Weather

Weather

A snow-covered Beaumont Marsh in the 19th century

Jersey proudly lays claim to being Britain's sunniest and warmest place. Given it's location well to the south of the rest of the British Isles, that probably comes as no surprise, but the island is occasionally exposed to the extremes of weather that Nature can come up with, as these pictures testify. Many of these images were taken by Jersey Evening Post photographers

14th century storms - An article from the Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise looking back to storms which may have been responsible for coastal erosion in St Ouen's Bay

The Great Storm of 1987

A century of great storms

Not exactly weather, but we did not know which page to put this fascinating picture on within our existing site structure. It shows a sequence of photographs of the 1905 solar eclipse, taken in Jersey

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  Probably the earliest surviving photograph of snow in Jersey - taken by Victor Hugo or his son at their home at Greve d'Azette in about 1853
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  Another picture of the same snowfall

Video of the big freeze of 1963

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  2008 stamp issue
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Snow at L'Etacq, year unknown

Heavy snow in King Street on 1 February 1956 - Picture Evening Post

Petit Port during storm 'Ciara' in February 2020

An earlier storm sends waves crashing over the Victoria Avenue seawall

1907 snow, pictures by Albert Smith

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  Vallee des Vaux
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  Vinchelez
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  Waterworks Valley

1950s snow

Evening Post pictures of heavy snowfall in the 1950s

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1979 snow

One of the heaviest snowfalls of the 20th century brought chaos to the island in the first week of January 1979. A combination of over a foot of snow and drifting caused by strong westerly winds left the majority of roads impassable, some for several days, as snow was blown off the fields into the lower thoroughfares. These pictures were taken by Jersey Evening Post photographers.

The house on the left of this pair on Grande Route de St Laurent was owned by Jersey Evening Post staff photographer Ron Mayne, who, for obvious reasons, was unable to participate in the early coverage throughout the island. Ron was able to clear the snow from his drive after several hours hard work with a shovel, only for everything to be undone in seconds as a snowplough passed, clearing the road but depositing all the snow back in the Mayne garden.

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  Photograph by Michael Bellee

Vehicles were buried under deep snow drifts all over the island, some on private property, but many left abandoned on public roads as the snow fell

1985 snow

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Town flooding, 1967

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  York Street
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  Castle Street
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  Gloucester Street

Commuter traffic drives through slush on Victoria Avenue in 1980 - Jersey Evening Post picture

Snow drifts in Halkett Place in February 1929

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  A snow-covered St Brelade's Bay in January 1979
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  West Park in the snow
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  Rough seas in 1903
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  Tennis courts at Greve d'Azette flooded in 1961
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  First Tower, 1967
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  1906 drought leaves Millbrook Reservoir virtually empty
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  Snow carpets Vallee des Vaux in 1903
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  Vallee des Vaux
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  Snowballs at West Park in 1914
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  Skating at Beaumont in 1940
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  Skating at Beaumont in 1940
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  Skating at Beaumont in 1940
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  Flood water at West Park in a 1962 storm
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  Snow is rare at L'Etacq which is warmed by the Gulf Stream and can have rain when higher and more easterly areas of the island are under snow
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  A 1931 electrical storm captured by Albert Smith
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  Flooding at First Tower in 1899
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  First Tower, 1899
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  Ice skating on St Ouen's Pond
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  A train crosses St Aubin's Bay in the snow in 1909
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  Snow covers Snow Hill
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  Fun in Parade Gardens in 1962
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  Triangle Park snow in 1938
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  Repairs to telephone lines brought down by heavy snow in February 1962
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  Handois, 1964
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  Snow at St Helier Harbour in 1987
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  An unidentifid snow-covered lane - year unknown
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  Stormy sea
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  Snow at Hautes Croix in 1958 - Picture Evening Post
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  St Ouen's Pond 1963 - Picture Evening Post

Skating on Beaumont Marsh in 1891

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  A heavy snowfall at Mont à l'Abbé
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  A snow-covered Town Church
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  Queen's Valley covered in snow
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  Jersey was caught by the tail end of a hurricane in 1987, and the strength of the wind and unusualy southerly direction caused widespread damage to trees and properties
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  The aftermath of the 1987 storm
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  1987
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  1987 - Route Orange
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  Route Orange fallen tree clearance in November 1987
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  November 1987
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  November 1987
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  Ice on the water's edge at La Haule in 1963
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  Strolling along the frozen water's edge at La Haule in 1963
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  Flooding at the bottom of the street on a high tide in stormy weather on 11 January 1962
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  Snow at Snow Hill
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  Snow in the Parade
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  1985

Flooding in Grands Vaux in 1936 - picture Evening Post

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  Storm damage in the Parade
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  1963
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  Heavy snowfall at St Lawrence Church
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  Snow at Hamptonne, St Lawrence
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  Snow in the Parade gardens
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  Snow at Grouville - picture by Giles Bois
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  Snow at Vinchelez
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  A rough sea in St Aubin's Bay in 1904
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  Sandbags at the junction of the Esplanade and Castle Street before a high tide and storm on 5 October 1963
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  Government House sentries photographed by Albert Smith in 1900
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  Snow covers the Lower Park in 1900
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  People's Park photographed by Percival Dunham in 1914

