Stormy Weather II

[Serial_Apologist]

The forecast is looking a bit better than it did last night. Rain most of the day has become possibility of showers about now and perhaps after lunch. The tradeoff is continuing strong winds, although hopefully not as bad as yesterday, that rather disguise the fact it is still mild.

I spoke too soon! It's now back to wet off and on through the day, although slightly less heavy and likely than last night's version, but the wind speeds increasing so even light rain will cause more wetness when out in it. Not much fun for the market stall holders - Friday is the main one in the week, and the last one before Christmas they usually do a lot of business(grave wreaths and pot plants, whole brussels sprout stems, boxes of small citrus and nets of nuts figure prominently), but the combination of high winds and rain makes getting the stalls up( and later packed away) difficult, and will deter shoppers. There is currently a siezable gap between the big banks of cloud on the map so I'd better get myself organised to take advantage.

It is almost as windy as yesterday here, and unfortunately looks likely to continue thus for much of the remainder of the year. Earlier on two women were setting up a food stall with all manner of fruit, veg, nuts, pre-prepared microwaveable Chicken Supreme and Macaroni Cheese packs, in the east-facing shelter of one of the neighbouring council blocks. I asked if they had smaller spuds on offer - one of them said they'd have them on display, ready for my return from shops further down the hill. She ushered me inside and proceeded to fill a bag with quality new potatoes. I looked around in vain for a weighing machine; when I asked how much, to my enormous embarrassment she told me everything was free, this being a food bank! I donated the tenner I happened to have on me.

[oddoneout]

It is almost as windy as yesterday here, and unfortunately looks likely to continue thus for much of the remainder of the year. Earlier on two women were setting up a food stall with all manner of fruit, veg, nuts, pre-prepared microwaveable Chicken Supreme and Macaroni Cheese packs, in the east-facing shelter of one of the neighbouring council blocks. I asked if they had smaller spuds on offer - one of them said they'd have them on display, ready for my return from shops further down the hill. She ushered me inside and proceeded to fill a bag with quality new potatoes. I looked around in vain for a weighing machine; when I asked how much, to my enormous embarrassment she told me everything was free, this being a food bank! I donated the tenner I happened to have on me.

The situation with food handouts can be confusing. In town we have a standard foodbank(Trussell Trust) which also now has a 'social supermarket'(subsidised food, membership arrangement, next step up from foodbank) alongside. There is a Community Fridge 4 mornings a week in a shop (run by some of the local churches and sells Christian material - cards, books etc), which is also a designated Warm Place, but also the ecoshop(refills, green products etc) collects small quantities of 'waste' supermarket fruit, veg, and bakery goods to put out once a week - usually a Saturday - free but donations invited for a local good cause. The two shop based ones are open to all, although the Community Fridge does have limits on how much can be taken in one visit and the ladies in the shop keep an eye on those who try to exploit the offer to establish whether it's a sign of more than greed.
On the weather front, after all that the rain didn't arrive until 2 pm(wasn't particularly heavy and didn't last very long), just as I got back from town. The wind was rather tiring and made it feel colder, but has done a good job of drying up the excess wet of recent days. As you say the wind is set to continue, and indeed the recycling bin is lying down again, and the plastic chair I leave out on the patio will stay wedged under the back door step where yesterday's gale blew it.

[DracoM]

Up here. horizon to horizon utter murky filth. Driving westerly, non-stop rain going from drizzle to drench. Yuk.

[oddoneout]

Up here. horizon to horizon utter murky filth. Driving westerly, non-stop rain going from drizzle to drench. Yuk.

Sadly I suspected that might be the case, as here it was a lovely, if rather windy day - dry, mild and plenty of sunshine. The going down of the sun was beautiful - pastel colours and unusual cloud formations - and extended, a real joy.
The nastiness gets dumped on you before getting across this side of the country it seems.

[DracoM]

..............and on Xmas Eve..........exactly the same, only a bit heftier!

[Old Grumpy]

Yep, windy, but currently dry here in the East. Quite warm too (currently 13°C).

[Serial_Apologist]

Yep, windy, but currently dry here in the East. Quite warm too (currently 13°C).

I'm wondering if the London maximum for the Christmas three days of 15.7C was broken today. Here, despite continuous roller cloud and fresh to strong winds (which nearly dried my line of washing) it reached 14.7 around lunchtime, and we're usually a couple down on the usual suspects such as Kew and St James's Park. Incidentally, if you're ever visiting, the St James's weather station is prominently located in its little pen beside the lake towards the southern end, on the footpath side.

[Old Grumpy]

Dark, wet and chilly filth up here.

