Snow in the UK!!!

[Pleater]

Just for a little extra fun on the roads we have had a partial thaw, rain and then hailstones. I had to drive into town and back, which is not far, but there are bends and slopes all the way, just as the temperature took a nose dive this evening - OH BOY!!

All those extras such as intelligent braking seem to be almost superfluous when the guy in the showroom is using them to justify buying the car.

I was truly thankful to have them when the car started sliding sideways. All the salt and grit had been washed off the tarmac, coefficient of friction between tires and road approaching ZERO.

I selected second gear, oh so gently touched the accelerator, and found traction from somewhere just seconds before my pulse rate would have exceeded the design specifications.

I don't mind snow - but this weather is really not good at all.

Anne the Pleater

[Wompet]

I'm afraid this may be a delayed result from our Arizona Cardinals football (American) team playing in & nearly winning the Super Bowl last Sunday.

The FAA has reported several near misses with flying javelinas in the vicinity of our Sky Harbor International Airport & REI reported shipping a heavy-duty parka, long underwear & mittens to a Lucifer S.

Be thankful the Cardinals didn't win or you'd be advised to watch out for approaching glaciers!

.

I thought that freeze-over was supposed to be limited to one particular geographic area.
I thought the affected parts of England handled things rather well. I remember when El Paso got all of 0.2 inches, and the entire city was frozen for two days.

[Jock Scot]

We now have the snow that the rest of the UK had had for the last few days. I woke up this morning to 4 inches of it and its still coming down.Apart from very minor roads I doubt that it will affect the traffic ,or, life much.

[Chas]

Hello All,

I had to travel to London on Monday for the White Lion Society AGM. In spite of all the predictions of 'Doom and Gloom', all my rail connections were on time and running freely. The only minor hiccup was in central London itself. On leaving the railway station I found the Circle Line was 'totally shut down because of adverse weather conditions'. For those who do not know, the Circle Line, as part of London Underground, is totally underground - at no point does it go above ground and at it's lowest point is over 120ft underground. That must have been some very, very heavy snow to reach down 120ft and block the line!

Regards

Chas

[Paul Henry]

Trivia About the Circle Line

Technically it is in fact a 'sub-surface' line, running not much deeper than the basement of surrounding buildings. It was built by the 'cut and cover' method, where a deep trench is dug and then covered over. Along some parts of the line the trench was left open, and the sky is plainly visible from some sections of the Circle Line as well as from a number of stations along its route. Compare this to the later 'deep level' tubes such as the Piccadilly and Northern Lines, which run much deeper and were dug using tunnelling machines.

from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A592995

[O'Callaghan]

Those from cold climates do a lot of sniggering when other places shut down with tiny bits of snow. The latest snigger was from President Obama when his daughters' school shut down in Washington DC. I think it is a direct result of his comments that local schools stayed open recently when they should have closed.

What he and others don't realise is that snow is more trouble when you only get a little bit. Small amounts of snow can be too shallow to plough, and rain can wash away the salt. These things are less of a problem in the frozen North. Another problem in moderate climates is that the snow melts and then refreezes over night, leaving black ice.

Those who snigger at places like Washington or London usually come from places where the snow is always deep enough to plough, and where it stays cold enough that there is no rain to wash the salt away or to freeze on the roadway, and cold enough that the snow doesn't melt and re-freeze.

Well, it's always fun to poke fun, so perhaps I shouldn't be trying to dispel their illusions.

[Adam Pound]

Those from cold climates do a lot of sniggering when other places shut down with tiny bits of snow. The latest snigger was from President Obama when his daughters' school shut down in Washington DC. I think it is a direct result of his comments that local schools stayed open recently when they should have closed.

What he and others don't realise is that snow is more trouble when you only get a little bit. Small amounts of snow can be too shallow to plough, and rain can wash away the salt. These things are less of a problem in the frozen North. Another problem in moderate climates is that the snow melts and then refreezes over night, leaving black ice.

Those who snigger at places like Washington or London usually come from places where the snow is always deep enough to plough, and where it stays cold enough that there is no rain to wash the salt away or to freeze on the roadway, and cold enough that the snow doesn't melt and re-freeze.

Well, it's always fun to poke fun, so perhaps I shouldn't be trying to dispel their illusions.

While I am definitely NOT disagreeing with you, you should remember that those of us in the frozen North don't just get snow thickly dumped on us and have it dissapear immediately at the end of winter. We get thaws, melts and refreezes much worse than the people who get only a bit of it, because it lasts longer for us.

And to toot our own horn a bit, I notice no Canucks have been sniggerring at the Brits.
Carry on, polite concerned Canadiansith:
Adam

[starbkjrus]

I never recall seeing that much snow from my time in Sussex. Yeah we get a lot of snow here in Canada but with the plows, salters and winter tires it's just a momentary nuisance unlike those that are just not prepared for it. Was sent a poem today that I wish to share:

It's winter in Canada
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Canada
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Canada
I'm frozen to the friggin' ground!

As someone who spends quite a bit of time in Canada during all seasons I can relate to that one. Beer an' a shot an' out in the cold, eh?

[ccga3359]

And to toot our own horn a bit, I notice no Canucks have been sniggerring at the Brits.
Carry on, polite concerned Canadiansith:
Adam

Why would we do that? We it most useful for our purposes:

[runewolf]

Oh snap! Where do I buy a zamboni attachment for my john deere?