Author Topic: It's snowing!  (Read 633428 times)

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #50 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:38:01 pm »
At least Nutty would stop complaining about the intense heat of early winter. :demon: ;)
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #51 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:40:05 pm »
Looking forward to it.

At the moment our heatwave summers and rainy winters aren't very nice.

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #52 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:47:59 pm »
If you compare UK temperatures with those on the other side of the pond at the same lattitude and wonder why we're not freezing our tits off, that'll be all the lovely Atlantic currents which have been bringing us warm water and good weather for centuries.

Problem is, the massive ice fields up near Greenland at the northern end of the Gulf Stream are melting and sending big ol' wodges of cold water into the ocean system and interrupting the flow of this rather useful Ocean Conveyor Belt.

Executive Summary:  We're fucked  :(
Depends on how far south it shifts. If we get 17th-18th century weather, we'll get by, albeit with much colder winters.  I'd invest in a ski lift in the Chilterns. ;)

Darkest Essex: drizzle.
Gatwick (earlier): SNO.
Cambridge (just now): No SNO.
Crystal Palace: Lots of SNO.

My spies are everywhere :D
Reading: drizzle with occasional cold slushy bits in it.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #53 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:49:17 pm »
Atlantic drift going off will probably lead to 1962 type winters once in every 4 to 7 years (the models are not completely consistent).  How our modern car based economy would cope with this would be 'interesting' to watch.  Some things would be easier (far fewer houses have their fuel delivered in lorries these days) but the sheer length of commutes and the expectation that people can always drive to meetings and so on would make things rather more difficult.  (Mrs C has been to Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Bristol this week for example which would never have been considered for someone at her level in the organisation fifty years ago).

Steve
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #54 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:50:46 pm »
Problem is, the massive ice fields up near Greenland at the northern end of the Gulf Stream are melting and sending big ol' wodges of cold water into the ocean system and interrupting the flow of this rather useful Ocean Conveyor Belt.

Thermohaline circulation.

Quote
is important because in the present climate it is responsible for a large portion of the heat transport from the tropics to higher latitudes, and it plays an important role in the oceanic uptake of CO2. Palaeo-oceanographic investigations suggest that aspects of longer-term climate change are associated with changes in the ocean's thermohaline circulation.


I don't think the climatic effects of this system on Europe are yet fully understood, but it's certainly an area of serious concern.

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #55 on: 16 December, 2009, 04:52:38 pm »
Looking forward to it.

At the moment our heatwave summers and rainy winters aren't very nice.

Got any Norwegians in the familiy tree, Nutty?  :demon: ;)


Quote
AN ANNOTATED THERMOMETER
60°F 15°C 289K
Californians put on sweaters (if they can find one in their wardrobe)
People in Spain wear winter-coats and gloves.
The Norwegians are out in the sun, getting a tan.

50°F 10°C 283K
The French are trying in vain to start their central heating.
The Norwegians plant flowers in their gardens.

40°F 4°C 277K
You can see your breath
Californians shiver uncontrollably
Wisconsinites sunbathe
Minnesotans go swimming

35°F 2°C 275K
Italian cars won't start.
The Norwegians are cruising in cabriolets.

32°F 0°C 273K
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Oslo Fjord gets a little thicker.

30°F -1°C 272K
You plan your vacation to Australia
Minnesotans put on T-shirts
Politicians begin to worry about the homeless
British cars don't start
Your spit freezes

25°F -4°C 269K
Boston water freezes
Californians weep pitiably
Minnesotans eat ice cream
Canadians go swimming
Cat insists on sleeping on your bed with you
The Norwegians have their final barbecue before winter.

20°F -7°C 266K
New York City water freezes
Miami residents plan vacation further south
San Franciscans start thinking favorably of LA
Green Bay Packers fans put on T-shirts

15°F -9°C 264K
French cars don't start
Cat insists on sleeping in bed with you
The Brits start the heat in their houses.
The Norwegians start using long sleeves.

10°F -12°C 261K
Politicians begin to talk about the homeless
Too cold to ski
You need jumper cables to get the car going

0°F -18°C 255K
New York landlords turn on the heat
Alaskans put on T-shirts
Too cold to skate

-5°F -21°C 252K
You can hear your breath
The Aussies flee from Mallorca.
The Norwegians end their Midsummer celebrations. Autumn is here.

-10°F -23°C 250K
German cars don't start
Eyes freeze shut when you blink

-15°F -26°C 247K
You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo
Miami residents cease to exist
Wisconsinites lick flagpoles

-20°F -29°C 244K
Cat insists on sleeping in your pyjamas with you
Politicians actually do something about the homeless
Minnesotans shovel snow off roof
Japanese cars don't start

-25°F -32°C 241K
Too cold to kiss
You need jumper cables to get the driver going
Milwaukee Brewers head for spring training
People in Greece die from the cold and disappear from the face of the earth.
The Norwegians start drying their laundry indoors.

