A random thread for weatherish things that don't warrant a thread of their own.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

The forecast on Look East at lunchtime said that Storm Henk is the first named storm of the season. Methinks that we're still in the meteorological season of winter and Henk is the first of the year.
As it started just over a day into the year I'm not going to extrapolate!

Met said they’d have given earlier warning but it sneaked up on them, ie was too small to be noticeable.

[Jasmine]

The forecast on Look East at lunchtime said that Storm Henk is the first named storm of the season. Methinks that we're still in the meteorological season of winter and Henk is the first of the year.
As it started just over a day into the year I'm not going to extrapolate!

Indeed. The season starts in September. Storm names are alphabetical starting at A at the beginning of the season, which was Agnes in September. I think it's pretty unusual for us to get all the way to H in a year, let alone so early. It's all a bit grim.

I mostly just want it to stop raining. We had 20 hours of rain yesterday. I can't even think of the last day there was no rain at all here.

[rafletcher]

I mostly just want it to stop raining. We had 20 hours of rain yesterday. I can't even think of the last day there was no rain at all here.

Very much this. There have been flooded bits we've never seen flooded in the last 25 years, though thankfully nothing severes hearabouts. The garden is a quagmire, still littered with fallen leaves as it'd been near impossible to get out there.  However it looks like we're about to get some winter weather over the next couple of weeks.

[T42]

Bridge over a titchy stream near us is closed to road traffic due to much water coming down out of the forest.  Fields near electricity substation are flooded, dunno how well it's protected.

Looks like snow next week.

[rogerzilla]

Vile outside again - absolutely hammering down.

We are staying in Bewdley on Sat night    Currently it is just possible to cross the river on foot only and use a small passage between houses to avoid the flood on Beales Corner.  If that passage floods - and the Severn hasn't peaked yet - we will have to drive to Kidderminster to catch the train on Sunday morning.  We could drive 4.1 miles to Bewdley station using the non-flooded roads (instead of a 1/4 mile walk) but there is little parking on that side of the river.

[Wowbagger]

Chucking it down here.

Interesting comparison of siblings' rain gauges yesterday/today. Bro in Ramsden Heath had recorded 18.4mm for Jan so far. Sis in St. Ives (Hunts) had recorded 28mm. My total up to yesterday was 11.3, this morning up to 12.9. But it's hammering down now and the weather station claims 9.2mm since 3pm. That reads about 10% lower than what I think is a realistic figure.

[Wowbagger]

In the past few minutes, I've heard from two different friends, who live in rented accommodation, that their roofs are leaking. In one case, she reported it to her landlord on 19th December. Buggerall has happened. The leak is right over her bed, apparently.

[Bluebottle]

Il tombe comme une vache qui pisse and we have a leak in our lab, Right over £+50k of kit. Fortunately, I do not trust our estates so have had all* kit unplugged and covered in bin bags since the Christmas shutdown.

*I have just realised I forgot to cover two pricey bits of kit... fingers crossed for tomorrow...

[SteveC]

And just to add to the fun, in parts of Somerset the road temperature is expected to drop sufficiently that the gritters are out.
Fortunately I'm WFH tomorrow and we don't need to go anywhere before mid-afternoon at the earliest.

[CAMRAMan]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

Wow zoinks! I think the coldest I ever encountered living in Poland was -20 (on which occasion my in-laws warned me "Don't run!" Not because of ice – this was out in the edge of the village, far too much snow to be icy – but in order not to breathe in big gulps of cold air). And you know what? I'm actually not jealous at all!

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Be careful what you wish for!

With changing weather patterns who can say that the UK could not experience very low temperatures indeed!

[Wowbagger]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

Wow zoinks! I think the coldest I ever encountered living in Poland was -20 (on which occasion my in-laws warned me "Don't run!" Not because of ice – this was out in the edge of the village, far too much snow to be icy – but in order not to breathe in big gulps of cold air). And you know what? I'm actually not jealous at all!

