December Severe Cold Spell Thread

[markt]

Another 2-3" so far this morning for me just up the road...  Fun and games!!! 

[brianb]

4X4s

Big problem these. The 4 wheel drive makes them better at getting moving but the braking & steering is no better ...

[Anton]

I agree with you Brian, they are a great vehicle in these conditions however, when going down hill if you don’t now how to control the vehicle by the means of the gear box you can get in to major problems and loose control and if that occurs you have no way of stopping a 3 ton plus vehicle sliding where it wants to go. I have been amazed at how many 4X4 drivers I’ve seen going way to quickly thinking they are invincible and they are not, the vehicles have the technology for these conditions its the drivers that don’t know how to use it that are at fault. In the are I travel we suffer from flooding so I would be totally lost with without one and I’m sure all the people I have helped during this period of snow, from taking them to the local store or towing them up a hill appreciate a helpful 4X4 driver.

Thanks

Anthony

[brianb]

-13.6C here at the moment. Starting to think a team of huskies is the most sensible mode of transport.

[markt]

I'm on a 'balmy' -5c this morning     

[markt]

Jo Bastardis latest take on the month and ahead http://www.accuweather.com/video/717615365001/monday-morning-sea-ice-and-coming-euro-thaw-report.asp?channel=vbbastaj - maybe one final plastering of snow before things aren't as cold as they have been...

[JohnC]

Cheers,Mark. That made a good read - a thaw. My wife's car is still in Oxford so we're making a dash there in an hour. She hit a blizzard there  on Friday. On Boxing day we're due -10C  (14F for Richard) at least and they  actually mentioned -15C (5F) and Monday the Low from the Atlantic will be pushing in and when that hits the cold air......I think we'll both see significant snowfall, another reason to try and get the car back today.

[markt]

I think we'll both see significant snowfall.

I think you could well be right.  I clicked on the met office site before to check out their synoptic charts and I have to say they seem a bit wishy washy to me - it looks a ferocious low late on the 25th / early 26th, but then just seems to hang around off the south west coast of iceland - as a result its fronts seem to be more over the NW (Nods at you chaps in NI), stalling there for a while.  Still, whatever happens aint too far away now, so I guess i'll just crack open the cooking sherry and mince pies and sit back and wait and see.   My parents are due to arrive on tuesday for a couple of 3 days, so if it is bad weather again around this period it could well make the journey down for them interesting, I'm certainly going to have to clear the rest of the snow of my drive so dad can get his car on...

[Roman White]

I'm certainly going to have to clear the rest of the snow of my drive

Lucky you... Almost all of my snow has melt by its own. It is unusually warm now in Ukraine - temperature keeps near +7C for a few current days (until Sunday). Along with solid cloud cover and permanent fog (visibility mostly below 300m) for 5 days in a row already!   

[markt]

Hey, what's happening with the ppn coming in over NI at the moment chaps?  Freezing rain?  sleet?  snow?  Notice from the radar image you're covered there.

Weather forecast keeps chopping and changing its mind as to what its going to do yet - rain, sleet, snow...  Guess we'll be back to good old nowcasting as usual! 

[martinastro]

Hey Mark, it looks like rain/sleet to me although I'm sure there's snow higher up, I also think this could be turning to freezing rain after dark, I hope so anyway.

[markt]

Wow, some really bright coloured echoes on the radar for NI atm, mainly rain now?

The icicles are starting to drop from the guttering etc, at my house tonight, some pretty dramatic crashing and smashing sounds.  The pet cat doesn't like it, ears back and a twitching tail...

*Edit*

Just been out for an explore with the Maglite - temperature is up at +1.5c(!!!) - warmest it has been for some significant time.  All the icicles are slowly dripping away and dropping off, I can see clumps of snow dropping off the trees, bushes etc.  Now it's past midnight and there is little or no traffic noise it makes for a really eeiry noise hearing all the cracks, crunches and crashes coming from all around.  I suspect there will be quite a few curtain twitchers tonight looking outside as they can 'hear noises', however possibly not realising it's the thaw they can hear...  Could be a real problem with black ice aswell - looking at the car it has one of those 'fluffy frosts' on it (almost a mini hoar frost), however the road outside our house (we live up an unadopted road) has had dirty snow / slush on it now for over a week, however, at first glance looked to have appeared to have melted, when I put my hand down on it has just turned to sheet ice.  So, tomorrow morning round here could be messy.  We have to go to the supermarket tomorrow to get supplies as my parents come over for 3 days on tuesday, think i'll be doing a check of what the roads / pavements are like before  we get the car out...  For us it has rain/sleet/snow (take your pick depending on forecast) coming through on the early hours of tuesday morning, looking at the +ve temps we have tonight, and it will only get warmer, I suspect it will be rain...  Though, the cold isn't too far away and the BBC Countryfile weekly forecast has high pressure returning come thursday, with grey sky murk and freezing temperatures again.  Will be interesting to see if its warm enough for long enough to actually melt all the snow...   

[markt]

Temperature is +3c here today, quite misty, however surprisingly little of the snow has melted.  All roads and pavements just about clear, but plenty on the gardens etc.  Wonder if it can hold out till the higher pressure returns later in the week???

[brianb]

OK guys do we prefer -15C and everything working (just about) or +10C and no water supply?

Nightmare journey to ferry Thursday night with very low temps (-15C on car thermo), freezing fog & ice even on the trunk roads. Car was misbehaving due I suspect to waxing of the fuel. Not much warmer the other size of the ditch but the roads much better condition.

[JohnC]

Bit of a curates egg that question.  -15C and working or +10C and no water. I'm following your water problems on the news - once again it's not  so much the problem itself that's getting all the news but the lack of information,they tell us about the bottled water  etc. quite quickly and then go ion to the lack of information. When are these companies going to learn to get information out to people. The people at Heathrow knew why the flights were disrupted and accepted it ,to a point, but what they couldn't accept was the lack of information.I'm hearing that  not even politicians in NI can get through to the NIW. On their website they have 'meet the team'.All enquiries go through 'The Team' and this team is actually two people. The Press officer and the marketing & Communications Officer. I've watched the interview with Paddy Cullen,Head of NIW Comms. and behind him in the  not very large Comms room I counted 5 people at the the phones.  he said that all the information is ion the website- they all say that as if everyone has access to the web. The south is suffering too,worse it seems and  I see and that's blamed on a lack of investment  in the industry's  infrastructure . I hope it resolves  for you all sooner rather than later - we had almost 2  weeks of no water in the July floods of 2007 so I know how hard it can be - we don't realise how vulnerable we are until such times as this.- believe those  summer floods  was worse in NI on June 7th so I assume you had supply problems then. I wonder what financial contingency plans the government has  for these events when they're cutting services and projects left,right and centre.

I'm glad of a thaw tbh. I felt sorry for the pond  fish  and wildlife but the fish are alive, however I haven't seen the small ones that were there.