-30°F -34°C 239K
You plan a two week hot bath
Pilsener freezes
Bock beer production begins
Swedish cars don't start

-38°F -39°C 234K
Mercury freezes
Too cold to think
Wisconsinites button top button
Parisians start cracking in the cold.
The Norwegians stand in line at the hotdog stands.

-40°F -40°C 233K
Californians disappear
Minnesotans button top button
Your car helps you plan your trip South
Wisconsinites put on sweaters

-50°F -46°C 237K
Congressional hot air freezes
Alaskans close the bathroom window
Green Bay Packers practice indoors

-58°F -50°C 223K
Polar bears start evacuating the North Pole.
The Norwegian army postpones their winter survival training, awaiting real winter weather.

-60°F -51°C 222K
Walruses abandon Aleutians
Sign on Mount St. Helens: "Closed for the Season"
Wisconsinites put gloves away, take out mittens
Boy Scouts in Eau Claire start Klondike Derby

-70°F -57°C 216K
Glaciers in Central Park

-80°F -62°C 211K
Polar bears abandon Baffin Island
Girl Scouts in Eau Claire start Klondike Derby
Green Bay Packer Fans put on sweaters.

-90°F -68°C 205K
Edge of Antarctica reaches Rio de Janeiro
Lawyers chase ambulances for no more than 10 miles
Minnesotans migrate to Wisconsin thinking it MUST be warmer

-100°F -73°C 200K
Santa Claus abandons North Pole
Wisconsinites pull down earflaps
The Norwegian army goes out on winter survival training.

-173°F -114°C 159K
Ethyl alcohol freezes

-297°F -183°C 90K
Oxygen precipitates out of atmosphere
Microbial life survives only on dairy products
The Norwegian cows complain that the farmers' hands are cold.

-445°F -265°C 8K
Superconductivity

-452°F -269°C 4K
Helium becomes a liquid

-454°F -270°C 3K
Hell freezes over

-456°F -271°C 2K
Wisconsinites allude as to how it's getting a mite nippy

-458°F -272°C 1K
Incumbent politician renounces a campaign contribution
The Norwegians start saying "Faen, it's cold outside today."

-460°F -273°C 0K
All atomic motion ceases
Norway wins the Eurovision Song Contest.
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #56 on: 16 December, 2009, 05:06:08 pm »
Quote
10°F -12°C 261K
Too cold to ski
Nonsense!
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #57 on: 16 December, 2009, 07:11:01 pm »
Don't forget the whole new random factor: the ice-free Arctic water has created a new stable weather pattern called the Arctic Dipole, which alternates with the regular patterns.  It's likely to intensify or mutate; an autumn with a warm wet Arctic could throw a lot of weather our way.  Basically, all bets are off.  If all bets were on, we'd be on warmer, wetter winters and cooler, wetter summers.
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Basil

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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #58 on: 16 December, 2009, 07:19:32 pm »
Oh no!

Snow in S.E. England. 
Rest of Great Britain cut off by snow in S.E. England.
 ::-)
How will we cope?
 ;D

Only pulling yer leg, chaps.  ;)
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #59 on: 16 December, 2009, 07:27:45 pm »
Oh no!

Snow in S.E. England. 
Rest of Great Britain cut off by snow in S.E. England.
 ::-)
How will we cope?
 ;D

Only pulling yer leg, chaps.  ;)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Chris S

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #60 on: 16 December, 2009, 07:38:18 pm »
Not if the Gulf Stream craps out on us.

After one of the warmest, wettest November on record, it's hard to see the evidence that this is actually happening.

When we start having long cold spells, and start breaking low temperature records, I'll buy you a Tizer, doff my cap and say "You were right, and I was wrong."  :)

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #61 on: 16 December, 2009, 07:52:20 pm »
Not if the Gulf Stream craps out on us.

After one of the warmest, wettest November on record, it's hard to see the evidence that this is actually happening.

When we start having long cold spells, and start breaking low temperature records, I'll buy you a Tizer, doff my cap and say "You were right, and I was wrong."  :)

I may be wrong here, but I don't think you're going to see any "evidence" before it happens.
The North Atlantic Conveyor either works, or it doesn't.
If it switches off, you're going to need as much body hair as possible.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #62 on: 16 December, 2009, 08:36:20 pm »
The North Atlantic Conveyor either works, or it doesn't.

It sunk didn't it?

Oh, that was on the South Atlantic.  :-[
It is simpler than it looks.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #63 on: 16 December, 2009, 08:40:23 pm »
It's pishing with rain up here the noo.
However the forecast is for frost and a bit of damp snow, so I've put my bike away for the rest of the week. The roads round Chez Pingu don't get gritted and I did enough falling off last winter to know I'd rather take the bus.

