Stormy Weather II

[Serial_Apologist]

Every chance of London temperatures reaching 20C this coming Saturday, but with a strong southerly to ripple the surface of The Serpentine. Meanwhile a succession of more lows.

[Serial_Apologist]

Much colder following the passage last night of Storm Kathleen's cold front, which flooded an area along the South Coast west of Brighton to the Hampshire border - an unfortunate coincidence of spring tide, heavy rainfall and southerly gale. Temperature now 9 C, and not helped by a strong west-nor'westerly - compared to yesterday's balmy 17 C. Should warm up again on Thursday, but at the moment this looks like another temporary blip in what is turning out to be an exceptionally changeable spring.

I must get in touch with my friends in Toronto. It appears that the clouds opened right on time to see the total solar eclipse there.

[Petrushka]

The incessant rain up here is making it impossible to get out in the garden to clear up the winter debris. This usually gets done in mid-March but we've had barely a dry 24 hour spell since October and so it keeps on getting postponed.

The heavy rain is also creating havoc with my 'daily" walk which frequently faces cancellation. The strong wind isn't helping either.

[DracoM]

Utterly vile, rain, cuttingly cold [note that BBC forecasters? ] and powerfully windswept.

[Serial_Apologist]

Just back from my first moderately long cycle trip of 2024 of roughly 12 miles, taking advantage of the first coupling of warm temperatures and light winds so far this year. My aching knee joints indicate the amount of warming up exercise I have to do to get myself in condition for longer rides - I have a 15 miler in mind for tomorrow - one involving fewer arduous climbs. One has to make the most of suitable conditions while they last, before the really intense heat many "in the know" are expecting this summer arrives.

I've moved my max-min thermometer from its customary place on a rail on the north side of the block of flats, just below this window, where it seemed to be registering temperatures considerably higher than anywhere else in the UK (!) and pinned it onto the north-shaded side of the tall mature hornbeam in the garden which keeps my flat relatively cool, and today's resulting 17 C maximum looks just about right. In the past that thermometer had given readings below those generally being recorded in the district, apart from in June and July, where with the sun almost overhead the driveway asphalt 15 feet down can radiate heat upwards, and so I can only conclude there to be a source of heat emanating from further along the building - the italians next door seem to "like it hot" .

[DracoM]

Temp here max 8C, slashing westerly, thickening rain - AGAIN.

[oddoneout]

Temp here max 8C, slashing westerly, thickening rain - AGAIN.

I refrained from posting over the weekend, as I reckoned it wouldn't improve your mood, but it may afford you some small satisfaction that today is very much payback time for temperatures up to 20 and a great deal of sun, especially Saturday...
Today it is currently blowing a hooley, seasoned intermittently with spiteful rain, and even without the windchill temps are some way off double digits. The rain should ease somewhat during the day, but the wind won't, so neither will the low temps.

[DracoM]

Overnight, up here, wild westerly winds, a waterfall of a storm thundered the roof c5.30 a.m.

[Petrushka]

Today it is currently blowing a hooley, seasoned intermittently with spiteful rain, and even without the windchill temps are some way off double digits. The rain should ease somewhat during the day, but the wind won't, so neither will the low temps.

It's the same here in Staffordshire. The wind is very fierce and strong enough to stop me in my tracks on the Monday morning shopping expedition.

[DracoM]

[Serial_Apologist]

The occluded and cold double front passed through here between nine and ten am, with the expected gale-force gusts and heavy rain, but none of the thunder or hail reported further up and down the squall line. There must have been around fifteen minutes of moderate force wind in its wake before a quite sudden hike, noticeable from the approaching roar in the trees as I made my way around the block to observe cumulus shower clouds building up in the cold air. Already a good many branches down, some with blossom on them; it's sad when windy winter-type conditions persist as trees get burdened with emergent foliage making damage more likely than a month ago, but unfortunately its a fact that with northern sea surfaces still at their lowest temperature and the subtropics rapidly warming up the atmospheric circulation normally remains vigorous until May.

[oddoneout]

Wind peaked at over 50mph twice earlier today(no wonder I had to go and round up relocated objects!) and is still gusting in high 30s. The rain has largely died away thank goodness and I'm hoping that the one remaining big blob heading this way either waits until after I've walked to the library for a meeting at 4, or shifts direction slightly S which would avoid here.

The most awful racket just a couple of minutes ago - sounded as if both wheelie bins were careering down the road, but a flash and a second crash made clear what the real cause was. Added noise from a heavy hailstorm with the second crash. Now the sun's out although there is still black sky to the east and the wind is roaring in circles.

[Serial_Apologist]

Wind peaked at over 50mph twice earlier today(no wonder I had to go and round up relocated objects!) and is still gusting in high 30s. The rain has largely died away thank goodness and I'm hoping that the one remaining big blob heading this way either waits until after I've walked to the library for a meeting at 4, or shifts direction slightly S which would avoid here.

The most awful racket just a couple of minutes ago - sounded as if both wheelie bins were careering down the road, but a flash and a second crash made clear what the real cause was. Added noise from a heavy hailstorm with the second crash. Now the sun's out although there is still black sky to the east and the wind is roaring in circles.

We're getting the showers and the hail today, and one massive ground-shaking crash of thunder just half an hour ago, registered in the Brixton district, undoubtedly a cloud-to-ground strike. I hope nothing was damaged and no one injured.

My max-min thermometer seems to have gone completely mad since being moved, registering 21 degrees C in the wake of the hailstorm, while another, placed beside it, showed a more realistic 6C. Searching the web for advice, I can find nothing suggesting that mercury-type thermometers deteriorate or break down with age, so now I will have to pay a visit to the local garden centre and get a replacement. Mercury based thermometers are no longer manufactured I understand - recent household ones are "fuelled" apparently with alcohol.

[Old Grumpy]

My max-min thermometer seems to have gone completely mad since being moved, registering 21 degrees C in the wake of the hailstorm, while another, placed beside it, showed a more realistic 6C. Searching the web for advice, I can find nothing suggesting that mercury-type thermometers deteriorate or break down with age, so now I will have to pay a visit to the local garden centre and get a replacement. Mercury based thermometers are no longer manufactured I understand - recent household ones are "fuelled" apparently with alcohol.

There's something going on...


...our wall mounted clock which is self setting by a radio signal has been reading UTC+2 since we came down this morning (and still is).

Edit: Now gone back to UTC+1 in the last half hour

[DracoM]

Strange Light in Sky here!