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Spikecollie

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Posts posted by Spikecollie

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    Sky now clouded up and can see towers going up to west in distance through a break in clouds that way....

    It was an amazing cloudscape coming back yesterday from Paris. TCU all over the place from the south Midlands northward. I was a generous bunny and gave a young couple the chance to sit together and ended up with an aisle seat, but I could still see out nicely and it was very sculptural...

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    One heavy shower with a rumble here today after just after lunch in our meeting. Overcast, warm and quite humid now, so I'll go for a leisurely walk after I've recuperated from what was a very productive but demanding day. I surprised myself on the language front and managed very well, and the teaching team were very nice and very supportive, but it was hard work. A nice glass of wine, sitting outside, has been earned! Météo France are progging some thundery showers for tomorrow in Northern France so I'll have my re-batteried camera at the ready if there's anything interesting up above...

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    No organised storms materialised here in Dijon this afternoon. Just thundery showers in one of which I got soaked going for the bus. Most of my visit to the lake was spent in picnic shelters or under trees! A couple of distant CG strikes, some loud rumbles and overhead flashes. The hills got all the T&L as I suggested they would. The nicest thing was the huge raindrops bouncing into the lake and the waterfowl having a bonanza day...

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    I would love to have experienced that Bucks! I love a bit of turbulence as long as it's not dangerous.

     

    Reminds me of landing in Bulgaria during a huge storm in a rickety old Tupolev. I was sure it would fall apart as the wheels hit the tarmac, we were getting chucked around all over the place right until touchdown. I'm pretty sure it wasn't safe weather to land in, but this was Bulgaria just out of communism in 1997 with aircraft that were barely airworthy.

    Careful what you wish for! I love flying and love cloud spotting from aloft. I understand the physics of turbulence and I'm a psychologist so I'll hold hands and make anxiety a lot less intense. BUT I get motion sick...so I might need your barf bag and lemon scented wipe. At least I'm honest...

     

    On another track...the most uncomfortable I've been on an aircraft is flying from Kiev to Simferopol in Ukraine a few years back. The ominous writing "hack with crash axe here" on the outside, and the harness seatbelts were bad enough - it was an Antonov 24 (check the safety record). The CAT was dire. I tried my relaxation stuff...no good. I shut my eyes and tried to think of something else...no good. I puked and puked and puked. I had to sit in the toilet with the flight attendants for the rest of the flight and I fainted on the bus to the terminal. A lovely German guy who was going to the same place I was going looked after me and came in the cab with me. The kindness of strangers and the weirdness of travel eh...

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted · Edited by Spikecollie

    I've been to southern europe latter part of October a fair bit (Crete, Corfu etc)

     

    and whilst a chance of storms - and when they hit quite impressive - I've found them a bit thin

     

    like a one week holiday you might get one really good day of storms

     

    also watch out as its stormy season flights can be a bit "interesting"

     

    we had a flight to Corfu ... should have taken 3 1/2 hours - took about 7 in total - there were thunderstorms over the airport at Corfu - we had to do circuits (2 parts of which were through storms) - to wait for it to calm down - each time we went through the bank of storms (each circuit) - the plane bucked around like anything, people were screaming, engines were surging - was horrible.  The winds within the Cb were very gusty - each gust you could hear the engines really surge - and obviously the plane was shooting up and down like no business (small movements in reality - but doesn't feel like it when you're having G applied to you and you've got no point of reference outside - just clouds)

     

    we in the end were running low on fuel so had to divert to a military airport in Italy - refuel, wait 30 mins on ground, then re-attempt

     

    even then - it was still fairly stormy, pilot had to do a low pass over runway to check conditions - then did a circuit and went for it - was a hairy landing, due to lots of water on ground etc - pilot went in hard and quick, so slammed it onto runway at a speed that was enough to go around if needed (they slam onto the ground when water soaked I believe to get best grip)

     

    as I said all in all about 7+ hours

     

    I'm a frequent flier and still found it rather scary lol

    Always remember you're not flying the plane, the best qualified guy or girl up front is! Turbulence can be physically (and psychologically) uncomfortable and like you I am a frequent flier who is not upset by turbulence, but who can get rather sick when it gets a bit overly lumpy - I hate being sick in front of other people and that makes me a bit anxious! I can't count the number of hands I've had holding so tight onto mine that they've virtually cut off the circulation...and only because I've seen their panic and said "it's ok". Missed approaches are controlled, routine and very safe. I'd rather a missed approach/diversion than an unsafe landing any day...

     

    What you describe as a "slam landing" is not abnormal when there is insufficient room on the runway to raise the nose of the aircraft and slow the descent nice and steadily what's called a "flare". Limoges is a prime example of an airport where this is not possible and my husband always panics despite my explanation!

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    Anymore news on "the net" on "the net"??!

