Autumn 2015

[Cathy]

Yes we had 36C today. Spent most of the day with the air-con on. It's almost 7pm now and I've just properly opened my front door. Hopefully it will continue to cool down.

[Marilyn]

Cooler now at ours, Cazza. Back and front doors open and cool breeze making it's way through.
Have watered the allotment twice today.
Hope our entire Summer isn't going to be "a Scorcher"...

[Stanley]

We've just had our second walk, cold nasty day.... Better off indoors!

[Stanley]

Yesterday evening was incredibly balmy under the influence of the SE wind. Completely different picture this morning, heavy continuous rain at 03:30 but it has bated now and is mild (15C) with 100% overcast. Glass is down again, below 29". Forecast is for a very mild day, frequent rain showers until after 07:00 when it clears and we have bright overcast until early evening when there is rain forecast again. The wind is light and mainly from the SE until late tonight when it swings round through North and becomes colder overnight. High of 17C all day, only starting to cool as the wind changes later.
Force ten gales in the Shipping forecast this morning.
06:40. Back from our walk in the dark. Calm, not raining and ridiculously calm. Definitely the feeling of the calm before the storm.... But look on the bright side, we have had a dry walk, things could be much worse!

[Marilyn]

Still windy here...drove us nuts in the night with the blind cords banging at the window...until I got up and closed the window ...by then I was labouring under a general sense of irritation and insomnia, and so was Febby. Have resisted the temptation for a "nana nap" today, so we should hopefully sleep like babes tonight.
At least it is cooler today, and I've kept myself busy, wielding the Hoover and duster with gusto. Morning walk as usual and will do another after tea.

[LizG]

Finally got a cool change here after 2 days of more than 35 degrees. Finally got a cool change so now the gale force winds are cooler at least. Far too hot for this time of year and a bush fire up the road this morning just to keep us on our toes.

[Stanley]

No bush fires in Barlick! A cold rainy morning first thing and it's persisting. Jack could be in for an early bath! The glass is up slightly at 29.1". Forecast is not cheerful. Persistent rain until early evening. The cold west wind is light at the moment but will gradually increase all day. As it does the temperature will fall from 13C at the moment to single figures late tonight. The low is very slow moving and as it gives way to higher pressure later in the week it will get colder.
07:10. The forecast was spot on. They gave a lull in the rain around 07:00 and lo and behold, we have had a dry walk! Still unseasonably warm out there but this will change during the day.....

[Stanley]

Clear sky all night, slightly misty at the moment but the crescent moon and the Morning Star are brilliant in the SW. Very little wind. Glass is rising quickly and almost at 29.6". Forecast is for a bright overcast day with no rain. The very light breeze is mainly from the West but swings through all points of the compass during the day finishing up in the SE but very light late tonight. Theoretical high is 11C but this will depend on the sun. Colder and more settled, could develop into a frost tonight.
06:40. Nice walk on a morning with a proper dawn in the East. It will be light earlier than of late this morning due to a mainly clear sky. Cool enough to make my glasses mist up when I came back into the house but this and better will do nicely.....

[PanBiker]

There was visible aurora over the North of England last night. The index crept from green through yellow to an amber level of 133.8nT by 18.00 last night maintaining an amber alert level over 100nT until 23.00. Today could be shaping up the same, the index is currently at yellow alert, the order goes green, yellow, amber (at which point aurora may be visible in the North) and finally red which is the highest alert level. I will be looking for a dark sky area if the levels follow yesterdays pattern, I hope it stays clear.

[Stanley]

Sky very clear this morning, full of stars! Cold calm and dry. Glass is still rising and is up to 29.7" this morning. Forecast is for a bright overcast day with a very light and variable wind that hovers round west to east via south so perhaps a degree warmer. Should be a good dawn again.
We were out in good time on a cold very clear morning. The crescent moon was crisp and clear and larger than usual. No frost on the cars but we must have been close to it. A good morning and light early.... Lovely!

[Stanley]

Overcast this morning. Glass is tending to rise slowly and is on 29.7". Forecast is for a less sunny, cooler day with a constant moderate east wind. Expected high of about 11C. Not very interesting but it's dry and warm compared with what it could be at this time of year. Outlook for the next few days is very similar.
06:30. Back in the hutch after a pleasant walk on a cool, dry and almost dead calm morning. Mark the street sweeper and I had the town to ourselves until the lasses turned up at Barlic Bites and the lads started setting up the market stalls in the Square. The birds were singing in Valley Gardens and the sky had cleared enough for us to have a thin crescent moon and Venus in the sky. A hint of mist in the sir and clouds out to the East blocking an early dawn.

[Marilyn]

I could "see" every word of your weather report, Stanley.

We have had two walks today, in keeping with our recent increase. A most pleasant day...not too hot/ not too cold / not too sunny/ not too windy. Can't complain about owt today . I did fertilise the lawns this afternoon, and note the baby chicks have hatched within the nest under our balcony...we had enormous trouble getting " mum and dad" to build as far from our back door as possible. We are now happy that the mess they make won't ruin our enjoyment of letting a summer breeze through the kitchen door. They are still under our balcony but right off to one side ( and the poo stains land on lawn instead of our favourite garden bench)
We spotted a large Blue Tongued Lizard in his nest yesterday, and he was sunning himself as we passed today, so he is a character we can check on daily as we pass by on our walks. He is not a resident of our garden...he lives on the river bank near us.

[Sunray10]

Looks like we will be in for chillier days as colder weather over Russia continues to bite, but won't be that bad over here I don't think. However, colder nights with slight frost maybe in the offering next week, especially Tuesday night / Wednesday morning. But we can't complain because we have had several very nice sunny days recently, infact a couple of weeks of fine autumnal weather.

