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Weird Weather

Now it's time for the West Country to stand by:

Wind and wave warning as huge 'Black Wednesday' storm barrels towards Cornwall
Last updated 12:17 Monday 8 December 2014.

There is the potential for severe gales to develop across Cornwall during Thursday night and into Friday as a huge area of low pressure barrels towards the county, with huge surf set to batter the coast.

Billed as the first winter super storm, the rapidly deepening low pressure system is forecast to bottom out at 930 millibars, :shock: before slowly easing from the west.

Billed as 'Black Wednesday' by Ben Freeston, head forecaster at wave forecasting gurus Magic Seaweed, he said that last year hurricane force systems like this with names like Hercules broke records and sea defences, cutting off train lines, and reshaping the coastline.

He added: "With forecast sea heights at peak now touching 60ft comparisons, even this early, with last year's Hercules super storm aren't unreasonable."

The Met Office says that a band of heavy rain will accompany the low pressure system, this pushing quickly southeast through the day.
In addition to the very strong winds, some overtopping waves are possible on western and southern coasts, and people should be aware of the risk of disruption to travel and perhaps power supplies.

According to the chief forecaster, to the south of this low pressure centre, gales, or severe gales are likely to develop, with gusts to 50-60 mph quite widely in the warning area.

Gusts in excess of 70 mph may develop in exposed spots, especially along English Channel coasts, where large waves could bring a risk of spray and overtopping. A period of heavy rain may also make for tricky driving conditions at times, this perhaps turning to snow over northern hills later.

Adding: "This is a very dynamic situation, and details of this development will likely change. As such, this alert will be updated in the coming days as confidence grows in track and timing of this low pressure system."

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11 ... ll/?ref=mr
 
We had one hell of a sunrise in Leeds this morning... couldn't see the best part of it due to city centre skyline and viaduct in the way, but there were amazing stripes of orange, blue and purple quite a way above that.
 
Punny Weather

Four people were hurt when a sudden hailstorm caused a multiple vehicle pile-up on the A30 in Cornwall, police say.
The collision, on the westbound carriageway near Camborne, involved about eight vehicles, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
One vehicle went up a bank on the side of the road, which was closed for about three hours.
There were no reports of any serious injuries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-30609982

Continue westbound, and the next town on the A30 is Hayle! ;)
 
Is there a word - along the lines of dreich - for when the sky above you is one thing but the weather is another? So blue sky and larks while getting soaked by sleet. Or dark roiling clouds while being bathed in limpid sunlight?
 
Not balmy weather...barmy weather...
 
29 December 2014 Last updated at 05:45

Cold weather: Record 2014 freeze for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
_79965169_025225380-1.jpg

Sub-zero temperatures come after snow fell in parts of the UK, including Langley, near Macclesfield

Temperatures have plunged to their lowest recorded levels of the year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, temperatures fell to -8.1C (17.4F) overnight, while parts of England dropped to -7.6C, and -5.6C was recorded in Wales, BBC Weather said. Scotland also saw falls to -6.7C.
But it has not yet beaten the coldest day of 2014 - recorded at -8.9C in Aberdeenshire in early December.
The Met Office has warned of possible dangers to vulnerable patients.
A Met Office cold weather alert, which remains in place until 12:00 GMT on Wednesday for northern England and the Midlands, warns of the potential health risks.

The lowest temperature overnight was recorded at -8.1C in Katesbridge, County Down, beating Northern Ireland's previous 2014 low of -6.2C, BBC Weather's Peter Sloss said.
A new 2014 low in England was also recorded, with temperatures plunging to -7.6C in Oxfordshire - colder than the -6.8C recorded earlier this month.
In south Wales, temperatures were recorded at -5.6C, compared to -5.1C recorded earlier this year.
The lowest temperature recorded at a Met Office Weather station this year was -8.9C (16F) at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in early December.

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Snow covered hills around Macclesfield on Sunday

It comes as parts of the UK have already been hit by sub-zero temperatures and forecasters have warned of further plunging temperatures over the next three days.
On Saturday, the lowest overnight recorded temperature was just above -5C (23F) in Perthshire with "widespread" frost hitting large areas of the country, the BBC Weather Centre said.

The amber - level three - alert in place for the North of England and Midlands is one below a national emergency and indicates social and healthcare services should target "high-risk" groups, such as the very young or old, or those with chronic diseases.
A yellow - level two - alert is in place in the rest of England indicating social and healthcare services should be working to ensure they are ready for a period of cold weather.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30610567
 
Perfectly normal weather here in North Wales. I don't know what records these people keep, but four years ago we were down to -10C, last night was only -7C . And these are the first really cold nights we've had this year.

Oh, I see - what they mean is its the coldest day in 2014. Well, duh - its December.
 
What is weird is that the water has gone solid and there are little white crystals of this solid water covering everything outside.
This doesn't happen in Cornwall.
 
Similar to that in Leeds this morning when I left the house at about quarter to seven.

Couldn't quite work out if it was a light snow or a heavy frost or a bit of both, it doesn't seem that bad but the 'frost' comes off and sticks to my bicycle wheels, dunno how I managed to flip myself over but I guess that helped.
 
