Eabie

Just some on-and-off light showers here. Clouds were pretty dark at a couple points, but I didn't hear any thunder. Still nice to get a bit of rain though.

The death toll has risen to 116 from the Joplin tornado. That makes it currently tied with a tornado that struck Flint, MI, in 1953 to be the single 9th deadliest tornado in US history. It's also the only one of the 25 deadliest US tornadoes to have taken place after 1955... Just incredible damage and awful casualties, especially considering how much more sophisticated weather warnings have become since the 1950s.

I have to admit, I'm not at all pleased with the forecast. I completely understand why most people are - I certainly don't hold it against anyone and I don't want to rain on anyone's parade! But I'm a recent immigrant to the UK (I've been here exactly one week) who found my previous summer in Ontario unbearably hot and humid, and I was really, really looking forward to a typical UK summer to make up for it. Instead, I feel like I brought Ontario summer weather with me, and I completely loathe it - sweating like a pig, being unable to work, waking up in a sweat... Ugh! Like I said, I understand why everyone is excited about it. But a typical UK summer is what would have been more atypical for me, and I was rather keen on it... not for the hottest summer in 35 years. The one bright spot for me is the possibility of thunderstorms.

Did any storms go up through Coventry yet? I'm not there yet but still rooting for it from afar.

I'm not even in England until Tuesday but I'm still hopeful that Coventry will get at least some thunder. Vicarious excitement, yay! Good luck guys!

Exciting!! I arrive in England on Tuesday morning, and it'd be awesome if I could get a storm (most likely my first of the year - there's not too much potential here the next few days) so soon upon arrival.

I'll hazard a guess at 12.2 C.

I hope for thundery weather. Even if it's fairly minor, I don't care. Last year I started to keep a log of every instance in which I hear so much as a rumble in the clouds, and I enjoy writing in it. lol.

Was just searching for some long-term seasonal forecasts. Not sure how much faith to put in such predictions at this point, but nonetheless I found this and thought some might find it interesting: http://www.positiveweathersolutions.co.uk/UK-Eire---Long-Range-Forecast.php

Thanks for the kind greetings, it's nice to feel welcome. About the hours of sunshine... amusingly, my partner complained about how "bright" it was while living in Ontario with me last year, because it hurt the eyes. I remember being slightly mystified by that, but it makes sense if an "average day" to you is usually a cloudy day. I don't think cloudiness is something that'll bother me too much though, and I enjoy rain and fog. It'll be interesting to see how well (or not) I take to the new weather. I'm also just generally curious to see what late spring and summer will shape up to be like this year (my first in the UK), and I'll be following the predictions on here quite closely. I *think* there was a heatwave in parts of England (including Coventry) a couple years back, summer 2009. I vaguely remember talking about it on MSN and reading about it in my emails - I didn't experience it firsthand, hehe. But it sounded hot!

Thanks! I'm very much looking forward to it... there's going to be some stressful elements (i.e., finding a job) but I'm excited about the move overall. Especially being reunited with my partner after far too long a separation. 18-22 C is pretty much my ideal in summer. Maybe even a bit less than that is ideal for me, but those are still nice temperatures. I'll be based, at least at first, in Coventry. When it comes to 30+ C, 'fraid I'm squarely in the loathing camp too.

My English spouse has been saying to me that the weather's been absolutely beautiful lately. I hope it continues to be lovely, 'cause in just 4 weeks, I'll *finally* be moving to the UK. My only worry is that the summer will be oppressively hot and humid. I remember last year when we lived in Southern Ontario, spring-like conditions were already taking root in late February and temperatures by mid-March were hitting 15 C. It was a lovely spring, like you guys are having, but the summer turned out to be horrendous, with an entire week of temperatures hitting 33 C (feeling like 43 if you factor in the humidity). I know some people here love that kind of summer heat, but I found it absolutely stifling... I was often waking up in the night soaked in sweat, and barely had the energy to do anything during the day. We lived in a small apartment, so we didn't get very good ventilation. If the temperatures are around 15-20 C, like I was expecting for England (though starting to worry now, lol), I'll be pleased as punch.