Skating at Beaumont in 1940

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  Snow in St Aubin's Bay, picture by Giles Bois
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  Snow at Grouville - picture by Giles Bois
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  Clearing snow from the Airport forecourt in 1962
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  Cutting up fallen trees in the Parade after a storm
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  The summer of 1977 was nowhere near as hot as the previous year, but there were still plenty of opportunities to soak up the sun - picture Jersey Evening Post
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  1987
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  1987
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  Flooding at St Aubin in 1983- Picture by Jersey Evening Post
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  Snow covers West Park in 1963... This picture probably taken by an Evening Post photographer, shows Peter Judge and his sister ...
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  ... and Waterworks Valley
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  Snow in the Royal Square in 2018
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  Aquila Road under snow
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  Storm damage to the Esplanade seawall in 2008
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  1979 at Les Quennevais
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  Frozen market fountain
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  Vinchelez
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  Government House sentries
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  Government House

Snow falls in King Street in 1956

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  Horseshoe Quarry
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  St Aubin's Bay
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  West Park Pavilion
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  Rought seas batter the Esplanade
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  Waterworks Valley
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  Waterworks Valley
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  Waterworks Valley
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  Waterworks Valley
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  Horseshoe Quarry
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  Parade1901
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  St Saviour's Road
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  Victoria Avenue
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  Waverley Terrace
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  Mont Misere
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  Royal Square
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  Royal Square in 1963
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  Snow in 1968 - a Jersey Evening Post photograph
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  Bath Stret, 1962
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  Bouley Bay, 1958
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  Parade
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  Royal Square
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  Royal Square
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  St Brelade's School playground covered in snow - date unknown

Fallen trees block Don Road after the great storm of 1987

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  St Lawrence after a heavy snowfall
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  Ice on the beach in 1947
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  Howard Davis Park in 1958
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  Le Coin, St Lawrence in 1958
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  People's Park covered in snow
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  November snow in 1980, the earliest recorded snow of any winter
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  The Parade, 1960
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  Queen Street, 1963
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  Snow Hill, 1963
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  The bed of St Aubin's Harbour frozen in 1963
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  St Ouen's Manor, 1947
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  St Ouen's Manor, 1947
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  St Ouen's Parish Hall, 1962
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  Victoria College in the snow in 1963
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  Snow covered Waverley Terrace in 1961
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  Snow in St Peter's Valley in 1976
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  Victoria Avenue flooded at high tide on a stormy day in January 1962
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  Godfray's Stores at St Peter in December 1964
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  Snow at Beaumont in 1979 ...
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  ... driven by strong winds

Snow at St Peter in 1964

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  Postmen in the snow in 2013
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  Hurricane damage at La Rocque in 1976
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  Snow in Aquila Road in 1973
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  A train passes across a snow-covered St Aubin's Bay
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  Flash flooding at Longueville - date unknown
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  Longueville
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  Snow at Les Quennevais in 1979
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  Clearing snow from the Jersey Eastern Railway track at Pontorson Lane halt. Year unknown
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  Waverley Terrace, St Saviour's Road, in the snow
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  Flooding at St Clement in the 1950s
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  Snow at the Airport
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  Snow in St Peter
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  Snowdrifts in Beresford Street in 1929
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  The pump on St Aubin's Hill froze in 1939
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  Ice on the St Aubin harbour bed in 1963
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  A 20th century storm shatters the seawall on Victoria Avenue, not for the first or the last time

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  Grouville under snow on 9 January 2024, photographed from his drone by Paul Lakeman.
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  Snow covers the Parade in 1963

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  Snow covers St Saviour's Road gardens on 12 February 1929
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  2013
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  Liberation Square 2013
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  West's Centre in 2013
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  Maupertuis Lane covered in snow in the 1960s
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  A snow-covered St Lawrence lane
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  Snow covers the Weighbridge in the late 1970s or early '80s
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  Waves breaking over the seawall along the Esplanade. This picture could have been taken in any winter in the last 150 years
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  Snow covers The Elms, St Mary, headquarters of the National Trust for Jersey
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  Snow at Havre des Pas in the 1990s
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  Snow at Havre des Pas
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  St Ouen's Pond frozen in 1963
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  A 19th century albumen print
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  From a family album - a wet beach airport in the mid-1930s: note the snow-covered Elizabeth Castle
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  Snow cover over Rouge Bouillon
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  1958
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  1958
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  1974 storm - picture by Reg Cridland
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  Handois reservoir, 1963
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  King Street in 1979 - Picture by Andre Ferrari from Facebook
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  Waterfront path in 2013
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  Corbiere
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  Trinity Main Road, 1962
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  St Ouen's Parish Hall, 1962
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  Victoria Avenue, 1962
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  North coast 1963
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  Country lane 1963
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  New North Road 1964

Snow covers the north coast at Giffard Bay

1976 heatwave

The summer of 1976 was one of the longest and hottest on record. These pictures were taken around the island beaches by Jersey Evening Post photographers during the heatwave

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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Brelade's Bay
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  St Aubin's Bay
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  St Aubin's Bay
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  St Aubin's Bay
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  Havre des Pas
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  Havre des Pas
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  One result of the heatwave and accompanying drought was empty reservoirs

Spring bank holiday 1977

Jersey Evening Post photographs of spring bank holiday in 1977

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1978 - two years after the long, hot summer, snow carpeted the island - Pictures by Jersey Evening Post

Gorey

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2013 - One of the heaviest snowfalls Jersey has experienced was in March 2013, when strong winds created deep drifts after snow fell for several hours

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1917 big freeze

It takes an extraordinary spell of cold weather for the edge of the sea to freeze in Jersey, leaving behind a blanket of ice which grows thicker at subsequent high waters. This set of photographs dates from 1917. They are part of the Ken and Kathleen Le Sueur Collection, which is held at Jersey Archive

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  La Haule
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  La Haule
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  Beaumont Common
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  Beaumont Common
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  Beaumont Common
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  Beaumont Common
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  Beaumont Common
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  Location unknown