Northernlights

Had an inch of snow in the last half hour and still snowing hard so it looks like this cold spell is going to end with a bang!!!

Moderate snow here also, wonder how long it will last?

Just an added thought what really makes this winter for me is that there is hardly any greeness left in the countryside the grass has been burnt brown by the continuing and sometimes hard frosts and we have been feeding the sheep since mid January which has not been done for 20 years or so as in recent years the grass has continued to grow all winter and there has always been a fresh bite to put them onto and they would not look at hay or turnips. In the garden some snowdrops are flowering but the daffodils have only broken the surface when latterly some would have been flowering by now This winter has definitely been a reminder of the winters I knew in the sixties and seventies.

The background on my laptop is a photo taken on the 28th of October 2008 showing falling settling snow at midday in front of our horsechestnut tree resplendant with its autumn coloured leaves and this sums up the winter to date with snow on the ground at sometime in every one of the last 5 months with this recent spell probably the best for snow(20 cms) and frost together. Air frosts have been very frequent since late October and with two notable spells of nightimes below -10c at New Year and in the last few days There are shaded areas of ground that have been frozen since just before New Year. After any short mild spells it has always quickly defaulted back to cold with interestingly a number of days with west winds giving us falling snow. Now with sea temperature approaching their minimums and colder than they have been for a few years I don"t think winter is over yet. All the wildlife on the farm plus the cattle and sheep are devouring vast amounts of food commensurate with the current cold and possibly future cold spells. I feel that without looking at the models we are in for a late spring up here with snowfall continuing into April and at low level and summer suddenly arriving in June.

Another fantastic winters day here with snowcover down to the sea all round the Firth with a fresh dusting last night. Some snow showers out to the NE giving great contrast to the blue of the North Sea. Tomorrow will be our 8th day of lying snow 8 inches deep so even if it warms up we have definitely had a winter with -10c on two nights in the last week a few miles from the sea. This is how February weather should be with the lower humidities drying the roads up to leave them white with salt. Disregarding the models every creature I observe is eating voraciously so I don"t think winter is over yet and with sea temperatures on the low side I would n"t be surprised to snowfall all the way to late April even on low ground. Currently -2c and cloudless.

Just driven back from Glasgow tonight and witnessed my lowest ever readings on the car thermometer at -17c between Aviemore and Grantown -on -Spey. Both places look like somewhere in Northern Norway with cars in the streets almost completely buried by snow. I read in a local paper the had 23 inches of snow last Wednesday and Thursday. Cirrently -10c at home under a starry sky.

-10c here this morning never got above -2c in brilliant sunshine all day a pristine winters day with snow cover of about 8 inches sparkling in the sun.

Ice day today max temp of -2c and currently moonlit and -9c. Lovely blue sky sunny day with sparkling snow cover of about 8 inches a classic mid winter day with no wind. Now the fifth consecutive month with lying snow here, seems winters have returned and if North Sea temperatures are to be believed we will see lying snow on occasion for another 3 months if we get any northerly outbreaks.

Well after almost 24 hrs of wet snow and sleet showers it stared to freeze again about 4.00pm and the snow showers became dryer We have had about 2 inches of dry powdery snow in the last hour which is sparkling on the old frozen snow, light N wind and temp of -2c. Must say this weather is good for hay sales.

Agreed interesting radar in the Firth just now more snow on the way? maybe another 10 to 20 cms!!!!!

Best snowfall of the winter this morning 8 inches in sheltered parts, 2 feet drifts, temp-1c, fresh NNE wind and icicles hanging off every window. Still light snow falling.

Convoy system appears to be operating on A96 as have just seen a half a mile of cars following a snowplough going west. Snow easing, but still blowing about so lots of minor roads will still be bad.

Listening to local radio police have said not to travel for 3 hours in Moray to allow snowploughs to clear roads and A96 closed a Keith because of drifting snow. Next to no traffic on the section of A96 that I look down on and what there is is crawling. Will be some sight when daylight comes. Drifts up to 2 feet near steading!!!!

Update wind now roaring between house and steading must be gale force and we seem to be stuck under a sort of snow streamer off the Firth if I am correct absolute blizzard conditions!!!!!

Suspect we are completely blocked in upwards of 8 hours of heavy continuous drifting snow overnight and the radar suggests it is n"t finished yet coming in off the Firth from an east of north direction. temp - 1 c and a strong muffled wind absolutely classic .If I was to make a guess I think there is over 15 cms of snow but with all the drifting it is impossible to tell

After a day of heavy rain and sleet and snow just a mile further inland from me it is now snowing and blowing hard from the north straight off the Firth and according to the radar there is lots more to come. Whopee!! Jackpot !!!!!!! Temp -1c and ground completely white in last hour. Total whiteout outside just now with large flakes blowing about. Looks like nearly everyone in the UK is going to see proper snow this winter.

