Tag: Weather

Snow coming…

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Beautiful photo by Aaron Burden from unsplash. I don’t normally use other people’s pictures but this is free to use on the Internet.

We have had snow warnings, for Thursday night and for Friday. We have had a lot of snow across the country over the last couple of days, but in the South and the North of the UK. But a low pressure zone is travelling up from the South, and an Arctic blast of cold air is coming from the North. The wet air from the south is due to turn into snow somewhere over the Midlands and Northern England (Staffordshire and Derbyshire). Lower levels are due to be 10 to 20 centimetres, but higher ground might get 40 centimeters. Not sure how much that is in inches but it sounds a lot? I think 12 centimeters is 4.7 inches? So today we got the shopping done. Made sense rather than getting caught out tomorrow or Friday.

Little pool

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Snowdrops surround the dam at the end of the pond at Rode Hall on the snowdrop walk at the weekend. Some of the daffodils are already up and we saw cyclamen and Helibores too. Spring is just round the corner and unseasonably warm weather has reached us from the south. Tomorrow we are expecting colder, more normal temperatures with possible snow showers. It’s no wonder the birds and insects get confused at this time of year.

Out on a limb

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Growing out and up… A long limb of a tree scrambles to escape the shade of its companions. Thinks, I’m not going to be hidden by all your leaves. Give me light and I will grow into a tree in my own right. I don’t need holding up, I will sway in the wind with the best of them! What’s a bit of tension and torsion to a limb like me? I’m only slightly cracked, that split in my bark will soon heal over, I’m not weeping sap. Oi! Don’t you bring that chainsaw near me! I will survive!

Cloudscape

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A mackerel sky over Stoke today. A plane had flown through it leaving a slice of blue sky through the blue and white. These clouds usually happen when a weather front passes over the land I think I remember. To me it looked like a huge swans wing was covering the city. The low sun sparkled off sections of it, but as the sun started to set the cloud got darker and moved further over us, the feathery sections moving Eastward away from the sunset.The forecast is for possible rain showers and strong winds tomorrow

Red sky this morning

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This photo doesn’t do it justice. I don’t have a great view of the horizon because its obscured by trees and buildings, and the window needs clearing of ivy that is growing around it. There was a yellowish gap in the clouds where the sky was visible, then bars of orange/red clouds lay across it, like sand bars in a shallow sea. Have you ever looked up at the sky and thought it was mimicking an ocean view? It was like that. The best time I ever saw that illusion was when we were driving down to Dorset. We were climbing a big hill and the sunset appeared over the peak of the hill. It looked like the sea with land protruding into it. As we reached the summit the real sea became visible and the sky looked as if the sea was reflected in it. All pinks and golds and bars of lavender grey. We had a lovely week away.

Two years ago…

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The snow was heavier a couple of years ago. You can see the streaks of it falling on this photo. I love the quiet hush as it muffles sound.

But the heaviest snow was several years ago. I remember cycling on a tandem from Stoke to Stone (about eight miles). It was a least thirty years ago and me and my hubby had no car yet. We decided to visit some friends. It started to snow but we were warmly dressed so we got on the main road. But the snow came down thick and fast. I remember a friend who was with us decided to turn round and go home. But we continued along a dark country road through Barlaston and on to Stone. By the time we got there it was like being on a snow plough! We were starting to slide and slip because of the ice and catching the snow with our pedals! There was no other traffic and the snow was illuminated in orange patches by the street lamps. We met our friends and left the tandem at their house. I remember going to the pub and sitting in front of a roaring fire. When we came out there was about two foot of deep snow. We stayed overnight at our friend’s after falling off the tandem when we tried to ride off!

Going out

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I just got out of the house, only to go across the road to the supermarket, but it was definitely ‘out’. I leaned heavily on the shopping trolley to support myself, the cold air had got to my lungs and I felt short of breath again, but at least I didn’t cough. I was out yesterday, but only to walk from the car to the pharmacy and back again, so this was actually more of a test. The snow had all melted except in patches where it had been sheltered by the shadow of some bushes. In those places where the sun hadn’t penetrated there was crispy icy snow, glassy from compression by feet. I avoided those areas because I didn’t want to slip. Now I’m home and keeping warm. I’m wearing a fleece and my dressing gown over my clothes to keep warm!

So it did snow…

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Not much though, and it’s melting today. But when it was snowing it was dropping big wet flakes out of the clouds, like bits of wet tissue paper. When you look up you can see the flakes falling down, dark shadows against the whitish clouds, then white as they get caught in the light from my doorway. There was a small accumulation over night, but then as the sun caught the snow on branches it dripped off in white blobs.

Around the country it has been far worse, a double decker bus toppled over on an icy road near Hinckley Point yesterday. Some of the passengers were injured. The lake district hills are covered in snow, and Scotland and Wales have had much more than here. I guess living in a city means it doesn’t get as cold so snow melts more quickly and with global warming there are less really cold days than ever before.

A dusting of snow

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Hard to see, but the roof opposite has a dusting of snow. It was like that this morning, a thin, crisp crust of powder. Then it melted quickly in the low sun. Now the clouds are back, getting that orange glow off the sodium street lights. Next doors roof has a thin white layer of snowy ice. The gritting lorries are out, and we are waiting for disruptive snow showers coming from the North West through the Cheshire gap. Meanwhile the cats dip in and out of the catflap. Coming in frequently to warm their paws, then out again to do who knows what? When we go to bed they will come in and curl up to sleep. Meanwhile they pad through the thin layer of snow, silent and probably deadly!