Pretty much Dracoid weather this side of the Pennines too today, perhaps not so much wind. The Met Office yellow wind warning seems confined to the West.

Lovely day yesterday, though - great for the "bracing" resort of Whitby.

[Serial_Apologist]

Pretty much Dracoid weather this side of the Pennines too today, perhaps not so much wind. The Met Office yellow wind warning seems confined to the West.

Lovely day yesterday, though - great for the "bracing" resort of Whitby.

Certainly was blowing here a few minutes ago - roar in trees I mistook for thunder; umbrella turned into satellite dish! Not to many branches down, just a few I moved to prevent mobile phone slaves from tripping - or tripping slaves the other way around. A lot more of this is to be expected between today and Sunday - never before known forecast gales to last that long.

[DracoM]

Absolutely thrashing it down in a hefty, driving wind.
And will BBC stop talking smugly of 'milder'? It jolly well is NOT mild up here on western edge of Pennines. Morecambe Bay door close by and wide open to near-gale stuff.

[Serial_Apologist]

Blackpool storm chaser Nodrog was out on the promenade recording last night's storm, the same one that dropped a tornado on east Manchester mentioned on the lunchtime news. It all kicks off around 6 minutes in - truly astonishing, terrifying - almost unbelievable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQjbpb1IWyY

[oddoneout]

Winds can make flying difficult...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIqXjAmo6k

[DracoM]

<< Storm Gerrit - Huge Christmas, thunderstorm, Tornado/ Squall? Blackpool and Wales Storm Gerrit has brought widespread disruption across Scotland, with much of...>>
.
........ALL of Cumbria!
Last 48 hrs, genuinely scary winds, tornado rumblings, and rain like even we experience rarely.
Oh, but I forgot, 'Cumbria' doesn't exist, does t? Hill, odd jagged banks, drops, edges + NW sea access, via Morecambe Bay etc..........
...no, we're pretty straightforward to forecast - NOT.
Yet the word 'Cumbria' rarely or never is heard on BBC - despite its oddnesses in contours that massively shape/magnify etc all air currents, AND contains one or two of the nation's tourist hotspots eg the Lake District..............

[Serial_Apologist]

<< Storm Gerrit - Huge Christmas, thunderstorm, Tornado/ Squall? Blackpool and Wales Storm Gerrit has brought widespread disruption across Scotland, with much of...>>
.
........ALL of Cumbria!
Last 48 hrs, genuinely scary winds, tornado rumblings, and rain like even we experience rarely.
Oh, but I forgot, 'Cumbria' doesn't exist, does t? Hill, odd jagged banks, drops, edges + NW sea access, via Morecambe Bay etc..........
...no, we're pretty straightforward to forecast - NOT.
Yet the word 'Cumbria' rarely or never is heard on BBC - despite its oddnesses in contours that massively shape/magnify etc all air currents, AND contains one or two of the nation's tourist hotspots eg the Lake District..............

Indeed, from checking cloud developments as that particular system moved north-east across Cumbria and on to Northumberland a catherine wheel-like spiral suggesting an MSC complex was clearly observable from aerial views from the moment it touched down over Manchester.

Today it has quietened down considerably from the past few days - in readiness for the next blow tomorrow and Sunday. I was able to cycle the 3 or so miles over to the large E Dulwich Sainsbury's for my weekend shopping wioth nothing more than a few spots of rain to contend with. Charts after Monday suggest a quieter regime from the wind point of view but remaining unsettled, with temperatures cooling, but closer to the expected for January.

[Serial_Apologist]

Indeed, from checking cloud developments as that particular system moved north-east across Cumbria and on to Northumberland a catherine wheel-like spiral suggesting an MSC complex was clearly observable from aerial views from the moment it touched down over Manchester.

Since posting the above I have come across an article suggesting I might be thinking along similar lines to others with much greater expertise than myself. It too considers MSC systems (in the jargon meso-convective sub-synotpic systems, in other words revolving weather systems resembling depressions that are too small to indicate on weather charts, but at the same time are larger than individual tornadoes) as being a likely context for extreme weather developments such as the Manchester one on Wednesday. Further evidence was provided by the Youtube link from the young observer with his camera on the seafront at Blackpool I posted, particularly the dramatic suddenness of the wind increase and short (1 minute approximately) hurricane-force wind and torrential rain event. The language used in the paper, though technical, is I would think not too difficult even for somebody of my untrained and limited understanding to be able to follow in the generality, helped by the beauty of the accompanying illustrations and charts. Anyways, I thought it might be of interest:

http://mets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.4456

Off now for my short afternoon stroll!