Portland Paul

Dry with patchy fracto-stratus. Pressure: 1024 mb, steady. Wind: Calm. Temp: 10. 0 c. Indor temp: 18. 5 c.......real feel: 32 c .....as the curry has been delivered!

Dry and bright. Medium level broken stratus cover drifting away southwards. Sunshine coming through, with nice blue skies spreading from the north. Wind: Very light at less than 5 mph ---NNW. Temp: 7 c. Min temp last night: 5 .5 c. Pressure: 1024 mb, rising slowly.

Lilac suckers?

Overcast and showery with a gusty NNE wind.

Overcast with rain, and low cloud. Wind: NE 12 mph. Pressure: 1012 mb , rising. Temp: 14. 5 c. Max temp today: 21. 5 c in a light westerly breeze at 2 pm.

Dry, clear and calm. An hour and a half ago, there was a 12 mph westerly and a lot of stratus! Current temp: 16 c. Pressure: 1019 mb.

Dry. Mostly clear with patchy low- medium height stratus. Pressure: 1021 mb. Temp: 16 c. Wind: 12 mph --SW.

Hi Ice, This looks like a Spiraea ( pronounced Spy-ree-ya), but not the attractive sort you would find at your local garden centre. I don't know it's variety name, but, I know that it can become a very invasive nuisance. I spent hours and hours digging out a 40' long by 8' wide border of it at a garden I maintain, one winter a few years ago. A little of it still remains, but I will make sure it never reaches the epidemic proportions of before! If your feeling energetic, and really loathe this spreading shrub, then start by cutting all stems hard back - to make the job of removing the plants easier. If the plants have formed a 'thicket', you (or a helpful male hand :huh: ) may find using a pick-axe will help break up the condensed mass of suckers. This is certainly a job to keep you warm in winter ( and the fresh air will do you the wolrd of good! ), and you may find the soil underneath remarkably dry, even at that season. Dispose of the plants, and dig in lots of bulky compost, and then you'll have an exciting new patch at the ready for spring planting.

A fine and sunny morning. Rather milky skies in places, of general cirrus. Hazy, or slightly misty. Calm. Pressure: 1019 mb, steady. Temp: 13 c.

A dusting of bonemeal around the base will give it a nice root feed for the autumn, as well as helping it stand the winter elements.

Dry. Medium level stratus, covering the whole sky. Temp: 15 c. Pressure: 1019 mb, rising. Wind: NNW.......less than 5 mph.

Dry. Cloudy, but brighter with a glimpse of the sun in the last half hour. Wind: N........5 MPH. Pressure: 1018 mb, rising.

Dull, but dry and chilly. Wind: NNE..........7 MPH. Pressure: 1017 mb, rising. 13 c. Expected weather today: Cloudy but mainly dry. Perhaps brighter later. Max: 18 c.

Cheers John, I 've had a little look - and will look at more of the articles on that site tomorrow. The 'Halesowen' article was extremely interesting. Many thanks.

Overcast, but dry. (Ground still damp though, from heavy afternoon rainfall). Wind, NE........9 MPH. Pressure: 1014 mb......rising. Temp: 14 .5 c.

Hi Darkman, Apparently, the severe spell lasted from 22nd January to around 7th March. The previous weeks had been fairly average, so I've read. In the severe period (above), I read that winds were almost continuously easterly - and snow fell in some part of Britian every day during that period. Major snowstorms occurred on a regular basis, as occluded Atlantic depressions moved slowly over southern areas. My Grandfather tells of snow several feet deep, with severe drifts as high as 12 feet! I also read that March 1947 was the wettest March on record in England and Wales, and the coldest of the 20th century in Scotland.

Heavy rain between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. Rain has stopped now, still grey and overcast, with an 11 mph NE breeze. Temp: 15. 5 c. Pressure: 1012 mb, rising slowly.

Overcast. Rain recently stopped. Wind NE ......8 mph. Temp: 16 c. Pressure: 1012 mb, rising.

Overcast. Light rain (moderate to quite heavy in the past hour). Wind, E..........5 mph. Pressure: 1011 mb, rising. Visibility, about 6 miles. Temp: 16 . 5 c.

Dull and misty, but dry. Easterly breeze, 7 mph. Pressure: 1010 mb, rising. Temp: 15 c.

A short sharp shower at 20;30 or so. Mainly cloudy since, but dry and close with a light easterly breeze now. 16 c.

Still dry. Hazy sunshine with thin high cloud, thicker and darker to the east. Temp: 20. 5 . Humid. Wind, very light SSE. Pressure:1009 mb, steady. Expected weather here tonight: Partly to fully cloudy, with a risk of showery rain later. Close with light variable winds, and no lower than 15 or 16 c.

Dull and slightly misty, but still dry. Wind SE, less than 5 mph Pressure: 1009 mb, falling. Temp: 16 c.

Dry with well broken medium altitude stratus. Pressure: 1011 mb. Temp: 17 .5 c. Wind, less than 5mph, southerly.

Still dry, with a near overcast of stratus. Some brightness. Pressure: 1011 mb. 20 c. Wind SW @ 8 mph.