Weather- January 2010

[Ragged Robin]

The Siberian Cold -Сибирски Студ- is on its way

Hope your wood burning stove keeps you cosy - it's extraordinary how weather can turn around in such a short space of time - will try to send you some Springlike sunshine from here. Good luck to all your plants under the snow.

[Sinchets]

We are just considering ourselves quite lucky that the snow came before the cold. The temps are on the rise again from next Wednesday- but not yet sure for how long.  Hopefully some warmth will be on the way- "there's Crocus and Colchicum in tham theair hills!!"

[Ragged Robin]

The fluctuation of temperatures this month is extreme here too and the poor alpines in the rockery are either being baked, where the snow has melted round them, or frozen before the next snowfall but I suppose the temperature at root level is more or less the same - will be interesting to see what survives come the spring - bulbs up since the Autumn seem to be unaffected....

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Sunshine today !
Off to Holland (Utrecht) tomorrow for a Malcolm Mc Gregor lecture !

Have had worse prospects... 
(should have posted this in het I'm so happy thread I guess...

[Sinchets]

Sunshine today !
Off to Holland (Utrecht) tomorrow for a Malcolm Mc Gregor lecture !

Have had worse prospects... 
(should have posted this in het I'm so happy thread I guess...

Now was that deliberate, Luc, because you are off to Holland?

[Maggi Young]

Sunshine today !
Off to Holland (Utrecht) tomorrow for a Malcolm Mc Gregor lecture !

Have had worse prospects... 
(should have posted this in het I'm so happy thread I guess...

Luc, please pass on our good wishes to Malcolm on his appointment as new Editor for NARGS..... I'd like to send him a big hug, too, please, if you don't mind....

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Believe it or not, it was a genuine type Simon... 

I'll pass Mr Mc Gregor your wishes Maggi - as to the hug... 

[Sinchets]

Our weather report on BTV always provides information anout temperature highs or lows. The lowest temperature today was reported at a location in the northeast where it was -23.2C this morning.

[cohan]

more ice fog here, which stayed all day yesterday, and i think is still there! so the (bare) trees are so thickly coated now, its as if they have white foliage1

[Sinchets]

That doesn't sound too good, Cohan. Is it a low pressure system trapped over your area?

[cohan]

That doesn't sound too good, Cohan. Is it a low pressure system trapped over your area?

i havent seen the tv weather for any real description in the last few days, but apparently this fog was over much of the province, which as you know is a very large area! it isnt really any problem here--we did have a tiny bit of slipperiness on some roads apparently (didnt actually run into it ourselves) and out in the open, willows and small poplars have branches bending (contrary to what i said in another thread...lol--though i still think breakage is improbable, so far), the white stuff is so thick--very beautiful actually!
in my yard, the trees on all sides reduce the amount of fog that comes in, usually, so its frosty but not as heavy in here..
tonight maybe a couple cm of snow, supposed to be windy in the morning, which might get rid of a lot of the frost build up..

[Sinchets]

We still have very fine snow falling here to a depth of about 30cm. The fine, snow is easy to move and I have just been out to sweep last night's accumulation from the path. The temperature is -11C and the pipes are frozen- so it is buckets of snow on the stove time 

[Ragged Robin]

The temperature is -11C and the pipes are frozen- so it is buckets of snow on the stove time

  How may buckets to make a cup of tea??

We had problems annually with a frozen pipe and used a hair drier to unfreeze it - last year we injected the wall with foam and this winter everything OK so far - hope you resolve the problem soon.

[Sinchets]

We are not really ever sure where the problem is, as the mains pipe is exposed in lots of places where holes have been dug to repair it. We have bottled water for drinking, but use the melted snow for kitchen and bathroom water. 

[cohan]

We are not really ever sure where the problem is, as the mains pipe is exposed in lots of places where holes have been dug to repair it. We have bottled water for drinking, but use the melted snow for kitchen and bathroom water. 

what a pain snow  here rapidly becomes full of spruce needles and other forest debris. so unless you get the freshest only and immediately, it would require some straining even for washing..
we have two water freezing issues: for some reason, the hot water pipe to the kitchen freezes (only somewhere below -20 or -30) so the cupboard below the sink is left open, and on cold nights or when we go to work, we live it dripping, then its fine; when its near/below -30 i run the furnace for a few minutes once or, in really extreme weather twice a day, which blows air below the house, to keep those pipes thawed; otherwise its only the wood heater..
the second occasional problem is the shed with the actual electric pump; it has two heat lamps running all winter, but occasionally one burns out, or there is a cold wind from the wrong side when its -20 to -40, and then it freezes--this usually requires a few minutes with an electric heater to melt it and then we are good again..this happens a couple of times a winter, it seems...
i guess most of the pipes, such as those running from the pump to the houses are buried very deeply, as we have no problems with those, even at -40; both houses have heat tape (which senses temps near freezing in the pipes and runs then) on the first few feet of pipes where they leave the house (still covered with sawdust etc, and semi below ground), these are plugged in over winter.... so we dont have too much trouble with freezing pipes, but naturally there is a lot of prep involved in this climate....