Stormy Weather

[gurnemanz]

This morning here in North Wiltshire I decided to take my bike to our weekly market for fish and fresh veg and was attacked by a raging blizzard which stopped as soon as I got back home again, but I got a lovely big sea bass for the two of us (which I am about to cook) + red cabbage, broccoli and a serious bunch of soil-coated carrots.

PS

Not necessarily! I don't have an outside thermometer, I take it from our local weather monitoring station which operates a wired Davis Vantage Pro (S-A will know what that is!) It's updated every 5 mins online, showing a temp of 4.1 at the moment. There's snow on the top of the Mountains which looked very pretty in the sunshine this morning. Now it's sleety rain, SW wind 3mph but brighter on the horizon.

An indoor/outdoor thermometer is quite handy. I bought this one earlier this year. It works well and appears to be accurate. It has to be near a window through which you can put the wire to the outdoor sensor in a spot where the sun doesn't shine (no wisecracks, please.)

http://www.bloomingdirect.com/products/Digital-Thermometer.html

[salymap]

I hope you both enjoyed your sea bass Gurnemanz.Fresh fish is very hard to come by where I live.
I remember the days when a little van parked by the local shops twice a week and freshly caught fish from Hastings was on sale. A fairly short journey to where I live but,alas,no more.

Weather about to go mad apparently. Fingers crossed, and batten all hatches.

[BBMmk2]

What amixed bag of weather weare having at the moment!! We could be getting 5cms of snow tomorrow!

[Serial_Apologist]

What amixed bag of weather weare having at the moment!! We could be getting 5cms of snow tomorrow!

It will probably depend how high one is above sea level whether or not any snow settles. The general rule is a temperature drop of 1 degree Fahrenheit for every 100 metres' ascent. I haven't seen any studies done on this, and I expect the Eskimos are the best experts, but from personal observation it seems very hard for snow to actually settle at above 1 degree Celsius; it can only happen if the rate of acumulation exceeds the rate of melting, i.e. depending on the volume of snow falling. And then there are questions such as the temperature of surfaces onto which snow is falling. Surfaces previously wet by rain falling at above freezing point - as is likely to be the case tomorrow - are likely to lessen the chances of snow settling.

Just thought you all might like to know...

[Anna]

Thank you S-A, that's interesting. I've just seen The Met Office have put an Orange - Be Prepared blob right over me! for snow and travel disruption in the morning! But it's been mild today, 6.8 at present (was 7.7) and sunny so not unpleasant (hardly any wind to chill it down) and everywhere is saturated so snow is likely to melt. I hope.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thank you S-A, that's interesting. I've just seen The Met Office have put an Orange - Be Prepared blob right over me! for snow and travel disruption in the morning! But it's been mild today, 6.8 at present (was 7.7) and sunny so not unpleasant (hardly any wind to chill it down) and everywhere is saturated so snow is likely to melt. I hope.

Snow use worrying about it...

[Serial_Apologist]

Snow use worrying about it...

(I'll probably be SLEIGHED for that one!)

[Anna]

Snow use worrying about it...

No, you are right. No point in worrying, what happens, happens. I've been snowed in a few times (4 days last year) but I have a store cupboard of essentials, as long as the electricity doesn't go off (I really must buy a new torch, I cannot find mine), it's really not such a problem, quite nice really, all that brightness reflecting in and children sledging and building snowmen.

I'm more worried by the fact I've just realised it's Christmas next Sunday and I haven't done any preparation except posting my cards. I haven't even written to Santa yet!

[Serial_Apologist]

No, you are right. No point in worrying, what happens, happens. I've been snowed in a few times (4 days last year) but I have a store cupboard of essentials, as long as the electricity doesn't go off (I really must buy a new torch, I cannot find mine), it's really not such a problem, quite nice really, all that brightness reflecting in and children sledging and building snowmen.

I'm more worried by the fact I've just realised it's Christmas next Sunday and I haven't done any preparation except posting my cards. I haven't even written to Santa yet!

No one seems in any hurry this year. On a telly phone-in this morning all the callers were saying "Best to ignore all the ads"! At lunchtime I couldn't but notice the half-empty Sainsburys which, last year and every year, was packed with early hoarders by this stage in the preparations. We're talking a relatively prosperous, if not exactly posh district of S London. Even had to ask directions to the Xmas puds!

[mangerton]

Snow use worrying about it...

You're right, SA. I worry more about the fog, but I always think that if it goes away, it won't be missed.

Left work at 4.30 this evening, went to the car park and found my (everyone's!) car covered in thick ice, which took a lot of removing. Insides of the windows too. It had been a lovely sunny day, which always gives problems after dark.

[salymap]

Cold and very wet here but no snow so far.

Did 'they' over-react or is there worse to come S-A ?

[ahinton]

There's been a little snow on the Black Mountains (which arguably defeats the object of calling them that) but little elsewhere, although a snow shower has just commenced here. The wind, however, has mercifully dropped below force 2, which is a major event around these parts and, according to the forecast on my iPhone, the temperature is due to rise daily, regaining double figures again by around the middle of next week.

[Serial_Apologist]

Cold and very wet here but no snow so far.

Did 'they' over-react or is there worse to come S-A ?

No snow where you are, saly? Must be because we're more elevated here! Apparently Bucks got a bit of a hammering - watch out on lunchtime news. Anyway it's clearing now, and no, I don't expect much more to come here in the SE.

[greenilex]

I do hope we've seen the last of downpours for a short while at least....this morning I've had the roofer fixing my errant downpipe and I'm confident the rainwater will no longer be directed straight through my boiler.

In fact it's downright sunny just now.

[Anna]

My side of The Black Mountains are glistening white with snow, looks lovely. Plenty here on surrounding fields and hills but none in town, cars coming in with thick snow on roofs. At the moment it's 5 degrees, moderate warning of possible blizzards later up in the Beacons but as mentioned above temperatues due to be considerably higher from Monday onwards.