John88B

10c and 100mm please.

Agreed. I still hope for a long cold winter as I have done since I was a kid but mother nature will still do as she pleases.

38.2 in Kent on Sunday 17th.

It was the year I left school. From memory, I might be wrong, but the summer was a good one. As you said Live Aid was on and I was playing cricket that day and it was a beautiful day. I also remember the day I left school being during a nice spell of weather and remember plenty of sunbathing in the garden with my mates during the period after leaving school.

Yep the system seems to be moving slower than anticipated but just as severe. I presume this means peak gusts for a longer period of time once it does arrive.

Really blowing hard here now. Just had a chuckle at a flock of pigeons flying backwards past my window

After a steady build in strength, the winds are really kicking in here now. With still a couple of hours until peak gusts it's going to turn really nasty without a doubt. Just for a change I believe this one's going to be not just media hype.

Lucky you but some things should be kept private

A tenner says that record goes in the next hour

The winds have really started ramping up here just north of Bristol over the last half hour. Still a while until they reach their peak and then six hours of peak winds due. I get the feeling today is going to be truly exceptional weather wise. Go careful people.

Heavy rain and wind starting to pick up here in South Glos. Strongest winds expected between 8am and 2pm here. I think its going to be a very wild day for many.

Maybe part of the red warning is to do with the storm surge expected up the Bristol channel, but yes I expect red warnings to be expanded.

It's been a lovely day here close to the Bristol channel. Hard to believe that by early tomorrow morning the storm will be starting to kick in. I'm thinking red warnings may well be extended to other parts of the country as the storm approaches. It's very rare a storm of this strength hits the south of the UK and personally I'm rather looking forward to experiencing it. Stay safe everyone.

Morning all. I've woken up expecting to see slight downgrades in the severity of this storm but still it's looking very nasty indeed. I fully expect to see red warnings going up today for many parts of south Wales and southern England. Living close to the Bristol channel tomorrow is going to be interesting to say the least and I'll maybe see the strongest winds I've seen since the great storm of 87. After a winter of very bland weather down here please don't shoot me down when I say I'm rather looking forward to the experience. Stay safe everyone.

I live just four miles from the Severn Bridge. It's quite a windy place at the best of times. This has the potential to be something seriously blowy! Sunday also looking pretty windy. An interesting spell of weather coming up

Out of interest can anyone tell me what winter 62/63 was like across the pond in America?

For the snow starved on here I give you the Boston webcam. Boston USA unfortunately They're expecting 20-30 inches. Lucky gits. EarthCam - Boston Cam WWW.EARTHCAM.COM

3.5c and 50mm please.

Regarding a lot of talk on here and elswhere on the Internet of the current cold and snow in Turkey. Some saying how rare it is and some even linking it to climate change! The following is taken from a site regarding the winter climate of Turkey. "Winters are cold and snowy, with daytime temperatures generally around 5°C and evenings at -2°C. The amount of winter snowfall is directly proportional to elevation." I hope this puts all the exaggerations and nonsense talk to bed.

I agree to a certain extent with this. I think we go through natural cycles of cooler and warmer weather but I'm in danger here of starting a debate that belongs on another thread.

Yes I think I remember that one along with a fair few others that missed us to the south. Then again I remember events like January 82 which absolutely buried the west country and south Wales with the deepest snow I've ever seen. I don't doubt winters have become slightly milder but the mind remembers the cold snaps and big snowfalls and forgets all the normal mild crap in between making people believe it was much colder and snowier than it really was.

I think there's a lot of unrealistic expectations of a British winter. Yes we've had a few severe winters over the previous hundred years but in general they're mild, damp and pretty drab. We're a tiny island on the edge of a massive ocean so it's to be expected. People say our winters are becoming milder and maybe they are but they bang on as if the winters as recently as the 70s and 80s were constant snowy nirvana's. Trust me they weren't, they were in general pretty crap,I was there.

I wondered what woke me up so early and now I know,it was the fat lady singing Oh well I hope some manage to see a bit of the white stuff in what's left of the year. Thanks to all who contribute so passionately to this great thread. Merry Christmas to all.

Living in the south I'd bin the lot at the moment

If MOGREPS is going for cold for Christmas should we not sit up and take notice. Plenty for cold lovers to still be positive about.