Spring 2013

[Marilyn]

Just had a terrible thought...do hope the Easter Bunny can get through!

[Stanley]

There was a very slow thaw yesterday which allowed me to get the yard clear and salted but it's a bitter dry frost this morning. Glass has gone up slightly to almost 29.6" so no sign of any change. Forecast is for this to continue till at least Thursday and a chance of snow flurries as we come out of the cold spell. Deep Joy! Will brave Valley Gardens this morning so I can order six bags of smokeless fuel from my mates at B&D. Might be the last this winter! (But I thought that the last time....) Even though stat is set low the CH has kicked in at low level again to supplement the stove. Shows how cold it is out there, watch your exterior pipes!
06:00. Odd flakes of snow falling......

[Wendyf]

The road outside this morning, a digger was working most of the night to clear a way to Skipton & Earby.



Our neighbour cleared a way through our own drift so we could get the pick up home.

[Stanley]

Makes a lot of hard work doesn't it Wendy, you'll be burning even more of next winter's logs! Another hard frost this morning with occasional flakes of snow falling but no weight. Glass is steady at just over 29.5" so no change. The 5 day Met Office forecast which is fairly accurate gives no change at all up to Saturday and some independent forecasters say they expect the cold weather to persist well into next week. Getting bored with the cold! Eight bags of coal delivered yesterday so we shall be warm!
06:50. One thing about the weather is that the mornings are getting lighter and we were out there shortly after 06:00. Very light snow falling, wind still in the East and face-ache cold when you walk against it. Many pavements are clear due to the sun and the slow thaw so things underfoot are better but still dangerous if you don't watch where you are treading. Felt in need of a nibble on a cooked sausage when I came back in!

[Cathy]

Wow, great pics. We had 36C today and it should be 29C with rain tomorrow - go figure? They say we still have some very hot weather still to come in April.

Hope you are all OK Here's a little sun to thaw the snow

[Wendyf]

Bleara Road Yesterday.

[Stanley]

Another hard frost this morning and it's still snowing very gently but not enough for a covering even though it was the same all day yesterday. Wind too dry to have any weight in it. This could change when we eventually get the westerly wind and the rain which will be the change so perhaps one heavy fall yet to come. Glass is just under 29.5", we won't see a change until it falls radically and no sign of that yet.
07:30. We've had our walk. Less wind but still easterly. Snow is bigger flakes and heavier, starting to show on roofs and clean roads. Nothing to worry about I think but no signs of any improvement.

[Sunray10]

Weather forcasters think this cold spell will last throughout April. Could well be true. Slightly milder by this coming weekend with sunshine by day. Could get colder again next week though.

[Stanley]

Another hard frost! Glass is rock steady on 29.5". No sign of any change. Still the odd flake of snow falling. Only good thing is that the amount of lying snow decreases slightly every day under the warm sun so walking is better than it was.
07:00. Brisk walk round the town. Air flow is still easterly but hardly discernible on the ground. High broken cloud with plenty of blue patches, could be a sunny morning and there is some power in that sun now. May be some snow later, we will see....

[Moh]

It's hard tp imagine we were sitting outside a bar in Majorca having coffee & brandy in 22 degrees on Tuesday!! It is horrible coming back to this extreme cold, but I thought the snow would be deeper on our drive when we got home. I was worried we would not get up the drive, but there was no snow. We drove from Manchester airport, through Rawtenstall and did not see any snow until we were approaching the top of Manchester Road. On reading the papers out there we thought the area had come to a standstill!!

[Marilyn]

I was thinking about you, warming your bones, and hoping you wouldn't be back too soon with the weather as it has been. Did you have a nice time Moh? Silly question ( sunshine, bars, brandy, coffee outdoors).

[Stanley]

Full moon, clear as a bell and yet another hard frost. Glass has fallen slightly to 29.4", a hopeful sign but Met Office 5 day forecast gives no change as far as Tuesday so keep warm Moh!
-6C at Manchester Airport this morning. Probably a tad colder in Barlick.

[Marilyn]

Feel guilty saying that it was such a beautiful, sunny afternoon that we have been at the BEACH...walked for miles too. There were children with buckets and spades, yachts sailing up and down just off shore, people flying kites and people walking all manner of dogs...ice-cream vans, hot chip sellers, seagulls galore...
Still have sand between my toes...

