I suppose snow has to thaw sometime though I'd be happy if it stayed around until at least March!
There was a full cover upto the 15th January but heavy rain and wind started a proper thaw. This is the scene on the gloomy morning of 16th Jan looking from Mossley across to the hills of Saddleworth.
Quickedge Road, Mossley. There may be a thaw but those drifts will take some shifting.
The evening of 16 January was very foggy, damp and grim with the piles of snow now all filthy and pavements slippery ice and wet slush.
A view from Grasscroft past Wharmton on the left to the moors above Dovestone, 17 January 2010. The hills still had wide areas of deep snow where it had drifted along the edges and filled in hollows.
I was out on my bike that day planning on riding some of the lanes and bridlepaths, but the drifted snow which had vacated the fields seemed to have other ideas for me!
This is the track along Harrop Edge above Diggle, completely impassable under soft, wet deep snow.
So I cycled up Standege on the A62 which was clear though with deep snow at the edges, note the car bottom right which obviously had not been used for some time.
On the bridlepath above Diggle, thwarted again!