pinkertonsurly

Wondered where the lightning strike was. Just heard the rumble in Winchester. No actual snow yet, so not technically thundersnow, but exciting nevertheless.

Here's a piece about summer skiing (or the lack of) in the North-Eastern Alps (with my translation). Article dated 22nd August 2017 Original link: http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/08/22/news/c_era_una_volta_lo_sci_d_estate_la_resa_dell_ultimo_ghiacciaio-173564734/?ref=RHPPBT-VA-I0-C4-P9-S1.4-T1 Translation (think he meant the ultimate, rather than last glacier): Once upon a time at the Stelvio Pass, there used to be summer skiing: the surrender of the ultimate glacier. For the first time in 50 years, the lifts are closing due to high temperatures. Not even the use of thermal covers can preserve the snow at a height of 3,000m. BOLZANO. Three centimetres of fresh snow aren’t enough to fill in the ever-widening crevasses on a glacier which is feeling the strain from global warming. So, summer skiing on the Stelvio Pass has thrown in the towel: the pistes should have re-opened on Sunday, after an unprecedented mid-August break. Instead, they’ll stay shut until a yet-to-be-determined date; that is, until the snow, which at the end of August, at 3,000m above sea level should be plentiful, sweeps away, with one white hand, the unsettling grey affecting all Alpine glaciers this year; grubby with dust, rocks and even African sand, and therefore even more helpless from the solar rays.

Here's my very quick translation (I'm an Italian/English translator amongst other things) of an article about the Calderone Glacier on Gran Sasso - not too far from Rome - about half way down Italy. Link to original (with photos): http://www.meteo.it/giornale/il-ghiacciaio-del-calderone-non-e-scomparso-12944.shtml My translation: The Calderone Glacier hasn’t disappeared – under the detritus, a layer of buried ice between 15 and 25 metres thick, can still be found. The Calderone Glacier, on the Gran Sasso Massif, is the southernmost in Europe, and in the last few days, some alarming news has been received on its state of health: it’s virtually disappeared! In reality, on the surface, only 3 snowfields of reduced size remain, and they’re unlikely to survive to the end of the season. The situation is explained by the unusual climate conditions of the last few months; from the scarce spring snow to the anomalous heat of the summer. Indeed, as Professor Fazzini, a climatologist from the University of Camerino confirms, the weather station situated at the Rifugio Franchetti, at the base of the glacier has recorded temperatures higher than 20 degrees on 5 separate occasions in the first half of August – exceptionally high for such an altitude. However, all this doesn’t mean that the glacier has disappeared; under the detritus, in fact, a layer of buried ice between 15 and 25 metres thick, can still be found. The glacier therefore survives, protected by rocky detritus, even though, as Professor Fazzini reminds us: “In the last 10 years its thickness has shrunk by around a metre”, in all probability down to recent climatic change.

Karyo - I lived and worked in Turin for 3 years, and inland from Ancona for 2, so I sympathise - sounds like where you were was worse, although I must say I thought I was going to die during my first summer in Turin!

Must be a piece of cake being a weather forecaster in Southern Italy, albeit a bit boring and uncomfortably hot: 'Intense heat for at least 10-12 days'.

We noticed!

Rain just started and increasingly frequent thunder in Winchester. Heading NE?

Sure does. I hate thunderstorms. Glad I don't live in the line of fire... Oh, wait a minute.

Fancy a little trip to the Cairngorms on Midsummer's Day?

Frosty bits and pieces around Winchester. The Mystic Meg thread looks very sad now - like a hospital ward being closed down while the last few patients sit by their beds, waiting to go home, and a few nurses come in every now and then to collect archive boxes.

I suspect that I'll see cars covered in snow coming from high-up villages like Four Marks, while Winchester has the odd flake. Still - there's always the entertainment on the MAD thread.

Ah - so good to be able to post what you want when you read the toys out of pram on the Model thread. Sun has been threatening to break through in Winchester but hasn't. 9.8 degrees and not a sniff of wind or rain. Forecast for the next week or so: a bit colder, but still drab early next week; the odd bit of rain and wind later next week, and after that, who knows?

String of showers now from South London to Southampton - plenty of thunder and lightning to the East of Winchester and rain now starting to fall.

Is it just me - or have BBC/Netweather/TWO forecasts been unusually inaccurate this year? I'm not complaining. Love the element of surprise.

I've seen a lot of snow in Winchester this evening. Granted, I was watching a DVD of Die Hard 2.

Brief but heavy shower in Winchester between about 12.05 and 12.20. Temperature went down from 8.4 to 6.2 in those 15 minutes. Just shows what heavier precipitation can do to improve chances of snow.

4.2/DP0.0 in Winchester. Sunny most of the day. I do enjoy those posts by the Dutch weatherman on the mad thread.

The mad thread seems to get madder every day. There also appears to be a distinct shortage of punctuation and a fine disregard for orthodox spelling. Anyway, 6.7 in Winchester with DP of 2

10.1 in Winchester. Recent gusts of 31 mph so dying down a bit. Incidentally, Old Moore's Almanac (which was published in June 2012) says that the first and third weeks of Feb will be mild and wet, but with widespread snow from 7th to 13th and at end of month.You heard it here first

According to radar, it's raining in Winchester - but actually it's not. DP -0.1 Temp 1.2

Evening. Temperature has been -1.8 for about 2 hours in Winchester. Seems to be a bit breezier and cloudier than last night when we reached -7.3 according to http://www.winchesterweather.org.uk/ Good luck with the snow, Devon and Cornwall - once Burgh Island and St Michael's Mount are covered, the rest of you should be alright!

On the 5 o'clock radar, it looks like rain (edging over the Bristol Channel) is turning to sleet as soon as it hits land, and, approaching Bridgwater, there's an area of light snow.

Whilst our weather forecasters hedge their bets over snow within 24 hours, it's a different story in Italy according to La Repubblica: "Sulla capitale potrebbe nevicare il 18 gennaio a partire dalla tarda mattinata. In particolare i fiocchi cadranno su Roma Nord e Roma Est", ha detto il meteorologo Antonio Sano. or: "In the capital, it may snow on the 18th of January from late morning onwards. In particular, snow will fall in north and east Rome" said meteorologist Antonio Sano. So, why can't our weather forecasters tell me whether or not it's going to snow in Bicester on Wednesday evening, eh?

4.4C and DP of 3.6 in Winchester.Moderate rain. Wonder if it will snow at the top of the Shard and rain on London Bridge in the next few days. Idle thought of an idle fellow.

Just found out I'm 60m above sea level, not 70 odd. That probably explains the lack of snow for the last 2 years.