[Stanley]

It would be road grit and salt in Barlick. Beautiful clear sunny morning, two hot air balloons passed over Gisburn Road when I was on my way back from the butcher's at 07:30, I'll bet they were cold but having a good view of the countryside. Travelling East to West so confirmation that the easterly flow is steady.

[Wendyf]

Sounds awful Maz, don't know how you cope. Were you forced to eat an ice cream as well??
A glorious sunny morning here. Going to try and dig out the track out from under 4ft of snow, the route across the field is going to get too muddy if we carry on getting sunny days.

[Stanley]

Just think of the healthy exercise it will give you! Please can I be excused teacher?

[Marilyn]

[quote="Wendyf"]Sounds awful Maz, don't know how you cope. Were you forced to eat an ice cream as well??

Ha...funny you should ask, Wendy ( was there a satellite beaming down on us and relaying back?)
We had decided that a ' soft serve' icecream would help our energy levels enormously...but the line that Hubby joined did not seem to be moving...and I did feel a bit sorry for him...stood there in the sun with his money going all limp.
Next door was a hot chip van. There was no line, as everyone was served so fast it didn't have time to form.
Pretty soon, he had changed line.
Trouble was, he only bought ONE bucket of hot chips. I like vinegar, and he doesn't. Neither of us take Salt. So we had very bland chips indeed and not that many to boot. Looked longingly at the soft serve line on our way past.

[Moh]

I was thinking about you, warming your bones, and hoping you wouldn't be back too soon with the weather as it has been. Did you have a nice time Moh? Silly question ( sunshine, bars, brandy, coffee outdoors).

Had a brilliant time thanks Maz. - just right - hubby coffee & brandy, me coffee & anise. sitting in the hot sun, a spot of lunch with a small beer then a stroll on the promenade - what more could you wish for?? Lovely bright day but soooooo cold.

[Stanley]

Another dry frost, about -5C from the feel of it but it gets colder by about 07:00. glass steady on 29.4" so no change indicated there. Forecast is for no change up to at least Wednesday next week. Clocks change tonight.....
07:30 and we're back from our walk round Valley Gardens. Lovely morning with well broken cloud coming over from the East giving us some nice sunny spells. Funnilly enough the surfac wind (very lioght) is West-East. There is an occasional flake of snow when a heavier cloud passes over. Climate change or no, this is one of the latest spring planting seasons I have ever seen.

[Stanley]

Same dry frost, feels about -5C. Perhaps a bit more cloud but calm. Glass has risen slightly to just below 29.5" so no change in prospect. However I notice that SE winds are in the forecast further South... the change is happening but very slowly. Forecast for next five days shows -6C on Thursday but during the week the wind is swinging slowly into the NE so it could get colder before the big change happens. Coldest Easter on record now, quite exceptional weather.

[Stanley]

This weather gets boring.... Exactly the same report as yesterday. No change as far ahead as Friday on the forecast. Could it be that this is as good as it gets?
Just heard the forecast on farming Today and they expect what they call "the start of a messy snowy transition to milder Atlantic weather" to start after next weekend. Bring it on!
We've had our walk and it's a calm cold morning. I suppose it is better than wet and windy but I am getting fed up of it....

[cloghopper]

Well, like an April fool, here I am again. Had a few issues that kept me away. The weather down south here is pretty awful too, but not as bad as with you. At least managed to get some beans and potatoes planted; and the plums and apricots are blossoming. But still lots of snow on the distant mountains. Have a lovely Easter Monday everybody.

[Wendyf]

Hi Cloghopper, welcome back. Can't even begin to think about gardening here yet. The wind is getting up again today and there is quite a bit of cloud around. Its very chilly out there.

[Moh]

Sitting indoors one could imagine it was summer!!

[LizG]

Looks like the heat wave is over in Melbourne thank goodness. Back to low 20's again. This was the hottest March on record. It's tricked the garden; the camelia's are in full flower as is the ornamental pear (both 6 months early) and the pumkins have flowered again and are trying to set another flush of fruit. The new lot makes it 19 pumpkins from 4 plants. Pumpkin soup here we come!

Liz