Wetterfrosch

Brilliant - thanks for the link!!

Thank you very much for that contribution and a very warm welcome to this forum!!! In simple words, where moist air hits a mountain range and is forced to rise any rainfall will be enhanced. The higher the mountain and the stronger the wind the effect will then also be stronger. I happen to live between the western slope of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and the Irish Sea coast which already accounts for about 1600 mm rain a year (just over 2000 mm in 2008!). Right on top we are told up to 5000 mm can be expected. There used to be an AWS once but didn't last too long in those harsh conditions. Btw, is there a live upload from that rain gauge that you know of? Would be very interesting to follow it, especially now entering the wettest period of the year. Diolch/thanks!!

Well, it didn't take long to be thrust from warm, muggy and more summery like conditions straight into the clutches of autumn proper. My rain gauge collected 30 mm over last 24 hours to 9 GMT/UTC, Raf Mona received 27 mm and Valley 26 mm, both to 6 UTC. Haven't found any higher values within Wales, Exeter topping the bill with 57 mm though, so no wonder the airport had to be shut for a time. MetOffice just issued yellow warning for all upland areas of Wales, valid from 6 UTC Tuesday till 18 UTC Wednesday: Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, will affect many parts of the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday. The heaviest and most persistent rainfall during this period is expected to affect the high ground of northwest England, northwest Wales and south Wales. Over the course of this 36 hours in these areas, 50-100 mm of rainfall is likely to accumulate widely, with as much as 150-200 mm in some locations. No mentioning of wind as yet, which might still follow considering trees are still in leaf. We'll see! I will have my first test of the new speed limit this afternoon when I'm taking my wife to see the dentist. Might be a struggle to keep my foot of the gas pedal, at least for an initial period of time until it will hopefully become habit. Better also watch out for any traffic officers who might be busy raising funds for their Christmas parties!!

Not looking forward to the next ten days or so. Lots of rain heading our way with gales at times. Wonder when I might get a chance to lift my spuds this year?

Lucky you, must be a phenomal sight! Round here it's the ospreys at a reserve near Porthmadog that people come to in the hope of getting a glimpse of.

Likewise, today would clearly have been a much better beach day but I was pre-occupied with decorating the kitchen which in our house is a seemingly never ending job as it's stuffed floor to ceiling full with pots, plates, jugs, jars etc, all of which needed sorting, some replacing, cleaning or just getting rid off. I know what I would have preferred!!! Our 'house beach' is Dinas Dinlle, next to Caernarfon airport and not more than 5 miles from here. It's extremely flat and all sand, apart from a narrow stretch of pebbles closest to the shore, making it ideal for kids and our now elderly dogs. With the tide being a long way out last evening, it was rather surreal to see people walk out towards the sea and disappear in the fog. On clear days, the views across to the hills of Yr Eifl, around Clynnog Fawr and inland towards Yr Wyddfa are glorious. Needless to say that the beach got quickly deserted once the chippy closed at 8 pm. Might go there again tomorrow or Tuesday!

Just feel sorry for school kids and families on holiday for whom summer has returned too late. Got cheated myself yesterday evening when after a lovely but a bit hazy day i took my dogs to the beach just as the breeze changed direction and thick sea fog drifted ashore. Luckily, it cleared again as the sun went down and, so far, today nothing but blue skies, barely a breeze and May it last for a little while!

Having said that, over on weatheronline.com 28 C are currently penciled in for Snowdonia, based on Capel Curig at 215 m ASL and presumably courtesy of the GFS. Admittedly, it is a rather fickle model known to sway backwards and forwards a lot but looking at your map it seems that with an easterly air flow areas west of the mountains will benefit from a Foehn effect, so who knows?! In any case, I don't particularly care either whether it'll be 23, 25 or 28+C as long as it is dry and sunny for a change. And yes, it is (or used to be) quite common for the first half of September for us to bask in warm late summer/early autumn sunshine.

'Don't worry, it's only a forecast!' Sorry for bringing in the 'B' word but still think some late warm and sunny weather is definitely on the cards. Even the mighty MetO computer dares to predict several days of pure sun for my location which on the doorstep of autumn is a very rare occasion. Nights might initially be chilly though but soon to recover to more barmy temps as the week progresses. Needless to say that conditions are likely to get more unsettled abd showery towards next weekend but still pleasantly warm, all of which with my full approval!!! Incidentally, this morning I came across the Farmers Almanac's winter prediction for the US which would surely delight many over on the MAD thread if this was to apply for the UK. Essentially, above average snowfall for the Northeast and Midwest and above average rainfall for the deep south, Texas and the Pacific West should keep the weather 'extremists' over there happy during the cold season. Hmmm!!!

