memories of seeing Iceland in the daylight as we had less than 4 hours of daylight a day there. Damn, that was depressing I swear.

London is magical in the snow!

"Will my feet/hands/head get cold?"

Not if you protect them properly. Your greatest enemy is the rain - think about it, you wear gloves and shoes to keep your hands and feet warm, but what if your gloves and shoes got wet? The very thing keeping your hands and feet warm would start making them extremely cold and uncomfortable. Now you can try your best to get waterproof gloves and shoes to ensure that your hands and feet will stay warm and dry even during a rainstorm, but there's also a matter of planning your schedule wisely. If you see heavy rain forecast, would you choose to visit Hyde Park in that weather? No, you're better off choosing an indoor activity if it is going to rain very heavily. I have had my shoes totally soaked by the heavy rain before and it was a terrible experience.

"Will I fall ill?"

It depends on how well you treat yourself on holiday - cold weather itself will not make you fall ill as long as you dress appropriately for the weather. However, the most common reason to make people fall ill when traveling is the lack of rest. A combination of jet lag plus sleeping in an unfamiliar environment can leave many travelers sleep deprived even if they are staying somewhere quite nice. Likewise, many people end up eating poorly when on holiday because their body clock is all messed up from the jet lag and they may end up missing meals - if you suddenly feel hungry say at 4 pm, you'll end up grabbing a snack like a chocolate muffin whilst you're at a museum or a art gallery. You may feel like having more than just a chocolate muffin (which let's face is, is hardly the most nourishing snack) but if you're traveling with a group of people, you may not want to inconvenience them by stopping for a meal then. Poor nutrition whilst traveling can also make you more susceptible to illnesses: make sure you're good to your body: eat well and rest well.

As long as you are dressed appropriately, you don't need to fear winter.

Will it snow? What will it take for it to snow? 

Snow is highly unlikely at the end of November. It has snowed before as early as October and as late as May, but the following factors will need to happen before it can snow properly. Firstly, the ground needs to be at or below freezing point, actually all that would take is a clear night and temperatures could easily fall to below zero. But the problem with the clear nights is that there are no clouds in the sky and for snow to fall you need clouds. So the classic scenario is for the wind to change direction just before the sun rises to bring a lot of clouds in from the east or the west after a really cold night. When the clouds move over very cold ground, any precipitation they release would fall as snow or hail and not rain. If this happens when the ground and air temperature is above zero, the snow would melt very rapidly. For proper snow to accumulate, this all needs to happen below zero degrees. So an ideal combination would be for there to be clear nights for the temperature to drop like a stone overnight and plenty of clouds during the day to prevent the temperature from rising. This is usually a rare combination - in places like Toronto or Moscow, snow will happen regularly and heavily, but London is one of those places where snow happens once or twice every winter if the conditions are just right. Never say never, but it is still very unlikely.

What if I forget to bring something like a hat or gloves? 

It's no big deal. You can always buy anything you forget - that's what shops are for. You're only going to suffer from frost bite or some other serious damage if you're caught without gloves at freezing temperatures below 0 degrees for an extended period but say you arrive in London, it is 5 degrees and you realize you forgot your gloves, your hands will experience some discomfort, you'll probably keep them in your pockets to keep them warm but that's really it. There's a huge difference between experiencing some discomfort and your body actually getting damaged by the cold weather. Everyone experiences a small degree of discomfort from time to time with the weather - even Singaporeans experience that when they have to walk anyway during daylight hours as it is too bloody hot, but you will have enough time to react should you realize that there's something wrong and you can do something about it before any real damage is done. Discomfort may be, well, uncomfortable of course, but at the end of the day, no damage is done.

A frozen canal in London during winter

Is it cheaper to get winter wear in Singapore or London?

London, definitely, hands down London wins in the lelong-lelong department. Given how strong the Singapore dollar is against the pound, the exchange rate currently in your favour. Besides, in Singapore, poor people don't need winter clothing - it is considered a luxury item for very rich people who can afford to take fancy holidays. So retailers price it as such, even the most basic items are not cheap because they know their clients are rich. However in London, even very poor people need winter clothing so there are shops and markets which do cater for the lower end of the market. So yes, there are definitely places where you can get great bargains for winter clothing in London, especially at the end of winter when they are desperate to shift the stock. Whereas in Singapore, they don't have the incentive to do that because in June, it's winter in the southern hemisphere, plenty of Singaporeans go to Australia and New Zealand. Then of course, in December, it's winter in the northern hemisphere. It's always cold somewhere. 

So that's it from me on this issue - if you have any other questions about winter wear or traveling to cold countries this winter, feel free to leave a comment below and let's talk about it, okay? Have holidays and many thanks for reading.