Light flurries here and -1c.

First small snow shower just drifting in from the east, temp 2c and mostly sunny today but cloud built up this afternoon and is becoming increasingly snowy looking. I thought we would stay dry during daylight hours today.

Gale force SE wind here tonight by the sound of the wind roaring between the house and the farm steading and 4c. I make a prediction that winter is certainly not over yet and this is not based on the models as we now have weekly trips to Glasgow after my sons kidney transplant in December and I can see disruptive winter weather is just bound to happen. On one occasion driving back from Glasgow at New Year I saw 3 cars off the road, one on its roof as the side roads were just sheet ice. February was always the coldest month of the year 40 years ago and I guarantee this one is going to be just the same as we are committed to lots of travelling.

Totally agree as we have no fresh green grass to put the sheep onto, and they are now getting turnips and hay put out to them which I haven"t done since the winters of the sixties and seventies. The fields have been burnt brown by the frost we seem to have had nearly every night since the end of October something that has not happened for over 20 years according to my farm diaries and there were areas in the shade since before Christmas where you could still find frozen soil beneath the surface during the milder interludes . I was also reading that Highland Council have used up their budgeted amount of road salt for this winter and are into their contingency stores something else that would back up the feeling that frost has been very frequent. If this is an old fashioned winter then it will be even frostier in February as this was when in past we had the most severe frosts as the saying goes "As the days lengthen so the cold strengthens" This was when we usually cut gorse and broom where they were incroaching on the fields on very cold sunny days on iron hard frozen ground and burned them on bonfires.

_3c here just now with clear skies. Ground is rock hard again so here we are with a penetrating frost from a zonal set up. The script has certainly changed this winter.

Well another cold day max of 2c (currently -1c and starry skies) dull all day, snow covered hills bathed in sunshine to the west with dark cloud to the east with obviously precipitation just to the east of us. Flurry of snow on Sunday morning which settled on frozen ground and can still be seen in the shaded areas making the 4th month in a row with settling snow( whats happened to the mild winters?). Spring bulbs are just breaking the soil surface, in recent years some have been flowering by now, no fresh green grass growth in the fields for the sheep which were burn"t brown by the New Year frost something we had got used to lately. All in all a real old fashioned winter which if it turns really frosty in February means it will have reverted to the old patterns. On that basis I predict a late spring up here with Easter snow and lots of N and E winds bringing showery snow until May and not wet snow either but fine powdery snow or graupel typical of arctic northerlies in the spring here.

0c here and cloudy wind strengthening from the south. Snowing hard on the camera on the A9 at Drumochter but no precipitation here yet although it is cold enough for snow with the grass sparkling with frost ths afternoon . The cold west winds forecast for next week have in the past given us large snowfalls if the showers can get all the way here from the west coast before fading out so we may get some serious snowfall next week

After a mild day yesterday at 8c back down to 2c tonight or 36f in old money, its very unusual this winter to see a temperature up here of above 40f which just goes to show how cold this winter has become with the countryside looking brown and no longer green. I feel next weeks models for snow will verify as I am on weekly visits to Glasgow to see my son who has had a major op. Even last summer I was saying we would have a bad winter if the op came off and I was onto weekly visits . This is exactly how it has turned out with some of the iciest roads i have seen for many years at the begining of 2009.

Currentky -3c here and the ground is iron hard after a slight thaw at the weekend when we had rain which has all frozen again making all surfaces very slippy. Speaking to a loss adjuster following a claim for one of our cottages( no sun on them at this time of the year as the coniferous wood to the south and west now completely shades them and turns them into a deep freeze in weather like this) and which suffered a burst pipe with guests in it and lots of heating on between Christmas and New Year and he was saying they have been inundated with claims in our area as people return from holiday to flooded houses. The base at Kinloss was partially shut down today as a new water main had frozen and burst along with numerous smaller freeze ups. One primary school and a nursery in the town is shut too because of burst pipes and flooding, a lot may be due to cutting back on heating because of the cost, but in all fairness we have not had a 4 day spell with temperatures not rising above - 4 c during the day and falling to -12c at night for many years ,December 1981 comes to mind as a cold one but maybe not so many consecutive days. Even if it warms up now we will all feel up here that we have had a winter and it is an ill wind that blows no one any good as many in the building trade set upon repairing the damage in the next month or two .