Stormy Weather II

[Serial_Apologist]

The temperature was a chilly 3 C as I made my way fruitlessly down to Brixton Tescos a few minutes ago. Visits to that branch used to be a joy due to the party atmosphere maintained by the black lasses on the checkouts, but today - as last time a few months back - long queues were visible through the windows behind the only two checkouts operating, and from what could be made out all the self-checkout facilities were closed. One hears about nurses leaving the NHS for higher paid shelf stacking jobs at Tescos - or is this just tabloid mythology?

As I write the setting sun is catching the distant tower blocks and Shard making them brilliant orange beacons. Someone with a good camera could have won a prize capturing that view.

[Serial_Apologist]

Just to add that Sunday night's official charts are looking really scary, with a very deep low crossing the north of Scotland and isobars on the cold front closer than anything I've previously seen forecast, indicating an exceptionally tight and steep pressure gradient - something analogous to a "wall of death" as far as wind strengths are to be expected. They're calling it Storm Isha, and I shall not be going out in it!

[oddoneout]

The temperature was a chilly 3 C as I made my way fruitlessly down to Brixton Tescos a few minutes ago. Visits to that branch used to be a joy due to the party atmosphere maintained by the black lasses on the checkouts, but today - as last time a few months back - long queues were visible through the windows behind the only two checkouts operating, and from what could be made out all the self-checkout facilities were closed. One hears about nurses leaving the NHS for higher paid shelf stacking jobs at Tescos - or is this just tabloid mythology?

As I write the setting sun is catching the distant tower blocks and Shard making them brilliant orange beacons. Someone with a good camera could have won a prize capturing that view.

Lean staffing levels can mean that it doesn't take much in the way of absences(bugs at this time of year are an issue) to tip a store over into not having enough staff to call on to man the tills, and if some sort of failure knocks out the self-service at the same time then the issue is compounded.
It's not just the pay that draws people from essential jobs in other sectors, although that is a big factor, it is the attraction of set hours, less stress and emotional drain - coming in at a given time, clocking off at a given time and not having to take work home mentally - the patients still not seen at the end of your shift, those receiving inadequate care, those stuck in hospital and deteriorating for want of social care to get them home or into convalescent facilities, etc

[Serial_Apologist]

Lean staffing levels can mean that it doesn't take much in the way of absences(bugs at this time of year are an issue) to tip a store over into not having enough staff to call on to man the tills, and if some sort of failure knocks out the self-service at the same time then the issue is compounded.
It's not just the pay that draws people from essential jobs in other sectors, although that is a big factor, it is the attraction of set hours, less stress and emotional drain - coming in at a given time, clocking off at a given time and not having to take work home mentally - the patients still not seen at the end of your shift, those receiving inadequate care, those stuck in hospital and deteriorating for want of social care to get them home or into convalescent facilities, etc

Very good points there.

Today feels and looks quite different from yesterday, with fast-moving broken cumulus blowing west to east on a fresh to strong breeze, and temperature maxing at just over 10C. Upstairs remarked on how mild it has become with the change in weather type, but as I said to him, at 78 years of age it has to be above 15C to feel anything like mild! Storm Jocelyn brings a return to strong winds tomorrow and into Wednesday; after Thursday, when a warm front which is part of a weaker low pressure system approaches from the SW, it is back to settled for everywhere except Scotland and N Ireland, then on Sunday, yet another deep low crosses to the north bringing very strong winds, once again mainly affecting Scotland, Ireland and the North.

[pastoralguy]

Lean staffing levels can mean that it doesn't take much in the way of absences(bugs at this time of year are an issue) to tip a store over into not having enough staff to call on to man the tills, and if some sort of failure knocks out the self-service at the same time then the issue is compounded.
It's not just the pay that draws people from essential jobs in other sectors, although that is a big factor, it is the attraction of set hours, less stress and emotional drain - coming in at a given time, clocking off at a given time and not having to take work home mentally - the patients still not seen at the end of your shift, those receiving inadequate care, those stuck in hospital and deteriorating for want of social care to get them home or into convalescent facilities, etc

I’m always amazed that so many of the care staff where I work actually bother to do the job bearing in mind how poorly paid it is. And the accountability they have is staggering! Any promotion they achieve is not well r enumerated. An extra few pennies an hour!

And yes, we have had carers who have left to work in Tesco where staff discount can make a difference. No complaining relatives, no chance of being assaulted by demented residents, no vomit or poo and little or no paperwork. (Although now every interaction with a resident has to be documented on a hand held device).

No wonder we have so few people wanting to be carers. And a lot of the extremely good Polish staff returned home due to Brexit.

