NarniaWeb Community Forums

Plenty of the white stuff in this part of "Minnesnowtah".
Cleared over six inches of it just the other day, and it looks like I have just as much, if not more to blow tonight before it's all done falling.
At least it looks like the light fluffy stuff, and not wet, and sloppy.
As strange as it sounds I worry about warm weather now. With all this snow a lot of melting can only cause problems. I have seen too many accidents due to puddles turning to ice when the sun goes down.

Nearby suburbs are reporting about 7 inches/175mm in this latest storm, but it sure seemed like more when we were shoveling it.

Warmer weather this week may melt much of it, however. Right now it's quite pretty outside.

I hope you have had a properly cold winter this year. It remains to be seen what sort of summer is on the cards next June. On the news we've heard that something called "The beast from the East" is arriving in UK, fresh from Siberia, which will allow Northern Hemisphere winter to go out with a bang, rather than melting with a whimper.

Autumn arrived yesterday with the first rainfall for months which has lasted more than 24 hours.

Oh yes, it is jolly cold out there.
On Saturday I went down to London, where the bright sun didn't overcome the icy cold wind blowing from across Europe, from ? Siberia.
Back home in Manchester it is very cold here. The temperatures are only a couple of degrees above 0 degrees Celsius.
The Beast From The East - very much worse than the usual Easterly I put up with back home in NZ (wind blows onto the land in the afternoons in summer).

Last week was the week of ice. We had three ice storms come through, each two days apart. We never had a large amount amass on trees and cause damage that way, but lots of traffic accidents.
This week is our first peek at spring. The kids and I have already been out a good portion of the afternoon. More to come over the next few days.

It was a balmy 44F/6C here today, with lots of melting. Such warm temperatures after a big snowstorm are rather unusual, since cold Canadian air usually comes in after a storm.

I've never heard of "the beast from the East," though if it's from Siberia our equivalent is nicknamed the Siberian Express.

stargazer wrote:I've never heard of "the beast from the East," though if it's from Siberia our equivalent is nicknamed the Siberian Express.

It may be something similar, though Siberia is also closer to you, west of where you are, which might confuse the issue somewhat. I see there was a good article in the Washington Post about the "beast from the east" , which Australian media are quoting from. It seems that there was an unusual pool of warm air over the North Pole, in the stratosphere dragging up more warm air and exporting cold air southwards. Sea ice in the Arctic has been at its lowest point ever in that part of the world.

coracle wrote:The Beast From The East - very much worse than the usual Easterly I put up with back home in NZ (wind blows onto the land in the afternoons in summer).

I've been reading that this "beast from the East" isn't a usual weather phenomenon for UK, which seems to get most of its weather from the West. But it must have been an occasional enough phenomenon to perhaps inspire Tolkien, who, in his Middle Earth creations, seems to have regarded the East as the source of all evil.

Was the Easterly you put up with back home in New Zealand any relation to the Southerly busters which used to make Sydney summer days so much more bearable in years gone by, and which seemed to have vanished somewhat? Today is the last day of summer.

Our third significant snowfall in the past couple weeks is on our doorstep as I type this, with areas northwest of here already reporting 10 inches/255mm of new snow. High winds will blow it around and make travel "interesting."

We had some freezing rain and sleet last night, prompting a number of school closings for today. The side streets are still a little slick but the main event should arrive just in time for the evening rush hour.

We've been enjoying some unseasonably nice temperatures. Yesterday was 74F (about 21C) and today it's supposed to be 68F (about 19C). I confess I may have had the beginnings of a sunburn last night.
However, we are desperately dry. I just saw that the majority of Kansas, including where I live, had the driest Nov-Feb since 1895. We have a 20% chance of light sprinkles tonight and then nothing on the forecast for a week and a half.

So we had a week of heavy snow in many parts of UK, only a few inches where I am. By last weekend it had cleared, but there has been some further cold weather and some more snow in places. In the last few days it got milder and we had warmish weather - maximum 14 C here today, which was strange.

There has been some coverage on the news here about the European snow and the havoc it's created.

Our temperatures may reach that 14C mark by next weekend, which will likely melt a lot of the snow we have. Given how much snow we've had in the past couple weeks (up to several feet/1 meter in places), localized flooding would not surprise me if there is a quick melt.

coracle wrote:So we had a week of heavy snow in many parts of UK, only a few inches where I am. By last weekend it had cleared, but there has been some further cold weather and some more snow in places. In the last few days it got milder and we had warmish weather - maximum 14 C here today, which was strange.

14C isn't really too bad for March, I should imagine. It was 19C at the end of April in 2011, I heard. And it was still quite warm in London both times I was there, in September, in 2009 and 2012. It will be the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere next week, and Down Under, the Royal Easter Show is upon us in Sydney. Daylight saving will finish on April Fool's Day which is also Easter Sunday. And the weather has already cooled down to more reasonable maximum temperatures now that it is Autumn already. But would you find it a little disorientating, perhaps, being in the Northern Hemisphere, after so long living in New Zealand?

Fantasia Kitty wrote:I confess I may have had the beginnings of a sunburn last night.
However, we are desperately dry. I just saw that the majority of Kansas, including where I live, had the driest Nov-Feb since 1895.

Do take care, that dry winter is a bad omen for a scorcher of a summer ahead, and I most sincerely hope yours doesn't mimic the horror summer we have just had. We have had an exceedingly hot and dry summer, which broke all records, especially where I live, and though it has been raining and drizzling on and off, since the beginning of March, the shortfall of water lost through evaporation by February hasn't been made up. My sister-in-law's husband died of skin cancers in 2016, so it is well not to get sunburned if possible. We are told regularly to "slip, slop and slap" with high grade suntan lotion and to wear broad-brimmed hats and sunglasses to protect sensitive eyes and exposed skin.

Oddly, I have heard that we may have an exceedingly cold winter this year, in Australia. But that is something I really will have to see to believe it.

Finished unpacking through the week, so I finally have a little time to get on the gadget. I missed the ten inches you mentioned stargazer. Well, sort of. The Mrs., and I went out east, and were followed into Albany NY by the first "Nor"easter". Drove into Boston followed by the remainder of it. Then Sat through the start of the second one in a hotel room. We still had to deal with some lake effect on the way back. If you really want to test your driving skills follow semi's through winding mountain roads in white out
On the plus side, we did see some pleasant scenery when the clouds were not obstructing viewing Also, there are some great historical places to go to in Boston. Just hold on to any head gear as the narrow streets make a perfect wind tunnel.
As I said, we "sort of" missed the ten inches. I hope the neighbors were not too upset about the snow blower running after 9pm to make a path wide enough to pull the car into the garage

Just when we thought spring was arriving, we have been having a shorter cold snap, with snow and cold north east winds from Europe again. Was glad to put off going down to London again this weekend, and have got it planned for next weekend when the weather will be much warmer - since the South of England is badly hit by this.

The wind and cold, and the few inches of snow still sitting about, are welcome to disappear as soon as they like!

Astronomical spring began today, so we celebrated with...snow.

Not too much, just enough to freshen up the surroundings outside. A larger storm is possible this weekend.