You OK? and the bike? :eek:
 
Falmouth's Swanpool was largely frozen over, I saw, as I returned home from town on the bus. A lot of puzzled looking gulls and terns were walking about on it. Probably the first time it's happened in maybe 20 years.
 
Last edited:
Ah, I am fine and the bike was fine too. Was actually near as dammit stationary when I went over so not far to fall and wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't had to pick myself up again.

It is odd weather though, like the ground was wet when it froze and instead of icing over it sort of fluffed up with ice crystals.
 
OneWingedBird said:
Ah, I am fine and the bike was fine too. Was actually near as dammit stationary when I went over so not far to fall and wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't had to pick myself up again.

It is odd weather though, like the ground was wet when it froze and instead of icing over it sort of fluffed up with ice crystals.
Click to expand...
That sounds like hoar frost.
 
That sounds like hoar frost.
Click to expand...

Well done, I was thinking there must be a word for it.

It's not that unusual to see on plants or on the grass, can't think of the last time I saw it in the road though.
 
Hoar frost is very beautiful, couple of years ago I woke up and everything was coverd! Trees,grass,fences the whole area looked like narnia. I have some photos somewhere, haven't had a good one since that day.
 
I hate the El Niño Southern Oscillation. 38C here today, dry as a bone and bushfires roaring across the hills (temperate zone), yet flooding predicted for the northeast of the state (desert outback) this evening. We've enjoyed La Niña for 5 years with plenty of skyjuice in our tanks and the State Guv never reduced water restrictions but actually increased the water rates by 40% in that time. Now we're back in the hotseat. I want my money back. Or something.
 
It actually got to 42 today ... and then the rain put out the fires. Chances are lightning strikes will ignite new wildfires overnight.
 
Jet stream blasts BA plane across Atlantic in record time
Boeing 777 reported at speeds of up to 745mph as it flies from New York to Heathrow in just 5 hours 16 minutes
By Rob Crilly, New York
5:14PM GMT 10 Jan 2015

Concorde may have been retired but a British Airways passenger jet approached supersonic speed this week as it rode a surging jet stream from New York to London.
The Boeing 777-200 jet reached a ground speed of 745mph as it rode winds of more than 200mph across the Atlantic. At ground level, the speed of sound is 761mph.

The happy result was a flight time of just five hours and 16 minutes for BA114, which arrived an hour and half before schedule, according to the tracking website, FlightAware. :)

Dozens of other flights also benefited from the jet stream’s winter surge, but those same windshave also triggered severe storms across Britain.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...-BA-plane-across-Atlantic-in-record-time.html
 
We just had a heavy hailstorm - not unusual. But now it has turned to snow, big fluffy flakes, which is unusual for here. But snow or hail was not forecast today, and the weather's been quite mild - until now!

EDIT: The forecast has changed since this morning - now they are talking about wintry showers...
 
... which is the cue for the snow to stop and melt away!

:rolleyes:
 
Vid at link.

Groundhog bites Wisconsin mayor on the ear

A groundhog bit the ear of the mayor of Sun Prairies in Wisconsin as the animal "predicted" how long it would be until spring.

According to tradition in the US, the emerging of the groundhog from its burrow on Groundhog Day, will determine how much winter weather remains.

However when Jimmy was held to Mayor Jonathan Freund's ear it chose to bite down.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31100453
 
Prince Edward Island is in Canada. While large amounts of snow in Atlantic Canada and the northeastern US are the norm, being obliged to dig a tunnel through the snow in order to leave the house is unusual.

I agree that the difference in current weather conditions across North America is striking.
 
Cyclone 'devastates' South Pacific islands of Vanuatu

Cyclone Pam has slammed into the south Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu leaving "complete devastation" in its wake, aid agencies say.
Tom Skirrow, of Save the Children, said houses in the capital Port Vila were destroyed and "people are wandering the streets looking for help".
The UN agencies say dozens may have been killed and the disaster could be one of the worst in Pacific history.
Pam has brought winds of up to 270km/h (170mph) and torrential rain.
Chloe Morrison, an emergency communications officer with World Vision who is in Port Vila, said on Saturday that streets were littered with roofing, uprooted trees and toppled power lines.
She said there were reports of entire villages in remote areas being destroyed.
"It's still really quite dangerous outside. Most people are still hunkering down,'' she said.
"The damage is quite extensive in Port Vila but there are so many more vulnerable islands. I can't even imagine what it's like in those vulnerable communities.''

Mr Skirrow said: "The scene here this morning is complete devastation - houses are destroyed, trees are down, roads are blocked and people are wandering the streets looking for help.
"Communications are down across much of the country with the total extent of the devastation unlikely to be known for several days."

Unicef spokeswoman Alice Clements described the cyclone as "15-30 minutes of absolute terror" as it passed over Port Vila.
"I saw the sliding doors from my three-storey-hotel room completely blow away - it was terrifying," she said.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31883712

We don't hear much nowadays from those who claimed that global warming was really just a few meteorologists tweaking the figures for some reasons of their own...

Extreme weather events now seem to have quietened most of the GW deniers.
 
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