Stormy Weather II

[Andrew Slater]

What will they do instead - just ping out?

He didn't say. He implied that there would be no problems. I suspect that they're probably held in well enough to stop that happening under all expected conditions.....

[Old Grumpy]

He didn't say. He implied that there would be no problems. I suspect that they're probably held in well enough to stop that happening under all expected conditions.....

Doesn't answer the specific question, but interesting nonetheless: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/runnin...d-summer-heat/

[teamsaint]

Thunderstorm this morning - one bolt tripped the electricity and one person in the village lost their internet box leaving black marks around it. The noisy light show and rain didn’t last long and now bright sunshine and 23C.

We had a modem knocked out by lightning a few years back. I was told that the strikes can go via phone lines as well as the mains electric. I don’t know if this is true, but worth unplugging both if there is a storm around .

[Dave2002]

We had a modem knocked out by lightning a few years back. I was told that the strikes can go via phone lines as well as the mains electric. I don’t know if this is true, but worth unplugging both if there is a storm around .

Years ago - in a previous house - there was a lightning strike nearby, and part of a garage roof collapsed, and bricks fell on to the car in the drive. The people opposite - next to the damaged garage - mentioned something about having modems knocked out. I can't remember now if that was a problem for us, but when we put the TV on we found it didn't work any more. The insurance company replaced it. Lightning strikes can do considerable damage - and not just to electrics.

[oddoneout]

Blessed relief! Low 20s rather than low 30s currently and the wind is still strong but cool instead of scorching.
Many field fires yesterday, and even worse several of them spread to houses in several villages because of the wind so more than 6 homes are now completely destroyed and more damaged.

[BBMmk2]

Yay, thunderstorm in Haywards Heath! At a friend’s house, and we had to dash in from the garden.

Looks like more of the same, this afternoon!

[HighlandDougie]

I was told that the strikes can go via phone lines as well as the mains electric. I don’t know if this is true, but worth unplugging both if there is a storm around .

Alas, very much so. I've had a succession of fried 'phones, fried modems/routers and a fried router-connected TV in the past - didn't quite get there fast enough the last time. It's possible to buy surge-protected boxes for phone lines as well as for electricity cables but, even with such things, TS's advice to unplug everything is worth following.

[Serial_Apologist]

Yay, thunderstorm in Haywards Heath! At a friend’s house, and we had to dash in from the garden.

Looks like more of the same, this afternoon!

Whereas when that same storm arrived here I just lay down on the lawn and let the big raindrops fall on me - a most pleasurable experience, albeit that the rain stopped after only a minute! The neighbour's 4-year old was asking "why, why, why?" so rather than making up excuses I explained the principles of convection and lightning, pretending to know as much as experts, who don't really know the reasons for lightning, though they suspect. Thunder is easy - the noise of the discharge breaking the sound barrier. Anyway 4-year old Sofia seemed to understand what I was on about: "Is that why we get all sweaty when it's hot?"

One of our building workers drives from Rainham - the Essex not the Kent one; Rainham is next door to Wennington, where a terrace of five houses burned down yesterday. It could have resulted from one of the many grass fires which broke out yesterday, most probably spontaneously triggered at temperatures of 40C or above without malicious agency or accelerant. In this case the source is thought to have been a combusting compost heap in one of the back gardens - there's discussion on this on the weather site I visit - and it has given me pause for thought. Coniferous trees are particularly susceptible to fire through the high oil content of their foliage: our two compost heaps are tucked away behind a group of them.

[ahinton]

Alas, very much so. I've had a succession of fried 'phones, fried modems/routers and a fried router-connected TV in the past - didn't quite get there fast enough the last time. It's possible to buy surge-protected boxes for phone lines as well as for electricity cables but, even with such things, TS's advice to unplug everything is worth following.

That's all very well, but you cannot "unplug" the mains supply! A decent UPS can cover sensitive kit such as computer and computer-related stuff, phones and the rest or, if vast expense is no object, the entre premises could be subjected to synthesised mains but, even then, you'd need a massive UPS in addition between the mains supply and the RCD box in order to protect anything beyond that box.

[oddoneout]

Wennington, where a terrace of five houses burned down yesterday.

Norfolk hasn't done too well either https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-62234289

[HighlandDougie]

That's all very well, but you cannot "unplug" the mains supply! A decent UPS can cover sensitive kit such as computer and computer-related stuff, phones and the rest or, if vast expense is no object, the entre premises could be subjected to synthesised mains but, even then, you'd need a massive UPS in addition between the mains supply and the RCD box in order to protect anything beyond that box.

Slight cross-purposes here in that I wasn't talking about electric/mains cables but old-fashioned telephone cables from where the phone line enters the house to the router/back of phones etc etc. Not an issue - or less of an issue - with fibre as the cable is glass rather than copper.

[Petrushka]

Don't know whether it's a coincidence or not but my laptop charger has given up the ghost when all was well a couple of days ago. It has been fearsomely hot in my listening room - 30 degrees last night and still 29 degrees now. Just wondering if the charger has overheated.

[DracoM]

17C max here - grey, damp, even touch of rain! A joy to be cooler.

[Serial_Apologist]

17C max here - grey, damp, even touch of rain! A joy to be cooler.

Still 19C out here, but with a stiff breeze blowing curtains around, slamming doors and dislodging one of my shoji paper lampshades! Still warmer than comfortable for me. The cold wet facecloth in front of the fan doesn't work at all, I have to say. However the pillow in the deep freeze for a day certainly did last night - I was asleep within minutes and had my best night for a long time.

Whether or not it rains on Friday is now somewhat in question . goodness we could do with some rain in what so far has been almost a totally dry month. It looks like hot air returns to England on Sunday, but just for that one day, after which temperatures should be almost back to normal.

[oddoneout]

Distinctly cool this morning which is an odd feeling. Combination of brisk N breeze and thick cloud cover responsible, and forecast to keep temps under 20 all day. No rain here, as usual; some places might have had the odd shower as there was some likely looking lumpy dark cloud moving across at 3am this morning.
Going round the garden last night the quantity of crisped dead foliage from Wednesday's searing wind acting on wilted leaves is sad. In several cases whole branches of some shrubs are now dead. Today I'll be putting the hose to seep on my little winter flowering cherry which was planted 5 years ago but is now showing marked and worrying signs of distress and I really don't want to lose it; a few showers won't be enough even if I was confident they would appear.