Weather warnings part 3 - February storms.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Really hoped we wouldnt need another thread so soon.

Tomorrow we have one dangerous storm with winds potentially 90mph off welsh coasts, 80mph inland and hitting Ireland very hard too.

met office warnings for heavy rain (exactly where we dont need it but also hitting western scotland), snow, perhaps even down to lower ground at times over night even pretty far south and storm force winds. Also widespread gales across England.

Then friday night into Saturday we have another potentially damaging low. The models have really struggled with this one and it needs a careful eye keeping on it.

Because the winds look so bad tomorrow for some (enough in the amber areas for me to suggest that you consider whether your journey is essential), I'll be logging on around 7:15am to update. My biggest concern is western Wales in the afternoon. However the track may change as the storm develops so the amber warning area may shift. It is possible that the met office may issue some red warnings close to the morning.

Looking further on, although storms may track to their more usual position (north of scotland) as the month goes on, unfortunately the rain looks set to continue, with little in the way of respite.

snow would be a bit of a relief now? or will it be a nightmare? suppose there's then all the bloody thaw run off to deal with.

bright blue and bitterly cold in northamptonshire today.

It would be terrible news. As well as melt issues, farmers will once again be getting on with lambing and wanting to get ready for planting and what not. It has been very mild comparatively speaking and so spring, where things aren't under water is advanced. It could cause a lot of damage.

We also really really don't want any proper freezes now. When water freezes it obviously expands. It would do huge damage to roads and potentially buildings where brickwork is saturated.

What we need are just gentle winds to help dry things a little and temps above freezing.

ok, thanks.

yes here in northamptonshire i have had the sense of a very early spring. my bluebells are well on their way up at the end of the garden though it's early for them.

i'm no weather expert but despite the rumours this year i've never believed we really were going to get snow. it's a 'feeling' rather than meteorological knowledge, it just hasn't felt like it will and has instead felt like we'll get a very early spring.

S.Herts.
My neighbour's lilac and yellow crocuses are blooming happily in the sunshine and it's another spring day today with no wind.

Beautiful day today, here in Hampshire. Worried that the week ahead will lead to more rain and snow though.

Sadly no day looks entirely dry this week. Tonight into tomorrow will exacerbate the flooding in the SW. Thursday I think yellow rain warnings may be issued too. Other than that there will be lengthy periods of sun but also plenty of showers.

It's been really spring like here in the West Midlands, I've been digging my allotment in a tshirt!

Spring like down here too :) I've been very frustrated that at the moment I can't do much physically. I even had to delegate the chain sawing :( I did wander round making helpful suggestions to dh though.

Oh no :( chain sawing sounds like good fun! Hope you start feeling better soon

Please don't let it freeze without drying out, our council took the best part of two years to get rid of all the weather damaged road signs, after the very hard frosts.

A lot of our lanes are held together with temporary patches and riddled with cracks. Rain, frost and huge tractors are not good.

Thanks Methe. I love chain sawing. I'd love to do a course and get a petrol chain saw and then I could go out helping residents in distress. As it is we now have piles of wood drying everywhere in our garden ready for the next five winter. And now I've had to show dh how to do it :( it was my job!

Maybe will help

I'd be guaranteed to go through a limb or two if I tried chain sawing.

Wow I'm impressed Kitten, ill use the Scorpion and the Axe but am a bit of a shithouse when it comes to the chainsaw!

I'm not so good at splitting wood, I tend to make holes in the grass instead.

Spring like here today too, i actually put washing on the line!
Noticed the daffs are coming up.. No snow or freezing please, i don't think the stone/ pointing in my front wall will take it..

I too am very impressed with your chain saw skills OYBK, i'm at one with my axe and have log splitting down to a fine art, but no way would i go anywhere near a chain saw, my hedgetrimmer is bad enough!

Just a quick question. I am planning on driving to Looe tomorrow for a week with a friend and our dc.

Can you please tell me how it is down there now and the forecast for the week. I am a bit nervous about it and would welcome any information.

Thank you

My dad got stuck under a tree the other day and had to chainsaw it up as he couldn't get his leg out!

0 degrees and frost on the grass but sky has clouded over just as the sun is rising . Thought we were in for a sunny day again like yesterday.

Looks like it will snow now

Probably too late now Kahlua. It's going to be a mixed bag of sunshine and showers/rain. Heavier rain on Thursday looks likely (maybe another yellow will happen) and gusting 40-50 on Thursday/Friday. So not brilliant, but a good step down from the severity of recent weather.

Spotty that sounds rather dangerous!! How come he got stuck?

He was just working (estate manager) in the woods and it fell on him, one of the windy days! It wasn't massive but big enough he couldn't move it in one.

Good grief. A bit of a close call then.

Spotty ! I love chopping up wood and making fires, splitting logs has to be one of life's great pleasures. We have a field for camping and DH loves going off trailing small children to forage for firewood and then we build a great big fire and have marshmallows. I can't wait for summer now! Here, right now, it is pouring with rain, for a change.

S Herts.

It soon warmed up with no sun this morning and was +5 degrees by 9am. Light drizzle at 9.30 and now pale sunshine. Supposed to be much milder tonight , 9 degrees

I've just had it brought home to me what a warm winter this has been, went in the garage and realised I havent used any of the salt bags yet. I would normally have used 2 or 3 by now (I get the builders merchants to deliver 6 bags in the autumn and its usually a life saver up this hill).
Went through Gloucester yesterday, theres lots of flooded fields all around but the new flood defence work they did after 2007 (particularly on the electricity sub station) looks like its worked really well as a lot less roads and houses are flooded.