Weather early 2009

[ruweiss]

No, this is not Scotland, I took this picture yesterday in Waiblingen. The small herd and especially the
2 calves are everbody's darling.
The weather is unusually cold, much colder than in the last years with night temperatures of -13°,
a rockgardener friend from Eastern Germany even had -26°! It is good, that there is a snow cover
which gives some protection for our plants.

[Maggi Young]

Wow, We Scots get everywhere, don't we..... some of us are cuter than than others!

Rudi, where in Eastern Germany does your friend live who had - 26 degrees? So, cold! What depth of snow does he have?

[johnw]

A friend from Numansdorp, Holland sent these photos.  We very rarely see this type of frost on the trees, quite spectacular.

It's cold when the web freezes.

johnw

[johnw]

Another from Numansdorp, Holland.

johnw

[LarsB]

What a beautiful picture Derek. I've left one Disa out in my unheated greenhouse. It was one that jsut came up in a pot of moss. The growth is still under the moss and i haven't looked at it, but i suspect that the temperature in the greenhouse has been somewhere in the region of -7c, leaving little chance for it to survive, but I'll wait and see.

[David Nicholson]

10C but with a strong gale from the South West that makes it feel much colder; dark enough to need the light on to read, and chucking it down to boot. Typical Devon day really!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Frost has gone since this morning - +4°C here at noon - snow rapidly disapearing - rain announced for tomorrow... now wait and see to find out about casualties... 

[TC]

I saw on the Scottish news that two Rugby players, ( New Zealanders), had collapsed with hypothermia during a game at Irvine, on Saturday.  I thought that Kiwis were made of sterner stuff ! To be fair, it was a miserable day with 50mph winds and driving rain but that is par for the course here in January.  I was down near the beach and noticed the football pitches were occupied fully.  We must have a genetic link to Highland cattle, ( and Geordies ), who are unphased by these conditions.

[Paul T]

And you have to remember that you're currently conditioned to winter, whereas the kiwis bodies are conditioned to summer.  If you can't even have the courtesy to provide decent weather, perhaps you should move the games to somewhere else? 

[ruweiss]

Maggi,my friend gardens near Dippiswalde, about 20 km from Dresden, elevation about 350 m. The height of snow
was 25-30 cm, some losses are expected.In our region the rivers start to freeze, an event which happened 20 years
ago for the last time. Lucky me to have the forum with the pictures from the southern Hemisphere to warm and brighten
up these cold times and many thanks to all the friends for the good work.

[TC]

And you have to remember that you're currently conditioned to winter, whereas the kiwis bodies are conditioned to summer.  If you can't even have the courtesy to provide decent weather, perhaps you should move the games to somewhere else? 

Paul,
We are conditioned to winter for 52 weeks a year !!

[Paul T]

Tom,

I can only imagine how quickly you'd melt in the 38'C forecast here tomorrow.    And we are by no means the worst Aussie state capital, with Adelaide forecast 41'C today I think.

[Anthony Darby]

Tom,

I can only imagine how quickly you'd melt in the 38'C forecast here tomorrow.    And we are by no means the worst Aussie state capital, with Adelaide forecast 41'C today I think.

We have the central heating on most of the year. 38^oC!!? I think the south of England hit that mark for the first time ever a couple years ago? Hasn't been near that since! Most years we don't even reach 28^oC.

And you have to remember that you're currently conditioned to winter, whereas the kiwis bodies are conditioned to summer.  If you can't even have the courtesy to provide decent weather, perhaps you should move the games to somewhere else? 

Acclimatisation is a mind thing: you either feel cold or you don't. It's what you get used to. Hypothermia as a body thing: you are cold physiologically. Being out of kilter with your norm regarding time of year will have little effect. Body fat, shape, wearing adequate clothing will reduce chances of suffering from hypothermia. The 'Nicki' (a big brother contestant famous only for whining "I'm so cold". Spoilt brat!) situation is probably nearer the point, i.e. they felt cold and were thus miserable because it wasn't what they were used to and perhaps they were not wearing enough proper clothing. It's a bit like people saying they have 'flu, when in actual fact they have a bad cold. The £20 note trick sorts that question out. "Mum, I can't go to school because I've got the 'flu!" "OK, there's a £20 note on the lawn. It's yours if you go and get it." Well, if you can you haven't got the 'flu

[Casalima]

Northern Europeans typically find Portugal (especially north Portugal) absolutely freezing during the winter because many of us don't have heating. The temperature in my flat was 10ºC this morning and now, with a radiator on, has now gone up to a heady 12ºC. But I just put another fleece on and get on with life  It's very easy to get used to feeling cold and often I don't feel comfortable in warm, centrally-heated houses in the winter.
Very cold winters and very hot summers are typical of much of the Iberian peninsula, especially central Castille. Madrid is at an altitude of nearly 700 m (over 2,000 ft) and I believe that Rafa lives at around 1,200 m (some 4000 ft) - hence the snow!!

[Anthony Darby]

The temperature in my classroom right now is 24^oC. When I started teaching room temperature was typically 20^oC. If it hasn't reached 16^oC in classrooms we are (should be!? ) sent home. There is no upper maximum.