Stormy Weather

[Anna]

It hasn't stopped raining hard here all day and it never got light at all. This is an awful winter and I'm sick of it already. So there. Cousins coming on early Xmas visit from Devon tomorrow I hope.

saly, as I type I notice the gritters out so early ..... oh joy! Icy conditions promised. God Bless the Council!
S_A, I'm just a bit nervous about setting, first bit of semi-scientific kit I've had, but I suppose it's like a computer, you can't kill it except by spilling coffee all over it or putting it by the front door?

[JFLL]

JFLL, sorry your Mother lives on the Welsh borders, but some of us have to dwell in Bandit Country!!

Don't get me wrong, Anna, it's the most wonderful place under the sun! (Just a pity it often seems to be under the clouds .)

[BBMmk2]

I think my ancestors may have invaded this country!!

Today has been mainly dry with some showers.

[mangerton]

saly, as I type I notice the gritters out so early ..... oh joy! Icy conditions promised. God Bless the Council!
S_A, I'm just a bit nervous about setting, first bit of semi-scientific kit I've had, but I suppose it's like a computer, you can't kill it except by spilling coffee all over it or putting it by the front door?

Well, we had the gritters out here a couple of weeks ago; I think I mentioned it here at the time. We've been very fortunate in this part of the country weatherwise. I've been listening to the news and weather reports - dreadful. I feel very sorry for those caught up in all this.

Anna, good luck with your barometer. It should be fine by the front door, or even the back door. I remember seeing the works of one at school, and they are quite robust. Still, tap it with your finger; don't hit it with a hammer.

[Nick Armstrong]

Anna, good luck with your barometer. It should be fine by the front door, or even the back door. I remember seeing the works of one at school, and they are quite robust. Still, tap it with your finger; don't hit it with a hammer.

Looking forward to barometer-based weather wisdom from Wales from now on...

[Petrushka]

Petrushka, my first reaction is to wonder where on earth you live! - I know it's within striking distance of the Proms but involves overnight accommodation The weather patterns this year have been truly exceptional - with the exception of a lovely (but short) spell in May, it's been exceptionally wet since April. You may be slightly less aware of this in the SE quadrant of the country.

Water levels have been unseasonally high all summer. In fact we've had a run of poor summers since 2008, so what used to be exceptional is fast becoming normal. Any farmer, or anyone involved with lake or flood plain management will confrm this. Flood plains which used to be dry in summer have been saturated for months and have long since lost any capacity to accommodate any additional water.

Richard, I've only just come across this. As you can see from my heading I'm in Staffordshire as near to the dead centre of England as you can get and we have got off comparatively lightly this past week. My point is that the amount of damage caused has been out of all proportion to the volume of rain that has fallen. There is no doubt in my mind that there has been a great deal of land mismanagement by governments and local councils of every political hue over several decades. This has made the situation we now see as inevitable.

Here is a thoughtful article in today's DT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/env...-defences.html

[Richard Tarleton]

Richard, I've only just come across this. As you can see from my heading I'm in Staffordshire as near to the dead centre of England as you can get and we have got off comparatively lightly this past week. My point is that the amount of damage caused has been out of all proportion to the volume of rain that has fallen. There is no doubt in my mind that there has been a great deal of land mismanagement by governments and local councils of every political hue over several decades. This has made the situation we now see as inevitable.

Here is a thoughtful article in today's DT: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/env...-defences.html

An excellent article. Population increase, poor land management, building on flood plains, changing weather patterns - and you're right about the politics. The problem is, difficult issues need to be addressed, and unpopular long-term decisions taken, against a political cycle of 5 years.

Sorry didn't notice Staffordshire in the small print!!

[BBMmk2]

Nota bad day today, weather wise. Only a few showers here and there, wwith that bright round yellow thing thats up in the sky(what's it called!?!?!?)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

My first "asthma wheeze" (which isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds!) of the winter today. Clear skies, cold air, sunshine staring you right in the eyes and frost forecast for tonight ("-2 feeling like -5"). But dry, so mustn't grumble!

[Anna]

An excellent article. Population increase, poor land management, building on flood plains, changing weather patterns - and you're right about the politics. The problem is, difficult issues need to be addressed, and unpopular long-term decisions taken, against a political cycle of 5 years.

And, then there's this plan to build on 1,500 sq.miles of open countryside in England http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...ng-demand.html The Minister has a choice turn of phrase, describing countryside campaigners as “hysterical, scaremongering latter-day Luddites”

Ontopic, dry today, high of 7°, dropping rapidly as I type, late sunshine and clear sky ..... Still, cold weather kills the bugs! Doesn't help sufferers of asthma or bronchitis though.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

brrrrrrrrr and forecast for a very cold winter ... bet they are right about that, sod's law innit

[johncorrigan]

brrrrrrrrr and forecast for a very cold winter ... bet they are right about that, sod's law innit

Don't listen to 'em, Calum. They forecast a good summer up here this year and it were a bummer!
They don't know much a couple of days in advance, he said hopefully.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

it is not the forecaster's accuracy that worries me so much ... a stopped clock etc ... just the chilling thought of a deep freeze winter innit .....

[Lateralthinking1]

It was three degrees lower on this hill than in the valley two miles away when I went shopping this afternoon. On one occasion in the past, a bus driver said that his thermometer showed a ten degree fall as he drove up here from the A23. Is that possible?

On housing, the definition of demand in economics is the amount of a particular economic good or service that a consumer or group of consumers will want to purchase at a given price. When the Government speaks of housing demand, it does not describe present day reality but a theoretical concept of demand if house prices were to fall dramatically.

To describe demand for housing as it does is effectively saying that there is a demand for gold from millions of people who could never afford to purchase gold. It is disingenuous, every party does it, and I have never heard anyone questioning it.

[Nick Armstrong]

I can personally testify with aching cold fingers that there is a VERY chill wind in Wales today!!!