Weather winter 2011-12

[angie]

Tom I think my problem is I have Pinetrees all around me but at the SW end there is an opening that acts like a tunnel and offcourse it tunnels the wind right to my house. There is the most beautiful uninterrupted view across the Deeside so the wind comes right up that valley up the hill and to my house.
When I moved here 18 years ago, it was a calm sunny day, I got so excited thinking about my new garden ( it was only grass with a couple of trees then when we bought the land ) soon found out that it wasn't the sheltered site that I had first thought. It's a challenge for sure.
Tom you live in such a lovely place, its well worth putting up with the odd gale  I always laugh to myself when my friend says we had gales here today ( Surrey ) I think she means a couple of gusts 
Just come in from the garden, picked up the leaves that the wind kindly blew into a corner for me 
Angie

[David Nicholson]

I think that the weather you get in Devon is like a gentle Zephyr compared to the West coast of Scotland!  We have had a semi-gale to full gale blowing for about 3 weeks, with more promised.  Nobody in their right mind uses fence panels up here.  A fence needs 100mm posts set in concrete and 12mm double cross rails to survive.
The last time I was in Plymouth in November 2009, there were severe weather warnings out for storms passing through.  Listening to the TV news it was as if the apocalypse was coming.  I walked the length of the Hoe in a strong wind but it just seemed like an average Winter's day at home.  I suppose it is what you are used to.  The Shetlanders or the folk in the Hebrides would probably think our weather was nothing to remark about.  I saw that the Buchan coast recorded a wind gust of 160km last week from a SW direction which is rather unusual.  You expect the winds to come roaring in from the NE as Maggi could probably testify

It does vary somwhat with altitude as you said in another post Tom. We are about 400 feet above sea level and on the southern escarpment of Dartmoor and the moor exercises a considerable affect on our local weather. The last rainfall figures I've seen that could be construed to cover my area show around 900mm annually whereas Plymouth city at sea level has significantly less than that. Princetown, on the moor, about 12 miles away as the crow flies, has significantly more. If there is any wind about we get it.

I'll always remember, shortly after we moved down here, a few flakes of snow fell in Plymouth, not enough to even begin to cover the ground, and shops closed; the Naval Dockyard closed and you couldn't get a parking space at Tescos for love nor money. You should really see the locals attempting to drive in snowy conditions it would be a joy to your eyes.

[angie]

I'll always remember, shortly after we moved down here, a few flakes of snow fell in Plymouth, not enough to even begin to cover the ground, and shops closed; the Naval Dockyard closed and you couldn't get a parking space at Tescos for love nor money. You should really see the locals attempting to drive in snowy conditions it would be a joy to your eyes.

David do you get much snow down in Devon. Its really windy here again and raining. I think I need to move to a nice quiet village down south before I get to old 

Angie

[cohan]

I think that the weather you get in Devon is like a gentle Zephyr compared to the West coast of Scotland!  We have had a semi-gale to full gale blowing for about 3 weeks, with more promised.  Nobody in their right mind uses fence panels up here.  A fence needs 100mm posts set in concrete and 12mm double cross rails to survive.
The last time I was in Plymouth in November 2009, there were severe weather warnings out for storms passing through.  Listening to the TV news it was as if the apocalypse was coming.  I walked the length of the Hoe in a strong wind but it just seemed like an average Winter's day at home.  I suppose it is what you are used to.  The Shetlanders or the folk in the Hebrides would probably think our weather was nothing to remark about.  I saw that the Buchan coast recorded a wind gust of 160km last week from a SW direction which is rather unusual.  You expect the winds to come roaring in from the NE as Maggi could probably testify

It does vary somwhat with altitude as you said in another post Tom. We are about 400 feet above sea level and on the southern escarpment of Dartmoor and the moor exercises a considerable affect on our local weather. The last rainfall figures I've seen that could be construed to cover my area show around 900mm annually whereas Plymouth city at sea level has significantly less than that. Princetown, on the moor, about 12 miles away as the crow flies, has significantly more. If there is any wind about we get it.

I'll always remember, shortly after we moved down here, a few flakes of snow fell in Plymouth, not enough to even begin to cover the ground, and shops closed; the Naval Dockyard closed and you couldn't get a parking space at Tescos for love nor money. You should really see the locals attempting to drive in snowy conditions it would be a joy to your eyes.

That's very funny, David! Though I do understand that much depends on what you are equipped for...

[David Nicholson]

I'll always remember, shortly after we moved down here, a few flakes of snow fell in Plymouth, not enough to even begin to cover the ground, and shops closed; the Naval Dockyard closed and you couldn't get a parking space at Tescos for love nor money. You should really see the locals attempting to drive in snowy conditions it would be a joy to your eyes.

David do you get much snow down in Devon.

Normally not Angie. We moved here 25 years ago when the kids were 6 and 11, neither of them remember using their sledges more than once. Having said that last winter we had a spell of about a week when I couldn't get the car up our road. It wasn't the depth of snow but the ice underneath it that caused the problem.

[Stephenb]

It's now official, November 2010 was the coldest November ever here. This year was the warmest ever (records go back to the 1700s!) and we still have only had one frost!

[Panu]

And here it was among the three warmest. In parts of Lapland it was even 6 degrees above the average.

[TC]

Winter at last.  Flurries of snow are falling but luckily are melting as they hit the ground.  Inland the snow is lying and there are icy patches.  It is about time I moved the tender plants from the greenhouse.  The snow seemed quite thick when I took the picture through the window, but it has not registered too well.

[David Nicholson]

Annoyingly showery here. Everytime I start a job I have to race around putting things away again. Sod it, I'll stay in

[Maggi Young]

Seeing pictures of quite a lot of snow on the news.... nothing here in Aberdeen.... jolly cold though!

[cohan]

No problems getting the snow to register in photos here

[TC]

Here we go again !  The past few days have been very windy, with squalls of sleet and torrential rain.  The fields around have turned into lakes in many cases.  The only things that seem happy are the thousands of geese and Whooper swans who are paddling round the fields.  The weather forecast is warning us of storm force winds of 80/90mph -( 130/140kph) -coming through southern and central Scotland tomorrow.  This has been hitting us here for about 10 weeks.  It's about time someone else took their share !

[Hoy]

Got some frost last night -2C! The sodden ground and slush that fell the other day has frosen solid. I've seen some stars too
The forecast says more sleet and milder, then a frosty night and then mild weather next week. Have brought the last pots inside. If December doesn't get too cold then 2011 will be the warmest year ever recorded in spite of a cold January and February!

[RichardW]

first day I've actually been cold at work this winter, after throwing Magnolia leaves into a trailer and watching them blow out again for 20 minutes I had the bright idea to do some mowing, forgot about ride on mower windchill and couldn't feel my hands for rest of the afternoon, grass looked nice though 

[TC]

Well, the gales arrived sooner than expected.  I had to go to the library and I could not open the car door due to the force of the wind. I then had to park it nose on to the wind to get out.
The wind strength took me by surprise - I was leaning forward to stay in the same place.  However, it was quite sunny so I took the car to the sea front to look at the waves.  The police had blocked off a main road at the front as the waves were crashing over the wall and the road was seriously flooded.  With the river in flood and being high tide, the water level was about a foot below the main quay roads.  I went down to the breakwater for a look and decided to go no farther.  It was almost impossible to stand and the spume was horizontal with a good mixture of sand in it.  I risked a couple of pictures and then beat a hasty retreat.  Looking out the window now, the storm has passed through or else we are in its eye - the former I hope.