[Serial_Apologist]

Sunday's strong winds forecast now seems to be out of the picture, fortunately, so once Aisha is on its way later tomorrow we're mostly in a mild south-westerly regime, namely moist claggy air, with intervening passing ridges of high pressure offering decent days and coldish nights, and a chance for floods receding. Next week's temperatures will be more appropriate for the beginning of March.

[DracoM]

Storm Jocelyn approaching, yes.... but well before it, thick rain and fierce westerlies already battering like gravel on south-facing windows.

[oddoneout]

It's certainly milder - 13 rather than 3 or lower, but I'm not finding the accompanying greyness, rain, and high winds that much of an improvement frankly. I especially dislike winds that are fiercest at night as Isha was and now Jocelyn will be. I have enough trouble sleeping as it is...

[DracoM]

Wow! WHAT a scary night up here - roof battered, hard, hard rain smacking like gravel on south and west facing walls / windows, BUT barely a drop on north-facing windows.
Slept not until 2 a.m. when things began to calm.
Phew!
Much the worst of the succession of gale-driven storms we've had up here.

[Serial_Apologist]

Wow! WHAT a scary night up here - roof battered, hard, hard rain smacking like gravel on south and west facing walls / windows, BUT barely a drop on north-facing windows.
Slept not until 2 a.m. when things began to calm.
Phew!
Much the worst of the succession of gale-driven storms we've had up here.

Here as well - worse than two nights previous, and I hadn't anticipated that. At last the winds are dropping, making it feel almost springlike here, but not yet in the NE, as one can tell by the tight isobars still in place.

[oddoneout]

The wind was very strong but also far more gusty here, so more noise overnight from displaced items, and the chimney pots. This morning I picked up the recycling bin at the front(bungee strap lid closure stayed in place luckily) and the plastic chair on the back patio which had both, despite being wedged to try and stop flight, gone walkabout. What was a bit more disconcerting was to come back from this morning's volunteer garden duties to find they had not only got free again, but also that other items(which had stayed put during Storm Isha) had been knocked over or winkled out from various places and scattered round the back garden. In the past hour or so the wind has dropped significantly so perhaps now things will stay put!

[oddoneout]

Well the latest weather system may not have warranted a name, but the past couple of hours or so have been a right teenage doorslamming strop! I was woken suddenly just before 6am by a tremendous rattling and clattering. It sounded like gravel hitting the window and I thought at first it was the heavy plastic bags of garden waste having shed the weight holding down the open ends and flapping and crackling. However it turned out to be heavy rain being thrown at the windows, unsurprisingly followed shortly after by the sound of the 2 wheelie bins going over. Looking at the recording station figures the wind gust peaked at 48 and 49 mph for 6 and 7, so no wonder the rain sounded like solid objects! The sky has cleared and it's supposed to be sunny all day, but the windspeeds are due to remain high, although less than those peaks - a bit tiresome as I have a load of heavy washing that I had planned to put out based on last nights forecast re: wind, but at these strengths there will be too much load on the whirligig.

[cloughie]

Here it looks good for the day - little breeze and a mostly blue sky but 8C cf higher temps recently.

[Serial_Apologist]

Well the latest weather system may not have warranted a name, but the past couple of hours or so have been a right teenage doorslamming strop! I was woken suddenly just before 6am by a tremendous rattling and clattering. It sounded like gravel hitting the window and I thought at first it was the heavy plastic bags of garden waste having shed the weight holding down the open ends and flapping and crackling. However it turned out to be heavy rain being thrown at the windows, unsurprisingly followed shortly after by the sound of the 2 wheelie bins going over. Looking at the recording station figures the wind gust peaked at 48 and 49 mph for 6 and 7, so no wonder the rain sounded like solid objects! The sky has cleared and it's supposed to be sunny all day, but the windspeeds are due to remain high, although less than those peaks - a bit tiresome as I have a load of heavy washing that I had planned to put out based on last nights forecast re: wind, but at these strengths there will be too much load on the whirligig.

If you double-pegged everything down it should have stayed online! - and dried out more quickly than it would have over the past few days, due to the much drier air now blowing in. I have to say I'm quite looking forward to cycling over to E Dulwich to do some shopping this afternoon before the kids get out of school. The next week looks pretty good over most of England and much of Wales and Scotland, with mild southerlies as fronts are kept waiting out to the west. I see record temperatures have been logged in Spain recently; however it won't be getting anywhere near the 30 C mark here!

[Serial_Apologist]

It would appear that the UK January maximum record temperature has been broken. It happened in NW Scotland where the temperature reached 19.2C, in a very fast southerly wind stream - up to 70mph in the area. This is known as a Föhn effect, where moist air forced up over high ground hits the ceiling of a higher inversion barrier and is thus forced downwards, and dries out under compression, thus resulting in greatly increased temperature rises on the downward (lee) slope. It only reached 9C here in London - however one should not complain. My laundry on the washing line nearly dried out for the first time this year!