Winter

[Pulcinella]

Letter to Radio 3 this morning from someone in Norway saying they were just about to take the dogs for a walk in -16 degrees Celsius! On that note I'm going to chance a walk in our "t shirt" weather (their words not mine...)

I lived in Atlantic Canada for a while, and was amazed at the resilience of folk there.
Mind you, they heated the buildings so well that many in the student residence I lived in were still in T shirts inside, if not out, in the middle of winter.
I can remember popping out to the Engineering/Computing building next door to collect some output and not bothering to put a jacket on.
And to be fair, the dry cold didn't seem as bad as much of what we get here.

Their energy was cheap then, it seemed to me; it's probably not now.

[Mal]

Back from the (very fast) walk. Freezing fog living up to its name! Interesting how fog droplets were frozen onto most exposed surfaces.

"Tiny, supercooled liquid water droplets in fog can freeze instantly on exposed surfaces when surface temperatures are at or below freezing. Some surfaces that these droplets may freeze on include tree branches, stairs and rails, sidewalks, roads and vehicles." - US National Weather Service

But why aren't the pavements at all slippy?

Quora: "It is not the ice that is slippery, it's the film of water ... on top of the ice ..."

Too cold for film of water to form?

[teamsaint]

Today is a bit more murky, but we've had snow (and still are a bit) and the lake is frozen.

They are lovely, JK.
thanks for posting.

[cria]

Winterreise tonight BBC4

[Serial_Apologist]

Seconding TS's commendation on Joseph K's frozen lakescape pics. Not as much "rime" on vegetation there as here, but the trees up Redditch way are bare, whereas there are still leaves on many around here. I'm wondering how our resilient resident parakeets are coping, not having heard any of their usual squawking for a few days now.

[Joseph K]

You're welcome, TS and S_A. Apparently it will get sunny and frosty again in the coming week so I hope to take some more photos then, in less murky weather.

[Serial_Apologist]

You're welcome, TS and S_A. Apparently it will get sunny and frosty again in the coming week so I hope to take some more photos then, in less murky weather.

If temperatures do rise to the expected 2-3C tomorrow most of this lot will be gone by tomorrow evening, apart from in shaded areas.

[oddoneout]

Winterreise tonight BBC4

I watched that in February. Lots of lovely snow scenes to accompany the singing, but then there'd suddenly be footage of sunny flowery alpine meadows to accompany another song.
The building they used is interesting https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...hes/index.html.
There were some challenges for the filming...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyKk7Ohk9YE
Although I have heard James Baillieu many times on R3 I hadn't ever seen him, so that was a bonus.

[oddoneout]

Winterreise tonight BBC4

I watched that in February. Lots of lovely snow scenes to accompany the singing, but then there'd suddenly be footage of sunny flowery alpine meadows to accompany another song.
The building they used is interesting https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...hes/index.html.
There were some challenges for the filming...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyKk7Ohk9YE
Although I have heard James Baillieu many times on R3 I hadn't ever seen him, so that was a bonus.

[oddoneout]

Apologies for double post - brain not fully functional this morning. Host feel free to remove one - I can't work out how to do it at the mo.

[Barbirollians]

Back from the (very fast) walk. Freezing fog living up to its name! Interesting how fog droplets were frozen onto most exposed surfaces.

"Tiny, supercooled liquid water droplets in fog can freeze instantly on exposed surfaces when surface temperatures are at or below freezing. Some surfaces that these droplets may freeze on include tree branches, stairs and rails, sidewalks, roads and vehicles." - US National Weather Service

But why aren't the pavements at all slippy?

Quora: "It is not the ice that is slippery, it's the film of water ... on top of the ice ..."

Too cold for film of water to form?

That sounds rather doubtful - Ice at very low temperatures seems quite slippery too in my experience .

[Bryn]

That sounds rather doubtful - Ice at very low temperatures seems quite slippery too in my experience.

Much depends on the construction of the tread on one/s footwear. The pressure of those parts of the sole in direct contact with the icy surface will melt it to provide the aqueous lubricant. Significant patterning which leaves areas of uncompressed ice beneath the footwear can offer some limited resistance against slipping.

[RichardB]

I can't help but be a bit amused about the way that every year some sudden decrease in temperature in the winter is treated in the UK as if it's never happened before.

[teamsaint]

I can't help but be a bit amused about the way that every year some sudden decrease in temperature in the winter is treated in the UK as if it's never happened before.

My first proper job was in a huge Calor Gas distribution depot. I only did one year there, but the long termers told me that, regular as clockwork, the dealers , some of whom are substantial businesses, never ordered extra autumn stock until the first frost. And then there was a huge backlog which they grumbled about.
Incidentally...notable features of the job.....a Harry Worth mirror and every morning at 10.00 the hooter went for a 15 minute break for both the guys in the plant and also us office staff. Bacon and black pudding rolls and tea or coffee were the only options.
Apparently the average company pension was drawn for just 9 months......

[Petrushka]

Much depends on the construction of the tread on one/s footwear. The pressure of those parts of the sole in direct contact with the icy surface will melt it to provide the aqueous lubricant. Significant patterning which leaves areas of uncompressed ice beneath the footwear can offer some limited resistance against slipping.

I've found that my humble pair of wellingtons give by far the best grip in icy conditions. The snag with them is that the feet go cold very quickly and two pairs of socks don't help all that much. However, worth wearing the wellies for the fantastic grip and I've worn the same pair in these conditions for very many years.