This Bl***y Weather!

[Leon Roskilly]

Heavy rain here now, and cold

[peter mccue]

Just come up the road, 0degs & being followed by a gritter!

[Nightwing]

Worlds turning upside down, I tell you!

We've had an incredibly mild "winter" this year here in Michigan. We only had about 70 inches of snow, total, and it's all long melted. It was in the upper 60's today, bright sun. Supposed to be near 70 much of this week.

Spring is here in interior North America(northern U.S. part, at least!).

[Guest Jan V]

Our weather has been all over the place. Beautiful enough to play outside with my grandson and we were wearing shorts. Just west of us many lives lost, and untold damage, due to over a week of tornado activity. We just got back from our daughter's in Augusta, Georgia and the azaleas were incredible. Go figure.

[Vagabond]

Had a day's ray fishing out of Langstone cancelled on Saturday due to SW Force 7

 

Spent the weekend birdwatching instead - winter visitors such as Brent Geese and Pintail still with us, and some super-optimistic summer migrants such as Swallows, Terns and Willow Warblers arriving already.

 

By the time we set off for Sussex this afternoon, the sunny day had clouded over, and we just had time to unpack the camper van before the hail and snow hit.

 

Two inches of snow down as I type, and still snowing!

[Bobj]

Had a day's ray fishing out of Langstone cancelled on Saturday due to SW Force 7

 

Spent the weekend birdwatching instead - winter visitors such as Brent Geese and Pintail still with us, and some super-optimistic summer migrants such as Swallows, Terns and Willow Warblers arriving already.

 

By the time we set off for Sussex this afternoon, the sunny day had clouded over, and we just had time to unpack the camper van before the hail and snow hit.

 

Two inches of snow down as I type, and still snowing!

 

Just thought I'd bring a bit of "down under" summer to you....

You know it's Summer in Australia when...

 

1 The best parking space is determined by shade instead of distance.

 

2 Hot water comes out of both taps.

 

3 You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.

 

4 The temperature drops below 25c and you feel a little chilly.

 

5 You discover that it only takes two fingers to steer your car.

 

6 You discover that you can get sunburnt through your car window.

 

7 You develop a fear of metal car door handles.

 

8 You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30am.

 

9 Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"

 

10 You realise that asphalt has a liquid state.

 

11 Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to prevent them from laying hard-boiled eggs.

 

12 The cows are giving evaporated milk.

 

13 The trees are whistling for the dogs.

 

14 While walking back barefoot to your car from the Rocks, you do a tightrope act on the white lines in the car park.

 

15 You catch a cold from having the aircon full blast while you sleep during the night.

 

16 You learn that department stores are temples to worship air-conditioning

[Leon Roskilly]

BOBJ it bought it all back to me

 

Living in Cairns, I decided to walk about 8 miles down to a local beach - barefoot!

 

It was fine when I started off early in the morning, but as the sun rose higher, the tarmac became hotter.

 

The grassy area beside the road was full of mimosa (sensitivityplants), which is not great to walk on when barefoot.

 

The roadside gum trees turned their leaves to present the slimmest profile to the sun, so trees in full leaf offered virtually no shade.

 

The walk turned into quite an ordeal, but it was almost worth it to arrive at the shaded palm fringed beach and see the cool blue ocean.

 

The only problem was that strip of white sand between the coastal vegetation and the water.

 

It was unbearably hot to put a foot onto.

 

It was a case of screwing up the courage and charging over the beach with burning soles to plunge mercifully into the cool blue shark-infested water.

 

Heaven!

 

I later ended up with badly sun burned feet, standing up was painful as the blood flowed down into them.

 

er, the bit about parking in shade.

 

The number of tourists who had driven up from down south not knowing that you DO NOT PARK BENEATH A PALM TREE!

 

They would come back to their car and wondered who had taken a baseball bat to the bodywork, perhaps not realising the implication of the coconuts lying around nearby, or hovering 60 ft or so above their heads ready and ripe!

 

Some tourists paid the price of sunbathing beneath palm trees too

 

 

Back to Kent

 

It's bright and sunny this morning, but only 2.6C, and I doubt that it'll be long before the clouds build and the showers kick off. More general rain and sleet forecast for later.

[Leon Roskilly]

Just west of us many lives lost, and untold damage, due to over a week of tornado activity.

 

That made the news here Jan.

 

Those things are scary!

 

 

Take care

[A Worm OOE]

My ten minute drive to work from Tunbridge Wells to Crowborough took me an hour this morning due to 8-10 inches of snow !!! The problem wasnt so much the snow on the road, which was allready melting by 8 am, but the number of trees and bushes brought down on the road under the weight of the snow, It came down very fast and very heavy.

Edited April 10, 2006 by A Worm OOE

[Vagabond]

My ten minute drive to work from Tunbridge Wells to Crowborough took me an hour this morning due to 8-10 inches of snow !!!

 

I was due to go up to Essex today. but one look at that snow and I postponed the visit till Wednesday. Planned my next fishing trip abroad instead!

 

I hear that just south of Tunbridge Wells the A26 was blocked and tales of trees down, road blockages and accidents filtered in throughout the morning. It is thawing now although the wind remains North-easterly.