Stormy Weather II

[Joseph K]

Same as yesterday except perhaps for a pleasant breeze.

[Serial_Apologist]

Same as yesterday except perhaps for a pleasant breeze.

Blisteringly hot, easterly breeze notwithstanding. Trust my bike to have once more had a puncture - which I only discovered this morning. I chose to do the repair indoors, incurring various cuts and bruises as a result of working in the restricted space. I need the bike for my weekly shop - first thing tomorrow morning before it gets too hot. Any outdoor exercise, walks rather than cycling in these temperatures, will have to be after dark when it's cooled off. Another thing I've been noticing about this particular heatwave is that evening temperatures do fall quite quickly, as is usual in conditions of low humidity, thankfully, and very dry surfaces; nighttime minima hereabouts have been down to 14-17C most nights, though I would expect more uncomfortable conditions from tomorrow, with moister air coming up from the south. No more cooking until the heatwave is over - tonight's Friday fish dinner will have to be cold - tinned herrings in tomato sauce, followed by my usual, mango slices in low sugar syrup with vanilla ice cream!

The drought declaration this lunchtime doesn't yet rule out hosepipe use, but in any case I've been resorting to the watering can most evenings. I'm wondering if sprinkling the now-dessicated "lawn" before rain might render the soil more percolative.

[BBMmk2]

Sunday and/or Monday, I would think, BBM.

I have to go out for some shopping shortly. Dreading it.

I’ve always hated temperatures that go above 25C. Since I’ve had Multiple Myolema Cancer(MMC), I seem to like it even less! Then I read somewhere, that MMC sufferers, are prone to not liking these temperatures, more than most people.

[oddoneout]

I'm noticing a lot of assumption around here that a) the weather will break on Monday and b) things will immediately improve. I have my doubts - the storms will almost certainly be localised so many will miss them, the temperature isn't forecast to drop significantly - not least because the wind will swing round to a warm quarter - and increased humidity adds to the discomfort from high temperatures.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm noticing a lot of assumption around here that a) the weather will break on Monday and b) things will immediately improve. I have my doubts - the storms will almost certainly be localised so many will miss them, the temperature isn't forecast to drop significantly - not least because the wind will swing round to a warm quarter - and increased humidity adds to the discomfort from high temperatures.

Yes all that's possibly true, but I do think we should all get some rain in the next week. I'm wondering if watering the dry soil, even just using a watering can, which we all will have to do, might go some way towards breaking through the soil pan before the real stuff comes along. We're told that light to moderate rain acts better than heavy rain, which just washes away topsoil.

BTW I've noticed that the temperature is a couple of degrees down on this time yesterday - not higher, as had been forecast. This is also being reported to be the case elsewhere around the country.

[oddoneout]

Yes all that's possibly true, but I do think we should all get some rain in the next week. I'm wondering if watering the dry soil, even just using a watering can, which we all will have to do, might go some way towards breaking through the soil pan before the real stuff comes along. We're told that light to moderate rain acts better than heavy rain, which just washes away topsoil.

BTW I've noticed that the temperature is a couple of degrees down on this time yesterday - not higher, as had been forecast. This is also being reported to be the case elsewhere around the country.

Wish it was here, but it's doing as Friday and increasing through the afternoon. It may not reach 32 as forecast for 3pm but the 30.9 peak we had then yesterday is more than hot enough!
I suspect you'd need an awful lot of watering cans to make any difference when the soil is this dry, and when rain is really heavy it can still run off already damp soil. I try and keep the surface of the soil loose to aid penetration, but often the silt content quickly overcomes that, and places which are already compacted such as the ersatz lawn and parts/most of the flower borders there is no point in dealing with, are a lost cause for brief downpours. Last time we had some rain (? 3 weeks ago, a couple of hours about 5am), it was of the useful, ie persistent but not heavy, variety and did sink into the beds quite well but the lawn had standing water on it and absorbed very little.

[BBMmk2]

31C!

[Dave2002]

Wish it was here, but it's doing as Friday and increasing through the afternoon. It may not reach 32 as forecast for 3pm but the 30.9 peak we had then yesterday is more than hot enough!
I suspect you'd need an awful lot of watering cans to make any difference when the soil is this dry, and when rain is really heavy it can still run off already damp soil. I try and keep the surface of the soil loose to aid penetration, but often the silt content quickly overcomes that, and places which are already compacted such as the ersatz lawn and parts/most of the flower borders there is no point in dealing with, are a lost cause for brief downpours. Last time we had some rain (? 3 weeks ago, a couple of hours about 5am), it was of the useful, ie persistent but not heavy, variety and did sink into the beds quite well but the lawn had standing water on it and absorbed very little.

You could try going over the garden with a fork, though if the top is brick hard it won't do much good.

[oddoneout]

You could try going over the garden with a fork, though if the top is brick hard it won't do much good.

In the case of the "lawn" you're talking at least 6" to 9" of rock solid - trying to put in the spike for the rotary clothes line took several attempts to make the hole to bed the cement in around it. Making holes for canes in the veg bed took a sledgehammer and solid metal spike, as although the top few inches were reasonably easy to penetrate, about 4" down it was solid - including a small patch of iron pan at one end. Such efforts, given arthritic joints and other issues, have to be very limited!

[Bryn]

Currently 30° C outside in the shade and 26° C inside (downstairs) here. I have an Amazon parcel to collect from a 'hub', ten minutes (mainly woodland) walk away. It can wait there 'till evening (maybe late evening, at that) I think.

[Joseph K]

Seems hotter today but I guess the heat accumulates.

[Petrushka]

Seems hotter today but I guess the heat accumulates.

It got up to 30.4 degrees in my listening room last night which I think is the hottest yet. Needless to say, all the electrical equipment, hi-fi, computer and television didn't help and I felt slightly worried about potential fire risk in that kind of heat but fortunately all was well.

[oddoneout]

Peaked at 32.5 yesterday at 3pm, although the heat dropped away quite quickly from 8pm onwards and I spent the concert interval and first bit of the second half just sitting in the garden chilling - in both senses of the word - listening to the small frog rustling around in the undergrowth and taking a splash into one of the water-filed dishes I leave out. Very pleased to have a bat zip past - it has been at least 2 years since I have seen any here, they used to be quite frequent evening visitors.
Today will peak at slightly less I think, as there has been some cloud which knocks the heat back very noticeably, helping to offset the breeze being slightly warmer. The possibility of rain seems to be in retreat. Monday quickly became Tuesday which went down to no more than 30% chance of rain and now that has gone to Wednesday. At county rather than region level the chance of thunderstorms seems to have reduced as well. We shall see.

[gradus]

Despite ventilation 47.5 in the greenhouse yesterday - today 38.5 so going in the right direction but sticky and humid.

[johncorrigan]

The thunder and lightning started around 9.30 last night and rumbled and flashed away till the early hours, at times getting pretty close. I went out about 10 as I remembered I had left the car window slightly open and in the process got pretty wet, but not as wet as the inside of the car would have got. It's a dull, rainy morning out there, and the birdlife seems pretty cheery about the change in the weather.