Scotland Regional Discussion

[BleakMidwinter]

Half-nine, still air, bright sun, blue skies and still just below freezing!

A very, very happy BM here

Now I just want some snow... (I *always* just want some snow!!)

[Cheggers]

Central & Tayside

Central and Tayside and Fife.html

[Hawesy]

Overnight low +0.9c so still waiting for the first air frost of the season.

Lovely morning though, bright sunshine, light westerly breeze, currently +1.8c.

[Scottish-Irish Skier]

Central & Tayside

Central and Tayside and Fife.html

Stick them all in zip file for simple download. Would be very handy.

Going (that's 'being dragged along' in the ancient tongue) with Mrs SS and mini Miss SS to a Christmas fair this morning. I suppose it is all white and frosty out there.

Edited November 24, 2012 by scottish skier

[Cheggers]

Stick them all in zip file for simple download. Would be very handy.

Only one more to go, but will zip and also place in my sig

[lorenzo]

Also got the Saturday shopping visit looming on the horizon like a bad outlier.. then work, even worse!

Off to get a washing machine today - ironic because that's kind of how I refer to the Atlantic a lot, it's blocked and so is my washing machine, damn thing won't drain as the pump has blown ! Thereby, my hotpoint has a mid-atlantic ridge. Would love to call an engineer and insistently explain that this was the problem with it having referred to the user guide.

Taking the kitchen nonsense further I guess that makes the Freezer which never defrosted all last winter the Polar Vortex. The toaster becomes an Azores High and the Oven a Bartlett.

[edo]

ventured into where no scotsman should go except lorenzo and LS........... Lorenzo sums it up well with FI at T96 and in my limited experience when FI becomes the normally reliable timeframe then interesting weather is on the cards.........certainly looks like -5 uppers from Thu and snow on higher levels from early in the week is likely where there is precipitation.......

i had not being prioritising our winter business continuity in the work but took a u turn yesterday and made it a priority....we may end up in a dry cold but it seems certain now we are heading to that cold....

cars still frozen solid and a beautiful morning at currently 1.2c

Edited November 24, 2012 by edodfc

[edo]

Also got the Saturday shopping visit looming on the horizon like a bad outlier.. then work, even worse!

Off to get a washing machine today - ironic because that's kind of how I refer to the Atlantic a lot, it's blocked and so is my washing machine, damn thing won't drain as the pump has blown ! Thereby, my hotpoint has a mid-atlantic ridge. Would love to call an engineer and insistently explain that this was the problem with it having referred to the user guide.

Taking the kitchen nonsense further I guess that makes the Freezer which never defrosted all last winter the Polar Vortex. The toaster becomes an Azores High and the Oven a Bartlett.

Got a new dishwasher for £90 in Comet on Thursday and there were plenty washing machines half price but given the shop appeared looted i doubt you will still find such a bargain available but mayb worth a look if near one.

[LomondSnowstorm]

I'm not going to bother with the Model Thread until they chill out a bit. When I first went on I thought something drastic had changed but then, looking at the charts, mostly it's just another set of variations on a theme of cold and blocked, barring the GFS in FI, which is exactly where we were yesterday: UKMO looks best, ECM passable (and I'd say potentially pretty snowy here towards the end) and the GFS is having what would appear to be a characteristic wobble. If it doesn't look something like this at +168:

it's probably not right.

[lorenzo]

Aye , it's definitely a bit gnarly in there this morning typical 00z zzzzzzzz before 12z rampede! Chucked in this to try and lift the misplaced melancholy..

The name is Bom,... James Bom

[Hairy Celt]

Pre-dawn untreated roads were interesting - even with Wintracs on a 4WD I was getting that un-nerving numbness in the steering occasionally; so I stopped to see what the road was like underfoot - hmm, sore elbow as I hit the tarmac! Slowed down a touch after that. Got up to the end of the Affric road for the helluvit, no work again due to snow cover.

Might be a few more like that this winter!

Edited November 24, 2012 by Hairy Celt

[Hairy Celt]

Only one more to go, but will zip and also place in my sig

So what / where is your sig? You haven't hidden it in your snow-stud's trouser-snake?

[lorenzo]

Ha ! Mrs L doesn't want to trek round the shops have a 24 hour reprieve Good to see that the bump that is number 3 is already helping me be a lazy beggar.

Great pic HC - new desktop wallpaper . Ta Very Much

[Scottish-Irish Skier]

Pre-dawn untreated roads were interesting - even with Wintracs on a 4WD I was getting that un-nerving numbness in the steering occasionally; so I stopped to see what the road was like underfoot - hmm, sore elbow as I hit the tarmac! Slowed down a touch after that. Got up to the end of the Affric road for the helluvit, no work again due to snow cover.

Might be a few more like that this winter!

Nice office. Makes mine seem a little small and dull.

I'm assuming that's just the lobby too.

