Hot is NOT The Word!

[kmay87]

Too late - they neednt bother now, they will need snowploughs tomorrow

Hell, our council seldom bother to empty the bins on the side of the road, or clear up glass left on the path/road when something gets smashed. So I think the prospects of them hiring snowploughs is a no-no And even if they did, doubt they would bother to come visit me in the middle of nowhere. Living in a place with a population of only 10 or so people has its perks, but not at the moment....

I was meant to have a meeting in Reading tomorrow, which has just been called off, so I presume it must be getting worse. So it seems I'm going to be stuck at home: good job I have a nice bonus from 32Red to play

I'm a wee bit young to remember 1977...I've seen plenty of floods, but I fail to remember a time when virtually the entire London public transport system was ground to a halt because of snow. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but you would have thought we'd have procedures, if not technology, in place to counter adverse weather. To think the south of England is coming to a standstill because of a bit of snow..we have it easy compared to other countries.

Not sure what I'd prefer - the 45 centigrade heat in Australia, or the constant below freezing temps here?!

[vinylweatherman]

Hell, our council seldom bother to empty the bins on the side of the road, or clear up glass left on the path/road when something gets smashed. So I think the prospects of them hiring snowploughs is a no-no And even if they did, doubt they would bother to come visit me in the middle of nowhere. Living in a place with a population of only 10 or so people has its perks, but not at the moment....

I was meant to have a meeting in Reading tomorrow, which has just been called off, so I presume it must be getting worse. So it seems I'm going to be stuck at home: good job I have a nice bonus from 32Red to play

I'm a wee bit young to remember 1977...I've seen plenty of floods, but I fail to remember a time when virtually the entire London public transport system was ground to a halt because of snow. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but you would have thought we'd have procedures, if not technology, in place to counter adverse weather. To think the south of England is coming to a standstill because of a bit of snow..we have it easy compared to other countries.

Not sure what I'd prefer - the 45 centigrade heat in Australia, or the constant below freezing temps here?!

It's the worst since 1991. 1977 hit the south west hard, but London got off with virtually nothing. The capital itself is normally kept relatively clear by the urban heat island effect, but it was not enough to keep it clear last night. It takes relatively little snow to bring the south to a grinding halt, as most people only see this kind of thing a few times in their lives, so never learn how to drive in the conditions. Roads have been blocked by thousands of minor prangs, rather than the snow itself.
Parts of south London have 8 inches on the ground, and counting...........

I measured 3 inches here, not all that impressive really, but enough to close the schools (I saw some local kids playing around 9am, whereas they would normally be in school).

There has not been much more snow so far today, and it is now the North East that is in the firing line for tonight and tomorrow, and a big area of snow seems to be moving into the central spine of the country, and expanding.

[GrandMaster]

The thousands of out-of-work bankers should be made to shovel the snow, so they can do something useful in their lives.

[funky_seagull]

No snow here on the west coast of scotland. My son is hoping it will snow here tonight. Strong winds and big clouds in the sky look hopeful. We hardly ever get snow here. I think it is something to do with being on the gulf stream and the seasalt. If it does snow it is like a great magical event and people in the town get all excited by it, and try to make the most of it before it melts.

[heatherad]

It's the worst since 1991. 1977 hit the south west hard, but London got off with virtually nothing. The capital itself is normally kept relatively clear by the urban heat island effect, but it was not enough to keep it clear last night. It takes relatively little snow to bring the south to a grinding halt, as most people only see this kind of thing a few times in their lives, so never learn how to drive in the conditions. Roads have been blocked by thousands of minor prangs, rather than the snow itself.
Parts of south London have 8 inches on the ground, and counting...........

I measured 3 inches here, not all that impressive really, but enough to close the schools (I saw some local kids playing around 9am, whereas they would normally be in school).

There has not been much more snow so far today, and it is now the North East that is in the firing line for tonight and tomorrow, and a big area of snow seems to be moving into the central spine of the country, and expanding.

You folks would never survive a Canadian winter, especially in Cape Breton, lol.

