Bumpkin

Sorry Syed, I didn't think you were having a go,I just wanted to explain that I haven't found a good long range forecaster.I don't think they exist. If the Met's 3month forecast improves then I might start to take notice.

I don't know if its a nationwide thing but I noticed about a month or so ago that we had an influx of redwings and fieldfares and they completely stripped the trees and shrubs of berries. Haw berries were quite plentiful but within a few days the hedgerows were bare. So if you have bird feeders, tables etc please put some food out. I'm not sure of any weather related connection but I've never seen the berries get eaten as quickly in previous years whatever winter has thrown at us.

Excellent. Nature and the countryside is a big passion of mine so will be willing to contribute. I have a reasonable knowledge of nature in the British countryside with butterflies being my main area. Weather wise I just had to go out to pick up my Son from work and its blowing a hoolie,drizzling and 10.3c yuck

Not a go at the Met Office Per Se as there were other forecasts that were wrong. After reading earlier in the spring that the drought would continue and the temps would be above average I cannot take the 3 month forecast seriously. Still searching for a reliable long-range forecaster, when your livelihood is affected by the weather they are quite handy! Looks like its just me looking at the model output and reading the thoughts of those more expert than I for the foreseeable!

After their Spring 3 month forecast I no longer take any notice of it. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/p/i/A3-layout-precip-AMJ.pdf http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/q/q/A3-layout-temp-AMJ.pdf

Well i can use my 100th post to wish you all a very merry Christmas. As for the weather I really hope that the next lot of rain due on Boxing day holds off until late in the day as we are visiting family in North Wiltshire and I'm driving back.

Absolutely piddling down again. Lets hope for a pattern change soon, nice big ridge of high pressure. I don't care about the temperature, we just need a really good dry spell. The moat around the house is back, I feel quite regal

The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one or two days. Warm fronts generally mean a low pressure system, so more sodding rain!

The fields that looked like lakes yesterday are back to looking like fields again and I managed to drive along the flooded lane this afternoon although i have a 4x4 and not sure if anything smaller would get through ok. Just hoping the next lot of rain misses the south west or doesn't come to much.

I clicked on Templecombe which looks like my nearest station and the daily precipitation shows as 45.8cm, we have had a lot of rain around here today but surely not 458mm!!

Wouldn't be surprised to find us cut off tomorrow morning. The road in one direction (where we towed out a car the other day) is impassable and the road the other way is getting quite deep under the railway bridge. Feel like the queen of the castle as we have a moat around our house.

At the moment I would gladly take a several weeks of dry weather, whether that is mild or cold. The last thing we need in the west country is more precipitation whatever its variety.

I'm not sure if I look like a stupid yokel or perhaps a bit of a mentalist but its not just my husband and children who take no notice of what i say! I popped out down the road with the dogs earlier and thought I'd take some flood pictures. Along comes a couple of cars and I stop the 1st one (little yellow thing) and tell the lady not to carry on around the corner as the road is badly flooded. of course she carried on. I walk around the corner only to see the car conked out in the middle of the flooded lane. Lady is in tears. So I phone the old man and being the hero that he is he comes out in the loadall and the owner in his landrover. No hook or bar so he opens the boot lid and find a hook and the landrover towed it out using baler twine.

done.

We are now having flooding issues as the road between our village and the next is inpassable. I've had to phone the secondary school to tell them that the bus won't get through and to tell my son to wait so I can pick him up. I've got to drive to Street shortly to pick my other son up from college, really not looking forward to it. the rain just seems relentless.

Not sure of the rainfall totals but it hasn't stopped raining. The cattle grid at the front of the drive has flooded again so the drainage pipe must be blocked again. I have a lovely big pool of water next to it and the grid has disappeared. I also have a moat around the house where the ground dips down. I've been out side shovelling gravel about because we were wading through water just to get to the car. The lanes around here are starting to get bad, might have to pick my daughter up from school in a tractor later!

Its been piddling down here for a while now. I have a lot of driving about to do over the next couple of days and am not looking forward to it. We are lucky that our house isn't at risk, I feel so sorry for the people who are worrying about their homes.

I'm use to mud and water being on a farm but it really does feel like i live in a swamp. As soon as I step outside its wet gooey mud. I've even been dreaming of hot sunny summers days whilst asleep. The weather is having an effect on my mental health! Luckily all the animals are inside in the dry and warm for winter and we managed to get enough winter food together to feed them. The maize failed but we managed a 3rd cut of grass silage. I just hope that if we do get high rain totals again that everyone stays safe and homes can be spared. It is never a good time to have a flooded house but Christmas time must be awful. I've heard of people doing a rain dance but does anyone know if a dry spell dance exists? I'll get my dancing gear on and give it a go!!

I'm not bothered about looking for cold, all i want for Christmas is a good long dry spell, so tired of the rain. I feel like an ogre living in a swamp.

My parents visited yesterday. they drove down the A303 past Wincanton on the way to us and I think my Mum nearly pooped herself when a crack of lightening hit the road not far in front of them.

Temperature just made it above freezing today but started dropping like a stone mid-afternoon. I went and picked my daughter up from school and was chatting on the playground for about 20 minutes. Went back to the car and the inside of my windscreen had frozen over. Of course my fan isn't working so was trying to clear it with a sponge whilst driving gingerly home! Currently -4.2c and still quite clear.

Cold weather doesn't actually kill bugs, under a certain temperature they become inactive. Extreme heat kills bugs. If the cold killed bugs then we wouldn't have winter flus and colds, winter vomiting virus and I might not have had bacterial pneumonia just over a week ago.

I think that if you don't have to travel far, your roads are gritted and you can afford to heat your home, then you will enjoy snow. I enjoy a few days but a month like December 2010 became a nightmare for us. The road through the village was never gritted and my car was hit by a sliding tractor & trailer. Christmas night it got down to near -20c and the dairy on the farm was frozen solid, hubby didn't get in until nearly lunchtime. We spent weeks trying to break ice on water troughs and keep pipes working so the cattle had water. Even my children ended up hating it as friends couldn't get to us and it was difficult for us to get anywhere. I have family who have to travel for their jobs so snow and ice can be a real headache for them. I love watching the snow come down, watching a thunderstorm out of a window and find the weather fascinating but I'm also very aware of how it effects other people. If the snow rampers get their wish and we have piles of snow then I hope that they are the first to check on the vulnerable and elderly people near to them.

Was -4.8c when i went outside at 8.20am and is slowly rising. Beautiful crisp morning.