[Stanley]

Maz, I remember seeing a big Goanna sunning himself on top of a fence post once in NSW. First time I had ever seen one.
Ray, I think you may be right.
A bit more nip in the air this morning and I can't see stars so I think we may have overcast. Glass is falling but only slightly, we have 29.6" this morning. The forecast is a re-run of yesterday bit slightly heavier overcast so the light East wind will feel cooler. It will never feel warmer than 10C.

[Marilyn]

Try getting a very large Goanna off the deck of your houseboat!
That was fun!

[Stanley]

They are powerful little beasts aren't they..... Closely related to the enormous Komodo Dragons.... See THIS

[LizG]

Don't you just ask them nicely then stand back Maz?

Funniest thing I ever saw was 2 goannas crashing a picnic on Fraser Island, just off the coast of Queensland. We were sitting in a park and a large family set up a fantastic looking picnic on another table. Beautiful table cloth, crockery and the table could have been described as 'groaning with food' - got the picture?

The family was called to the table just as a child screamed. Enter 2 enormous goannas who jumped straight up onto the table fronting up for their lunch. These things were about a metre long or more. The more the adults tried to shoo them away the more aggressive they became. They swung their tails and cleared the area of people very quickly then casually ate their fill whilst everyone looked on from a safe distance.

Goannas 1, people 0.

[Marilyn]

It had dropped onto the boat from an overhanging tree...but the only way off was down the narrow gangplank...so some of us clapped hands behind it and one of the boys tempted it down the gang-plank by waving a meat pie at it. It did eventually decide to disembark. We were careful about parking the boat after that...
They can be very intimidating, with those large claws and that horrible tongue. They don't freak me out as much as snakes though...(and Cane Toads tend to make me shudder too).

Large kangaroo about 50 metres from our home this morning ( I could see it was male and it seemed to be alone).

[Stanley]

Goannas are like 9ft gorillas... they do what they want to do! Big Harry is buried in a wild cemetery and there are kangaroos there, you have to be careful about their ticks....
At 21:00 last night the sky was clearing and this morning it is crystal clear, the stars are blazing. It's calm and cool. The glass is steady on 29.6". The forecast is for a clear bright day with the outside chance of a light shower late in the morning. The wind is light and variable until mid-afternoon when it starts to increase slightly and will settle in the north. Colder, about 11C and getting much colder when the wind gets into the north. The outlook is for it to get colder.
06:30. Back from a bracing walk on a dry, noticeably cooler morning, calm with a heavy dew but no frost on windscreens. The sky is still clear as a bell, Venus is particularly bright but of course no moon, it's hiding in the shadow of the Earth. This is a good healthy morning, no prospect of any change and I have just tapped the glass, it is tending to rise which is a sign of settled weather.

[Tizer]

I can't cope with all this. You're all talking about goannas and gorillas here and Bodgers writing about feeding gondolas back on the Mystery Objects thread!

[Stanley]

It's Brain Gym Tiz! OG has always had this wonderful predilection for going slightly off piste! (I loved Bodge's reference to feeding the Gondolas.....)
Sky clear apart from some scattered high cloud at 21:00 last night and the same this morning. Noticeably colder. (Surprised we haven't had a 'shock blizzard' report from the Mail yet....) Yesterday's forecast got the very light shower at midday right.
The glass is rising and is above 29.7" this morning. This signals cold weather to me. The forecast is for a bright overcast day with a light to moderate NE wind all day. This will moderate the expected high of 11C to single figures all day. No change in prospect over the next 4 days.
Back in the hutch shortly after 06:30. It's a colder morning with a clear sky over the town but scattered high cloud floating round on the outskirts. Very little dew but no frost on cars I have seen. Venus is brilliant but not even a hint of the moon even though I know exactly where it should be. Almost calm, a healthy morning!
See THIS Telegraph report warning us of the longest winter for 50 years after Bewick Swans arrive earlier at Slimbridge than ever before. I was a bit too previous when I said the Mail hadn't threatened us. It must be a slow news day!

[Stanley]

Overcast and cold this morning. Despite the stove being on at low level the gas CH kicked in for a while.... The glass is still rising slowly and is on 29.8" Forecast is a re-run of yesterday but slightly cooler overall under the influence of a light NE breeze. Theoretical high of 11C but it will never feel higher than single figures. No change in sight yet!
Back home at 06:45 after a nippy bit bracing walk round the town. Definitely colder but no frost on windscreens. No complaints, this is healthy weather and feels settled....

[Stanley]

Clear sky with high scattered cloud last nigh and first thing this morning. I've just =had a look at the rabbit and it's overcast now and there has been a very light shower, not enough to wet the flags. The glass has a slight tendency to fall but is still on 29.7". The forecast is for another bright overcast day with a constant light wind varying from NW to NE which will reduce the theoretical high of 11C to no more than 9C. If it follows yesterday's pattern there will be less sun than the forecast suggests.
06:20. Back in our hutch after a dry but damp feeling morning. Very light NW wind and you can feel the nip on your ears. No frost on windscreens. Very dark, no light in the east at all but we have to put up with that if we want an early start to the day.

[Tripps]

I gave up the brave struggle yesterday, and put the central heating on.

[Stanley]

We've been in the heating season for a while up here on the Northern hills David!
I was right about it feeling damp. We have just had our second walk and it's dull and hevy overcast. Every now and then there is a short spell of very light mizzle, not really rain but enough to let you know there's some weather up there!