I've just had a telenatter with my Finnish son. -15.6°C in Siuntio at lunchtime. He's having a problem with his piano. Firstly, it spent quite some time in a shipping container and some of the keys stick. Secondly, the humidity in the room it's in is only 10%. That's too dry and the pin block is shrinking, and it's going out of tune.

[andrewc]

Vile outside again - absolutely hammering down.

We are staying in Bewdley on Sat night    Currently it is just possible to cross the river on foot only and use a small passage between houses to avoid the flood on Beales Corner.  If that passage floods - and the Severn hasn't peaked yet - we will have to drive to Kidderminster to catch the train on Sunday morning.  We could drive 4.1 miles to Bewdley station using the non-flooded roads (instead of a 1/4 mile walk) but there is little parking on that side of the river.

Yes, that looks a little damp.  You'll need the tall wellies Roger.   https://x.com/WorcsTravel/status/1742899461569839154

[BFC]

We have been looking at the lovely map (zoom in to $local_area) at check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk

[CAMRAMan]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

Wow zoinks! I think the coldest I ever encountered living in Poland was -20 (on which occasion my in-laws warned me "Don't run!" Not because of ice – this was out in the edge of the village, far too much snow to be icy – but in order not to breathe in big gulps of cold air). And you know what? I'm actually not jealous at all!

We had a winter sports day in February '91. I'd put myself down for downhill skiing, but it was touch and go whether it could go ahead, as the lifts were shut down once it got to -20c, as water would form on the lungs, apparently. Anyhoo, it did go ahead, as it was 'only' -19c! But it was NOT fun!

In winter '93/'94 it was below -30c for three weeks. The area central heating service was days away from running out of oil, because the icebreakers were stuck in the Gulf of Bothnia.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

Wow zoinks! I think the coldest I ever encountered living in Poland was -20 (on which occasion my in-laws warned me "Don't run!" Not because of ice – this was out in the edge of the village, far too much snow to be icy – but in order not to breathe in big gulps of cold air). And you know what? I'm actually not jealous at all!

We had a winter sports day in February '91. I'd put myself down for downhill skiing, but it was touch and go whether it could go ahead, as the lifts were shut down once it got to -20c, as water would form on the lungs, apparently. Anyhoo, it did go ahead, as it was 'only' -19c! But it was NOT fun!

In winter '93/'94 it was below -30c for three weeks. The area central heating service was days away from running out of oil, because the icebreakers were stuck in the Gulf of Bothnia.

"Proper" winters! 🥶

[Mr Larrington]

According to mine host at a b&b in Tok AK they close the schools when it drops below ~ -50 Celsius.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Our school was closed when the double-decker bus failed to get up the icy hill.

[rogerzilla]

Be careful what you wish for!

With changing weather patterns who can say that the UK could not experience very low temperatures indeed!

Newport, Shropshire, had -26.2^oC back in the 1980s.

[ian]

Right now, it's -37c in Vindeln, Västerbotten, Sweden, where I spent a year in the early '90s. I'm almost jealous, as -36c was the lowest I encountered.

Wow zoinks! I think the coldest I ever encountered living in Poland was -20 (on which occasion my in-laws warned me "Don't run!" Not because of ice – this was out in the edge of the village, far too much snow to be icy – but in order not to breathe in big gulps of cold air). And you know what? I'm actually not jealous at all!

-38 degrees in Canadialand (wind chill -54). Your eyeballs crackled every time you blinked. I froze my ears solid.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

So much for the Met office - it must have rained quite heavily overnight.

Be careful what you wish for!

With changing weather patterns who can say that the UK could not experience very low temperatures indeed!

Newport, Shropshire, had -26.2^oC back in the 1980s.

The quality of UK infrastructure suggests that prolonged cold snap of that nature, over a significant area of the country* could be quite serious.

* of course Newport is significant, just not in that way.

[Wowbagger]

It looks as though we have NEish winds setting in for at least the next week.

[Mr Larrington]

Hurrah! Tailwind on the way back from Mr Sainsbury’s House of Toothy Comestibles for once

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

River Trent reaches record levels

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/06/cold-weather-alert-issued-amid-246-flood-warnings-in-england-and-wales

Doesn’t sound good.