Hurrah, finally we can look forward to a sizeable period of dry and warm summery weather. Had almost put my shorts and sandals away the way it had been going for so long. Can already sense the smell of a BBQ hitting my nose!

How do i know it's a bank holiday?? Some really atrocious downpours here since early morning with guttering overflowing at times and lots of water on the road on the way back from the vet at Y Ffor (near Pwllheli). In addition, it actually feels cool here for the first time in many weeks. Racked up 22 mm already but signs now of showers easing somewhat as we head into afternoon with sunny intervals by early evening promised by the MetO model.

Rant continuing - MetO updated forecast: This Evening and Tonight: Turning cloudier through the evening with showers in the north at first, and these could be heavy and thundery. Largely dry elsewhere with some clear spells allowing for some mist and fog to develop under lighter winds. Minimum temperature 14 °C. Does this really match the above description? Has the north (of Wales!) suddenly slipped south?

From my perspective at least, it's not the Met Offices finest hour regarding this mornings forecast. Overcast ever since sunrise with showery rain for most of the time since about 9 am. I can only hope that we here in the NW are the exception and that their 'generally fine with sunny intervals' weather actually manifests itself in the rest of the country. Rant over!

Late update to the above: Pembrey Burrows and Mumbles finished at 58 mph, Aberdaron reached 61 mph and Capel Curig 65 mph. Even Caernarfon Airport ended up with 55 mph gusts. My sweet peas are all but finished and one of the small apple trees is now leaning east. Certainly a night to remember, sadly all for the wrong reason.

Good advice, Crepuscular Ray, will heed it myself. As far as I can see, Pembrey Burrows has reached 50 mph and Mumbles 48 mph. Amazingly, i found even Caernarfon Airport listed at 47 mph which is the nearest to me. Yes, I spotted that little tyke a bit earlier, wondering whether that accounts for the 59 mph forecast at 3 am for Penygroes? Could do without it, that's for sure.

Yes, the ways of the Met Office appear rather mysterious at times. Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday currently states 'turning warm or very warm' when their own computer goes from a max of 20 C today to 18 C in the same time frame for my location!?! Has been rather rough here since early evening with very heavy rain and times and pretty wild winds. Can remember some pretty cool and wet Augusts in the past but never that weird combination of summer temps and November winds. Feel sorry for holiday makers.

Not looking forward to tonight's storm gusts. MetO model in its usual fashion keeps raising top gusts with every update, from an initial 46 mph to 53 mph and now 58mph in the early hours of tomorrow. Wouldn't be too worried if the wind wasn't hitting us from the side where the roof is still in need of some major upgrade, a project which we are still in the process of saving up for. Can only think that the Atlantic hurricane season coupled with generally above normal SST's inject such a lot of energy that we look out and see autumn while the thermometer still says summer. Amazingly, there has barely been any mentioning of tropical storms or hurricanes anywhere on the net, including NW, or have I missed something!?

Well, this has certainly been a memorable rain event for August here in the NW. My 54 mm in total since the same time last night has easily beaten our rain capital Capel Curig (29 mm), although RAF Mona on Anglesey came close with 52 mm and Aberdaron reached 38 mm. Wouldn't a week of hot sunshine be nice now? Instead we will have to be grateful for the next few days being at least dry and moderately warm. At least no risk of wildfires here which must count for something! Thanks for your concern Crepuscular Ray! Not much the vet could do other than suspect possibly a brain tumor but the head tilt and difficulty balancing still says stroke imo. An MRI scan would cost thousands just for a diagnosis, no thank you. Stella is still fully responsive and can walk short distances but her hind legs tend to clip furniture, door frames and other obstacles as she swaggers along. For now, we keep her comfortable, give her lots of attention and an increased dose of steroids which she has already been on to deal with IBS. Not too much difference then between humans and dogs when it comes to age related health problems.