Thank you so much for that link! I've been searching for something exactly like that, so that I could do a little research on the frequency of thunderstorms recorded in Coventry.

It's still a bit early, but models are showing a major blizzard affecting southern Manitoba and much of Ontario in the New Year period (31 Dec - 1 Jan). I'm in the UK until the 5th though so I'll miss it if it materializes.

Not too much to say for Winnipeg over the next several days. The biggest story is probably the cold. There's an arctic airmass that's going to be sending nightly lows to around the -30 mark, with highs around -20. The cold snap will last until about mid-week, by which point I'll have hightailed it to the UK to enjoy Christmas and New Year with my partner. Won't be back until January 5th.

Gone pretty sedate here as well. After the late-November snow dumping (55.6 cm in little more than a week), there's been little of note to remark on. There's a fast-paced little clipper system passing through tonight and tomorrow, but it's not depositing a lot of snow here (maybe 3-7 cm with some gusty winds). Tomorrow's high is a positively balmy -1 C... but then the following day it's only -17, then -19, then -21. LOL. Who says we don't have ups and downs?

There was some commentary about the rest of Europe too, especially Poland. But the focus, as I recall, was mostly on Britain -- and when they talked about the rest of Europe, they mentioned Britain first. That's how I remember it anyway.

Ah yes, didn't mean to make it too far off topic. Just happens with a bit of back-and-forth sometimes. I'll be moving to the UK (not sure just when yet, 'cause there've been some delays, but hopefully spring now). Then I'll only write about UK winters, hehe. And yes, snow causes trouble *everywhere*, really. The amount of snow the UK's received (and the problems it's caused) has received news attention over here as well. I've noticed from the clips I've seen, though, that everybody seems to be really good-natured about it, which is a nice contrast from here, I must say.

I came home from the university campus by bus one evening during a blizzard. I just remember every time the back door of the bus opened, a flurry of snow would suddenly fly in... didn't exactly excite me at the prospect of going out in it. And for good reason! The mere 10 minutes or so it took me to walk from the bus stop back to my home, in a fairly open area, without any head covering except my flimsy hood, was sheer hell. I came in a bit teary eyed from how much my ears were hurting; my feet went numb as I got snow in my shoes; and there was even snow compacted against the side of my nose. lol. Moral of the story: check the forecast and don't go out when there's a blizzard on the way. If you must, at least wear a hat and some boots.

I agree that dampness makes a big difference. I found that living in Southern Ontario, for example, that -10 C there felt colder than -10 does here. I haven't been to the UK in winter so I can't really say how it is there, but I know my partner is a very "warm person" (in some ways he handles the cold better than I do; he'll go out in a t-shirt when I want to wear a sweater) and he's been saying that it's "freezing" there lately. If he says that, I believe him. lol. That said, though, we can have some truly miserably cold days, with wind chills occasionally feeling like -40 and once in a rare while even -50. It's nowhere near that cold right now (a balmy -11 C with no wind chill as I write this, lol), but if we happen to have a "cold snap" like that while I'm gone I'll be grateful to be in the UK.

Hi, thanks for the polite answer. I'm traveling from Winnipeg in central Canada to Coventry to spend Christmas and New Year with my partner's family. I'm really looking forward to it -- the last time I was in the UK was September '09, and only briefly. I'll be staying a whole 3 weeks this time around.

Good informative site, thank you for the link!

Found them, thanks. More settled weather after the 12th is obviously good for me in terms of traveling.

I'll be in the UK from mid-December to early January. Does anybody have any idea what's in store for that period, even in general terms? I heard that the cold snap is expected to last; will it deepen? Might there be more snow? (I know this is all a bit far-out for the models, hehe.)

I think this article kind of helps illustrate your point: "The snow is clearing... now for the ice age" http://www.independe...ge-2151050.html It begins with the rather gloomy statement: "Drivers and shoppers were told not to panic over feared shortages of fuel and food last night despite forecasters' predictions that arctic conditions would continue to grip the country for the whole of next week and beyond." It also mentions, as a consequence of the snow, what I'm sure Britons have only contemplated in their darkest nightmares: a possible shortage of brussel sprouts.