Yes, I know I am a woose.  :hand:

<thinks a bit too late: bollox, I forgot to grit the front steps......> :facepalm:
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #64 on: 16 December, 2009, 08:44:17 pm »
The North Atlantic Conveyor either works, or it doesn't.

It sunk didn't it?

Oh, that was on the South Atlantic.  :-[
My Dad did some work on it. They built a new one after the original was sunk

rogerzilla

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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #65 on: 16 December, 2009, 09:43:58 pm »
It's likely to play merry hell with my cycling to work, since it's the psyclepath (never salted) or the dual carriageway (people buzz you because you "should" be on the psyclepath).

That's why I've been going out in the rain for weeks - that's better than just getting fat in the car.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #66 on: 16 December, 2009, 10:31:53 pm »
Oh no!

Snow in S.E. England.  
Rest of Great Britain cut off by snow in S.E. England.
 ::-)
How will we cope?
 ;D

Only pulling yer leg, chaps.  ;)

uh um....


I've always wanted to try a set of those...
Ah, yes. From before Nokia started making mobile phones, when its main businesses included paper products, tyres, wires & rubber macs.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Valiant

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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #67 on: 16 December, 2009, 10:35:57 pm »
I hated today. Too cold for normal people clothes, too hot for the proper winter cycling attire. I arrived at work overheated and sweating.
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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #68 on: 16 December, 2009, 10:46:17 pm »
Not if the Gulf Stream craps out on us.

After one of the warmest, wettest November on record, it's hard to see the evidence that this is actually happening.

When we start having long cold spells, and start breaking low temperature records, I'll buy you a Tizer, doff my cap and say "You were right, and I was wrong."  :)

I may be wrong here, but I don't think you're going to see any "evidence" before it happens.
The North Atlantic Conveyor either works, or it doesn't.
If it switches off, you're going to need as much body hair as possible.
According to this paper from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, past cooling events  appear to have taken years ("as short as a decade" counts as abrupt), & have varied immensely in severity & duration. The post-1300 "little ice age" was of a different order of magnitude than the Younger Dryas, or even the 8200 year event.
Abrupt Climate Change : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #69 on: 17 December, 2009, 01:02:07 am »
According to this paper from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, past cooling events  appear to have taken years ("as short as a decade" counts as abrupt), & have varied immensely in severity & duration. The post-1300 "little ice age" was of a different order of magnitude than the Younger Dryas, or even the 8200 year event.
Abrupt Climate Change : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
This report says the Younger Dryas started in about a year
Big Freeze: Earth Could Plunge into Sudden Ice Age | LiveScience
(also in New Scientist a few weeks back)

Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #70 on: 17 December, 2009, 01:20:02 am »
It also says it was triggered by a freak event which happened all at once. Where are the conditions to kick that off now? The Greenland ice cap is melting, but unless a very large part of it melts in one great splash, rather than piecemeal summer by summer, we're not going to have a repeat.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #71 on: 17 December, 2009, 06:40:00 am »
Atlantic drift going off will probably lead to 1962 type winters once in every 4 to 7 years (the models are not completely consistent).  How our modern car based economy would cope with this would be 'interesting' to watch.  Some things would be easier (far fewer houses have their fuel delivered in lorries these days) but the sheer length of commutes and the expectation that people can always drive to meetings and so on would make things rather more difficult.  (Mrs C has been to Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Bristol this week for example which would never have been considered for someone at her level in the organisation fifty years ago).

Steve
You'll do what people have been doing for decades in some other parts of the world. Have different summer and winter tyres. And I don't mean either studs or chains, unless, perhaps, you live in the Scottish Highlands.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #72 on: 17 December, 2009, 07:47:17 am »
It also says it was triggered by a freak event which happened all at once.

Sudden Arctic sea ice melt could do it if (1) the whole thing went at once, which isn't unlikely for floating ice on water, it's a phase change kinda thang, and (2) the wind was blowing all those bergs into the Atlantic where the had a mighty melty dump - which is much less likely; odds are they'd piffle out en route and in situ.

Greenland ice sheet melt would do it and the current offers on the Copenhagen table are at the 'worst case' end of the scale, anticipating 4-7 degrees of warming, at which you'd get that melt easily.

Winter tyres?  Nokians are awesome.  :)
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #73 on: 17 December, 2009, 10:39:22 am »
But will they still be able to make them once all the oil's gone?  >:(
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Re: It's snowing!
« Reply #74 on: 17 December, 2009, 10:46:46 am »
It's just started snowing here.  Only a quick flurry - but we're due heavy snow later today.
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