    Some moderately funny punning on ukweatherworld and there's something on Twitter. On ukweatherworld they're suggesting that it is a fruit net rather than a fishing net, but it's still a big thing to travel so far up. There are some scary tales of paragliders and hang gliders getting sucked up, when I eventually do my tandem paraglide in the Puy de Dôme I'm going to make sure the instructor has double checked the weather and the cloudscape!

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted · Edited by Spikecollie

    I went there last week! Didn't see a sausage. But the southern coastal regions of France got storms everyday. You never know though. I'd say your chances are much greater than seeing one here.Bordeaux area would be best towards the W Pyrenees.

     

     Yeah most of the time I'll be in the N regions of France which is typical. I have known it to be as you say much better down there than here if the conditions are right. However, I don't think we'll be going that far S into Bordeaux.

    Don't discount Northern France for storms - remember where the southern UK's imports come from. I've had some awesome storms while in Normandie and a couple of years back a colleague had his car badly damaged by hens egg sized hail - Paris is stunning for storms too (there were some dingers there that I got to see back in February and March when the UK was having it's wild spring)!

     

    Prime storm areas are indeed the Pyrenees and areas in and around the massif centrale - (Auvergne, PACA) and yes because it's a Mediterranean climate, the south does get a bit more of a share of the fireworks. Having said the Aquitaine region is no stranger to violent weather - both winter storms (December 1999 was a classic) and thunderstorms which the wine growers of the Bordeaux area dread as the hail causes tremendous damage to the grape crops at this time of year.

     

    If you're camping, while they're very exciting at first, heavy and/or persistent storms can be a real pain. We've had to evacuate a campsite that was flooding, and we've had a few times when we needed to go and sit in the car during the worst of the lightning on very exposed sites. Even in a hotel or gite the electricity often goes off when it gets bad in rural areas. The intensity is much greater than anything that we tend to get in the UK and you have to respect that. Having said that - there's nothing nicer than a night time storm to watch...

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted · Edited by Spikecollie

    best of luck with your move , at the beginning of a 5 year plan , buy house in the south of france sell my business and whats left of the farm and leave forever !!!.....

    See my post in the "serious discussions" forum. And don't wait five years to put things in motion - find a place you love and put in an offer. Sales move, rightly, slowly in France. And remember you won't make a profit on your purchase for years (look it up!!!) You buy a home, not an investment - and so it should be...

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    I think so , all the fragrance houses are there , in a somewhat protracted search for a property there or abouts , will be going out somtime in august to follow up leads on potential properties !....

    I'm moving permanently Limousin at the end of the summer/beginning of autumn. We bought a house over here three years ago, but it took us a long time to sell our UK house and downsize (we're keeping a small bungalow as a rental prospect as although we are professional bunnies, we kind of gave up on pensions - long story). Let's not digress too much from the storms topic, rather I'll start another one. Suffices to say I have some reasonable advice. BTW all calm here now, but looking forward to a good day out tomorrow whatever the weather - may take the train to Beaune. New topic upcoming in "serious discussion" probs.

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    France is always a winner for storms , when I'm in grasse in the south whatever part of the summer l am treated to a storm !.......

    Isn't that where the book and film "Parfum" is set - a very weird story but stunningly sensual? A beautiful place. I have had many nights at campsites and at home in France sitting out in the garden watching storms. Before the rain comes, it is the most elemental of experiences watching the lightning flashing over the hills and enjoying the intensely humid air.

    • Like 1

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted · Edited by Spikecollie

    don't say that! Someone I know is about to take off from there any minute :(

    Hmmm. It was a tad lumpy at times this afternoon up there (I flew to Paris), but storms are no problem on descent and take off (en route storms are avoided where possible but flying between them when there's no choice can be a bit choppy). Any individual aircraft gets struck on average once a year - work the rest of the probabilities out yourselves, I'm too tired. When lightning does strike (I've had three strikes in a lot of flying) it's dramatic but over very quickly. There is a very bright flash, the cabin lights may flash on and off, and on two of the three occasions the worst result is that I have been actively using the barf bag...

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    By all accounts three storms in that area today...all after 6pm local. Good timing? :)

    Dijon Longvic METAR progging more for tomorrow too. If it's looking good I may take a tram to somewhere good to take some photos, bearing in mind I only have a mini brolly and one pair of shoes which have to do me for work on Monday - hand luggage travel is a dangerously balanced art form!

    Storm and Convective Discussion 23rd June Onwards

    in Storms & Severe Weather

    Posted

    Just had some fantastic lightning here in Dijon. The storms started just as the train came into the hills before Dijon, but didn't hit the town until I arrived at the station. Got to the hotel and flung everything down, opened the window and watched the display. A sky full of Altocumulus castellanus, so more action might be on the way. There was heavy rain in Paris when I arrived there and there were a couple of episodes of near coffee spilling turbulence (this is always proportional to the temperature of the beverage of course) en route.

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