Wow, that was a whopper!!! Since my regular 24 hour reading at 10 o'clock the weather gods have thrown down another 20 mm of rain in just one a hour and a quarter. At least it's a reliable test of our recently fitted new window seals which, I am pleased to say, held perfectly tight so the (considerable) expense was worth every penny.

Pretty horrendous here still atm, and probably for another couple of hours or so after which the worst should have passed. No chance of walking doggies in this. One of them had taken 'a funny turn' late Thursday night but I only realized late the next day that she'd suffered a stroke, poor thing. Still eating (being Labrador!) and able to walk but straining to keep her balance and holding her head at an angle, so off to the vet this afternoon and no walks for her for the foreseeable, the back garden will have to do. In terms of rainfall, up to 06 UTC(GMT) Pembrey Burrows lead the pack with 29 mm and mumbles 23 mm. Just taken my own reading at 9 UTC (10 BST) in line with MetO standard, my little cheap rain gauge returned 24 mm in the last 24 hours. The high humidity all month, even on 'dry' days, seems to show signs on one of my tomato plants in the form of a bit of mould of some of the almost ripe fruits. Last week there was some on the cucumber but that dried off when it turned very warm and even sunny for a day and a half. Must say i am more than ready for a lengthy truly dry spell. Looking at he outlook for the rest of August, my bet is still on September or October.

Looks like we will start the new week on a rather soggy note with a yellow warning for rain out now for most of Wales between midnight and 21.00 hours. The likelihood on the MetO matrix is (for the time at least) set to the lowest levels, suggesting that totals may vary widely depending on location. From an IMBY POV, the computer output makes me believe that for round here most of this will fall before midday with not too much thereafter. Guess they have lumped us in with the NW of England where things will happen hours later. Anyway, we'll see! Looking forward to another short spell of warm and dry weather for much of the week following Monday's rain. Shame that it breaks down again with showery, if not thundery, downpours just in time for the weekend when I'm invited to an anniversary BBQ with friends in Lancashire. At least temperatures are still holding up at reasonable levels which my veg will hopefully appreciate!

Yes, on Thursday - a one day show, so make to most of it!

Quite similar up here. After a short windy spell this morning rain has currently stopped with with just a moderate northerly breeze now. A few patches of light rain might still drift through till evening. And yes, the MetO model had upped our top gusts to 45 mph last night but only for a 2 to 3 hour period. Doubtful that we even got that much. According to weatheronline.com the highest gust in Wales so far were recorded in Milford Haven with 48 mph, Mumbles 47 mph and Pembrey Burrows 46 mph. Not that I am complaining, just the reverse, and the people on the Eisteddfod Maes will be mightily relieved to have avoided worse. We can now look forward to that brief hot spell coming our way past midweek and while it won't last for too long, it might well herald a pattern change away from the almost constant drab autumnal theme.

My two courgettes have only started developing their first fruit after producing countless male flowers first. So far I'm still hopeful but in recent years i had problems with flower end rot, denoting a lack of calcium, not surprising really living in an area with high rainfall that leaves the ground rather acidic. As remedy I now keep all our egg shells (and we go through a lot of eggs!) on a metal plate in the bottom Aga oven for several days. That makes them very brittle so they can be easily crushed and by means of a rolling pin ground into very small particles. Prior to planting I dig a handful or two into the soil and occasionally scatter some around the plants even after they are established. Although it hasn't been 100 % successful, it has raised my chances considerably and given me at least some fruit last year. Have been on the Great Orme today as it was my volunteering day. The weather there had brightened up considerably although it was still a bit breezy and the sea rather choppy too. Still no increase in wind gusts beyond 35 mph forecast for Saturday though for up here but the rainfall will surely be considerable. Glad to see signs of drier and warmer conditions now firming up for midweek - can't wait myself!

One can only feel sorry for the organisers and visitors to the Llyn ac Eifionydd National Eisteddfod kicking off on Saturday at Boduan. Wonder how many banners, flags and bunting streamers might take off early - such a shame - not to mention the rain inbound. On the other hand, as things stand the MO computer output has to date no more than 35 mph top gusts for either Nefyn to it's north, Pwllheli to the south or Clynnog Fawr to the east, so perhaps . Regarding wind gusts, experience tells me that said output might well play catch up with reality nearer the time. All depends on the exact path of the low. And as for today, I would call it a typical autumn day, thick cloud covering making it dark enough in the house to need having the lights on but at least it's calm, dry and not cold either.