Stormy Weather

[Nick Armstrong]

Sunny and remarkably warm here right now - 16 degrees C: I'll have to check if it breaks any records this afternoon. We're going to pay for this: these huge lumbering low pressure systems stay in situ long enough to drag contrasting air from further south and north than was commonly the case when I began keeping records in the mid-70s, and the resultant clash along the boundary lines winds up developing weather systems like nobody's business. Who gets clobbered is dependent on which direction is taken by these depressions and where the steepest part of pressure gradients is in relation to the centres - usually to the south. I've sent out an email to all 14 flat holders here advising them to secure balcony plants on Sunday or bring them indoors, along with prams, push chairs etc.

Saw a quite detailed forecast last night bearing that out - there's a biggie coming from the Atlantic on Monday but they don't yet know where it's going to make landfall, in France or further north across the UK....

[Anna]

Saw a quite detailed forecast last night bearing that out - there's a biggie coming from the Atlantic on Monday but they don't yet know where it's going to make landfall, in France or further north across the UK....

The latest Met Office map shows the Amber Warning zone extending South from a line drawn from Mid-Wales to the East Mids and covering all the SW, SE, London & Eastern Counties. This morning the Amber zone was only about a third of that width!

However, there is still uncertainty (could it move right up North?) but well done S_A for alerting other occupants of the dangers of leaving items outside on balconies and walkways. Tomorrow I'll certainly remove my pots to a sheltered place. (It did say on BBCWales that it could be the worst Welsh storm since 2008 but I don't remember anything severe that year)

Ontopic, by 8am all the heavy rain had gone, exceptionally sunny, warm, day although windy, local weather station reports a high of 18.8° at 12:44

[eighthobstruction]

I might just play Russian Roulette with my Bonsais (small trees really)....just for the heck of it....just coz, I like to live dangerously unattached....

[Anna]

I might just play Russian Roulette with my Bonsais (small trees really)....just for the heck of it....just coz, I like to live dangerously unattached....

Do you train them yourself? My sister's friend has an amazing collection that he has nutured over the years and he gave me one (I think it was an oak) in a lovely indigo bonsai pot for me to do. But, I thought it was terribly cruel to twist and torture their little roots .... I still have the little pot in the cupboard, I ditched the plant ages ago.
I bet your backyard is a regular Japanese garden with gravel raked in ever decreasing circles and a loop of Takemitsu ......

[Thropplenoggin]

Do you train them yourself? My sister's friend has an amazing collection that he has nutured over the years and he gave me one (I think it was an oak) in a lovely indigo bonsai pot for me to do. But, I thought it was terribly cruel to twist and torture their little roots .... I still have the little pot in the cupboard, I ditched the plant ages ago.
I bet your backyard is a regular Japanese garden with gravel raked in ever decreasing circles and a loop of Takemitsu ......

For true Zen Buddhists there is no garden.

[Anna]

For true Zen Buddhists there is no garden.

I think they can have gardens?

Well versed in the Buddha way,
I go the non-Way
Without abandoning my
Ordinary person's affairs.

The conditioned and
Name-and-form,
All are flowers in the sky.

Layman P'ang (740-808)

Crikey, so heavy and introspective and off topic on a Friday night! And it's only just gone six of the clock!

[Richard Tarleton]

(It did say on BBCWales that it could be the worst Welsh storm since 2008 but I don't remember anything severe that year)

Severe storm with torrential rain on Friday 13 November, 2008 - I remember it well as I had to drive home from Snowdonia that day - by the time I reached the A40 every dip in the road was flooded, if you slowed down too much you were doomed, stalled cars everywhere - the road was closed shortly afterwards.

[Anna]

Severe storm with torrential rain on Friday 13 November, 2008

Sorry Richard, cannot remember that at all, I'm sure I drove into work ok, certainly doesn't ring a bell at all, probably S. Wales not affected too much? There was a severe storm, end of a hurricane (was it Charlie?) that hit around the late 80s sometime? That, I remember, caused destruction.

Anway, lets not think about it - if it hits it hits. Nowt we can do about it but battern down the hatches, make sure we have soup or baked beans we can eat from the tin cold, and a torch that works!

[Richard Tarleton]

Rain was the biggest problem that day - sounds as if wind may be the issue this time, and worst in S England - my sister on S coast not looking forward to it. Living in the sticks we have bottled propane so can always cook, and a log burning stove!

[Serial_Apologist]

For true Zen Buddhists there is no garden.

Sorry - that's a no-no.

[Thropplenoggin]

It was a, ahem, (mumble mumble), joke.

The coat-dispatching dept. have been informed. It should be here any minute.

[Anna]

Severe storm with torrential rain on Friday 13 November, 2008

I wonder if that was when we were hit by a flash flood? I remember it was a Friday, I'd returned from work drenched and thinking TGIF and later on, to drown out the sound of the rain, I was listening to music on headphones when I was aware of people banging on the door. Everyone was out trying to divert the water gushing down the hill from the entrance to a house up the road which is on an adverse camber - occupants were on holiday -people further up, backing onto the hill, had it coming in the back door and out through the front. Luckily none of it came indoors here although it was a near thing. That could possibly have been 2008, there was a landslip as well (part of the road got washed away) and a van landed up down the bank and into the brook.

Anyway, Brummie Simon says not to panic like the press are, it's just a normal Autumn storm. There may well be damage, trees down, tiles off ........... but don't panic!!

Got quite wet first thing, that driving horizontal fine rain - but it's ok now, interesting selection of black and white clouds whizzing across. (I'm now in for the duration, got some lovely lamb from the butcher and have invited a friend to share, got the papers, bottle of wine, some nice cheese, and have changed into my Chavvy lepoard print Uggs so the weather can throw what it likes at me now!)

[Petrushka]

Quite mild, even warm, this morning but wind is picking up and there's that fine drizzle that you can't see but which soaks you in seconds.

Even the BBC forecasters are getting in a stew about the approaching storm while this morning's Daily Express is warning of a 'hurricane' but are at least putting the word in inverted commas. It'll be interesting to see who gets this right.

[johnb]

Just descended from checking the chimney pots on the roof (large, heavy Victorian crown and earlier pots). Lucky I did as I found two of the pots were loose, held in place by gravity.

Carefully lifted them off and laid them in the valley gutter to be dealt with after the storm.

Now I only have to worry about the trees at the end of the garden.

[salymap]

And I have trees and fences to worry about. The latter, about 300 feet in old money, half one side, bottom 50 or 60 feetwide, then other side.

Mixture of panels, feather edge and patched up bits.

On topic, beech hedge is just beginning to turn a lovely brown colour, Dogwood dropping its leaves and trees still not dropping anything but apples.

Japanese Anemonies, pink and white, still in flower.