------------

http://www.bbc.co.uk...slands-20468160

In pictures: Waxwings in the Highlands and Glasgow

Waxwings, a colourful Scandinavian visitor, have been descending on berry trees and bushes across Scotland in their hundreds. Pictures by Ben Darvill of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)

Ben Darvill, of the British Trust for Ornithology, said the mass arrival was unusual. He said: "Waxwings breed in northern Europe where they feed largely on berries. The nearest population to Scotland is in Scandinavia. In some years there are not enough autumn berries to feed the whole population, so an irruption occurs."

As I said before - the birds are onto something.

-------------

EDIT. Meto update

UK Outlook for Thursday 29 Nov 2012 to Saturday 8 Dec 2012:

A mixture of sunshine and showers throughout the rest of next week, the showers mostly affecting eastern areas, with the west tending to see the best of the drier conditions. The heaviest showers will be towards the northeast, where they are likely to be wintry over high ground, with hill snow in the north. Windy at times, with the risk of gales in exposure. It will be rather cold with a risk of overnight frost and icy patches. Becoming cold into the start of December with widespread overnight frosts. More settled than of late with sunny spells, but also further wintry showers, especially in the north and east, where accumulations over high ground are likely with snow perhaps falling at low levels.

Updated: 1059 on Sat 24 Nov 2012

UK Outlook for Sunday 9 Dec 2012 to Sunday 23 Dec 2012:

As is usual, there are uncertainties in the forecast for this period. However, there are signs that northerly winds may be quite frequent across the UK. So, on balance, colder than average conditions are likely to continue, with a risk of frost and fog, and an increased risk of some snow.

Updated: 1020 on Sat 24 Nov 2012

Edited November 24, 2012 by scottish skier

[Hairy Celt]

Ha ! Mrs L doesn't want to trek round the shops have a 24 hour reprieve Good to see that the bump that is number 3 is already helping me be a lazy beggar.

Great pic HC - new desktop wallpaper . Ta Very Much

Cheers Lorenzo - another one here and a zipped version too as the uploader continues to mess up my jpgs.

** anyone with any IT knowledge - could they have a peep at my query in the 'Techie' area please?

[LomondSnowstorm]

When the Met Office starts being bullish on the bigger picture, whatever criticisms we make of their handling of short term forecasting (which has improved a lot in the last 3 years), then it's hard not to have a very good degree of confidence in it.

[Ross B]

I think the government may have started placing those strategic grit piles next to the motorways, noticed some large white (covered) sacks at 3A Livingston and the junction of the M74/mate. Nothing further west though...

I wasn't living in Livingston during the 2010 winter - here's hoping for a repeat so I can experience some thunder snow, I don't ask for much...

Edited November 24, 2012 by Ross B

[Northern Strath]

Much the same as everyone else today, a hard frost leaving a nice wintery white look to things and seems to be hanging on for the day

Currently 2.9C

Pre-dawn untreated roads were interesting - even with Wintracs on a 4WD I was getting that un-nerving numbness in the steering occasionally; so I stopped to see what the road was like underfoot - hmm, sore elbow as I hit the tarmac! Slowed down a touch after that. Got up to the end of the Affric road for the helluvit, no work again due to snow cover.

Might be a few more like that this winter!

Beautiful stuff HC, keep on posting the pics! Sgurr na Lapaich looking great in the snow

Edited November 24, 2012 by Northern Strath

[tiff]

Just read this which was posted on a breakdown/recovery forum. I'm a breakdown driver and need to get prepared for what everyone says is coming..

http://www.exactaweather.com/uploads/PW2012-13.pdf

Our 4WD's are prepared and ready to roll, but reading this they may not do much good... worst for a century??

[Scottish-Irish Skier]

Just read this which was posted on a breakdown/recovery forum. I'm a breakdown driver and need to get prepared for what everyone says is coming..

http://www.exactawea...s/PW2012-13.pdf

Our 4WD's are prepared and ready to roll, but reading this they may not do much good... worst for a century??

Based on that forecast, a 4WD is not going to be much good. You need to get yourself one of these:

[Zenarcher]

GFS model is showing snow showers in the Highlands for the next few days. As for temperatures it looks cold all week with it gradually getting colder each night.

[Cheggers]

** anyone with any IT knowledge - could they have a peep at my query in the 'Techie' area please?

Done.

[LomondSnowstorm]

Just read this which was posted on a breakdown/recovery forum. I'm a breakdown driver and need to get prepared for what everyone says is coming..

http://www.exactawea...s/PW2012-13.pdf

Our 4WD's are prepared and ready to roll, but reading this they may not do much good... worst for a century??

I would slate it for being misleading, sensationalist etc. but it's almost identical in content to my forecast

Madden isn't really a trustworthy source and while there's clearly a link between solar cycles and northwest European winters it's not some kind of magic bullet and it doesn't hold for every single winter. In this case however he might not be far wrong...

[Norrance]

Cloudy here with temp up at 2.1C. Frost and ice still in shady areas, A light SE breeze now. Rain on the way.

10 air frosts here this Autumn so far compared with none last year when the first was on the 2nd Dec..

[LomondSnowstorm]

UKMO's a beaut:

GFS takes a while but eventually gets there:

All proceeding nicely again.