Winter Weather 2016

[Darren]

Sad indeed John.

[Ian Y]

Storm Gertrude has just passed over Aberdeen and now the skies are blue with some lovely lenticular clouds lit by the rising sun.

[Matt T]

A very beautiful and slightly erie effect, Ian. You can see how folk could believe in visitors from outer space when we see visions like this in our skies!

Don't relax just yet, Gertrude is giving us plenty more just now and it's coming your way!

[Ian Y]

I spoke too soon about the storm being passed, that must have been the eye of the storm as heavy winds and rain are again battering the garden.

[Cfred72]

Courage if you are in the storm.
With us, the wind blowing hard and the clouds are also threatening but it is 4 ° C, nothing to complain.

[Ian Y]

We are lucky Fred the storm is coming from the west so Matt on the Western Isles gets the worst of the wind, the Cairngorms to the west of Aberdeen give us some shelter so while the winds are 100 miles per hour on the top of the mountains they are around 80mph on the East coast.

[johnstephen29]

It's been very windy and wet down here in Lincolnshire, not sure if it was still jonas or Gertrude that was to blame.

[johnstephen29]

Yet another pain in the backside storm, this one's called Henry.

[David Nicholson]

Yer telling me!

[TC]

I had been down in Plymouth and Cawsand in Cornwall twice in the last month.  Weather somewhat windy and wet.  It was a chance to compare weather all the way up the M5/M6/M74..not a pleasant journey.  The first thing I noticed in Devon were fields of Daffodils in flower and a definite longer day. It was light by about 07:45 and getting dark about 17:15.
Although wet it was still warm at 13°C.  The difference going N. was notable.  By the time we reached Stafford, the wind had a definite chill.  My car decided to break down at this point so we had to continue the next day by breakdown recovery.  We had to change vehicles at Lancaster, Tebay and Lockerbie.  Each time we got out the clouds were heavier and it was colder.  At Lockerbie it was miserable and we hit the snow all the way up to the Douglas turn-off.

Today we could hardly stand up for the wind strength and driving freezing rain.  I had to get my car to the garage and walk back to the town, at times walking on the spot against the wind.  Now at 21:40 it is relatively calm..the calm before the storm?

I would say that the weather up here on the west coast is fiercer than the Devon coast.
Returning up on the first trip cost me a wind screen as I hit a blizzard on the M74 lasting 50 miles. The road was down to one lane and I was stuck behind a huge artic. which was following the gritter lorry.  The lorry was covering my windscreen with slush and grit thrown up from it's tyres.  The result was that for 50 miles my wipers were grinding the grit into the glass.  When I inspected it in daylight next day, it looked as if I had net curtains draped across it.

On a brighter note, when I got back from this trip, I had groups of dwarf Iris growing in the garden and the snowdrops are well and truly out.

[Maggi Young]

Doesn't sound good at all, Tom. Rather you than me, all that tearing around the countryside!  Bad enough in the summer.

[Graeme]

don't you think naming the winter storms this year is a bit silly - its not like they are real major weather events? Bit of wind and rain............its winter

[David Nicholson]

don't you think naming the winter storms this year is a bit silly..............................

Yes, barmy.

[johnralphcarpenter]

That'll be a good one for next time they go through the alphabet - Storm Barmy.

[johnstephen29]

Arn't they just copying America?