[maxd]

When I was a kid growing up in Northern BC (that's Canada for those of you that aren't up on your geography) we'd routinely get 18 feet or more of snow per year (that's about 4.5 meters if you speak metric). Your average snowfall was about a foot (25 cm) but 2+ feet wasn't unusual.

After a heavy snowfall it took maybe a day or so to get things cleaned up and running per normal again. A typical snowfall would be cleared away in a few hours.

Temperatures would occasionally drop as low as -30 or -40 C. I remember when it dropped to almost -50 one year: it was very quiet and still, felt like living on a moon of Saturn or something.

Summers could be quite humid and hot (30+ C wasn't too unusual). After a while it became obvious how the weather can turn mountains into gravel.

Now I've become a weather wimp and loath snow of any kind. -10 C is WAY too cold. Ah, memories.

[kmay87]

After a heavy snowfall it took maybe a day or so to get things cleaned up and running per normal again. A typical snowfall would be cleared away in a few hours.

You should come over here then! Yesterday I think even the worst hit places only saw 8 inches at the most, yet we saw London come to a standstill, with all the train and bus services suspended all day, most of the airports were closed, most other train services suspended or not recommended, and general warnings not to travel unless it was urgent.

To think we are going to be hosting the Olympics, and hoping to get the World Cup, when we can't even deal with a little bit of adverse weather.

[maxd]

... we saw London come to a standstill, with all the train and bus services suspended all day ....

Vancouver, on Canada's West coast, is much the same. The weather is usually quite temperate, very pleasant. But mention the word "snow" and people would start driving their cars up on the sidewalk or plowing into each other.

It was pretty comical really: snow starts to fall, city panics, 1000+ car crashes before lunchtime guaranteed! I finally figured out that when the snow was coming down people seemed to think it was a great idea to drive faster in order to ... not have snow on them? That part escaped me but they certainly didn't make much of an allowance for the slippery conditions.

[kmay87]

Exactly. It's difficult to know who's at fault. You have the government and local councils, who knew we were getting this bad weather yet did little about it, but on the other hand, you have the goons who have no need whatsoever to go anywhere, but do so anyway, and then cause pile-ups on the motorways which cause yet more problems.

Snow is a rarity here too, but you would have thought people would show some levels of common sense. Or would you

There was an interview on TV last night with some irate member of the public who described the situation as like 'a third world country'. Quite strong words to use in my opinion when the blame and responsibility clearly rests on those who ignored the warnings.

[vinylweatherman]

Exactly. It's difficult to know who's at fault. You have the government and local councils, who knew we were getting this bad weather yet did little about it, but on the other hand, you have the goons who have no need whatsoever to go anywhere, but do so anyway, and then cause pile-ups on the motorways which cause yet more problems.

Snow is a rarity here too, but you would have thought people would show some levels of common sense. Or would you

There was an interview on TV last night with some irate member of the public who described the situation as like 'a third world country'. Quite strong words to use in my opinion when the blame and responsibility clearly rests on those who ignored the warnings.

There has been heavy criticisms for those who HEEDED the warnings, and did NOT turn up for work. We cant have it both ways. Unfortunately, no-one in charge will tell us what they actually MEAN by "essential journey". My definition would be that only those who work in the emergency services, transport, and care (including similar occupations) should attempt to travel. Those who are just working on things that can wait for another day, such as admin, sales, most manufacturing jobs, and finance, should heed the wornigs and stay at home, or close to home, attempting to work from home if possible, and productive.

I am sure it would be a wake-up call for us to experience a Canadian or US style winter, and we may not cope well, but it could be fun trying (Of course, we would prepare beforehand, such as making sure we had independent means of heating, lighting, and cooking, as well as enough supplies to last out the winter - perhaps this comes as routine for Canadians and Americans each winter).

Here 3 inches was the peak, although further sleet & snow has fallen, including a clap of THUNDER to announce the arrival of sleet and snow at 6am this morning.

At the moment, there is a mix of rain and sleet, but a hard and penetrating frost is predicted tonight and tomorrow should skies clear. Ice will then be the danger.