General Chat

Rain came in about an hour ago, very strong wind too :-(

Feeders around here would have disappeared by now, Mersey.

Still not much more than a gentle breeze here but we are keeping an eye on the forecasts as we have 16 high sided lorries due to leave at 4am tomorrow. I think the drivers are all praying for gales so that they can decline to drive :-)

Really gusty here but with bright warm sunshine... I have just refilled all my bird feeders....bless them :-)

wind picking up here - friend just rang to say her back garden fence is down :-(

The power stayed on all last night.

I know because I was awake for much of it.

I think the wind is picking up a bit now so I am not going to have a very good day or night I can see.

OFITG, i am thinking that 1968 might be the year that when we lived in the IOM the storm brought down the power lines on to the chicken shed.

All this talk about the storm predicted to hit the UK early on Monday morning has brought back memories to me of the storm that hit Scotland in January 1968, which I am sure many who lived on the West coast of Scotland will remember as Glasgow took quite a battering in that storm.

I was working at The Abbey on Iona at the time, the Abbey roof slates were about 3ft x 2ft and about 1/2 an inch thick. Several of these slates were torn from the roof by the gale force winds, which at their peak, reached over 100mph, and were embedded in the grass area surrounding the Abbey.

The Abbey and its grounds were closed to the public and we were all ordered to remain indoors, if one of those slates hit you, it would have decapitated you. In addition, the next day, several boats were found on land having been lifted out of the water by the gale force winds.

GlasgowLass - if the winds are as strong as they are predicting, it will probably mean disruption over the course of tomorrow morning to flights in and out of Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City airports, and from personal experience, if past disruptions are anything to go by, this will have a knock on affect to later flights.

My OH and children flew from Glasgow to London early this morning for the American Football at Wembley this afternoon.
Their return flight is due to leave London around 2pm tomorrow.

Lets wait and see what happens!

More Fish. Now 52% risk today and 26% tomorrow in London on his 10 day forecast. So, if it really hits London, greatest likelihood is this evening and overnight probably.

Also notice there is a slight risk of same thing next weekend on his forecast. Less than 10% probable - but very possible.

All these winds are coming from turbulence in Gulf of Mexico. Cannot help noticing that Branson has sold up in Oxon and moved to Neckar recently. Could that be a cause?

Regions where Amber warnings are currently in force are:-

East Midlands, East of England, London & South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands.

An Amber warning indicates that the public should prepare for severe weather which could result in disruption to power and transport plus the possibility of some structural damage.

Had a senior moment a few minutes ago while thinking about my central heating going off if there was a power cut - got my 3 bar halogen heater out of the hall cupboard :-S :-( :-S

the latest from the BBC news fifteen minutes ago is that it's still on track - the wind has picked up quite a bit here but it's a fairly pleasant morning with some sunshine

Yes we are mainly electric as well except for the gas CH, but I think this weekend into Monday the temperature is not set to drop so it will be extra sweaters and a throw. If we lose power we have plenty of bread and cheese and tins of tuna etc. We won't starve.

Very gusty this morning in the valleys. One of those horrible white bits in the middle of dark blue appeared over my house on weather map on BBC late last night for this morning :-0 :-0

Let's hope no one gets loss of power. Or that in my area Transco and Western Power, who maintain our supplies to our homes, are on the ball for next few hours and get us straight back on.

It will feel much colder this week, particularly at night. Could see frost. And many of us will want to twitch our knob a bit. Hope we are allowed that pleasure at least. :-) :-)

And that we are all kept safe. And family and friends. :-)

Gwyn in Kent - good point about loss of power affecting central heating, any prolonged loss of power concerns me, apart from central heating I am all electric, I am also an insulin dependent diabetic, so if electricity goes off no means of cooking, so today I will buy some cold meats, salad items, and bread, just in case.

I well remember the 1987 storm. A ferry even was driven aground in Folkestone.

Blue sky here near The Channel coast, but the wind is building.
Yesterday we travelled to Hampshire and the motorway had the hazard signs lit telling of the forecast strong winds tonight / tomorrow.

As in 1987 this predicted storm will be before trees have shed many leaves, so they present more resistance and so many are likely to be uprooted if a similar scenario occurs.
Don't forget if power is lost, as in that storm, gas central heating can't function either, so maybe an elderly relative or neighbour will be glad of a warm drink if you are able to make one.
I have torch, hotwater bottle and flask at the ready. We have gas cooker so can get by better than some.

Thank goodness it is half term so not so many cars and people will need to be out and about.

Keep safe everyone.

Gwyn

No what local BBC radio is forecasting for today is what I have posted so as I say wrong

On the main BBC news channel on television that is what they are forecasting for tomorrow not today.

Wrong already!

Local BBC Radio for this morning have said :

"The public should be aware of a brief spell of strong winds this morning bringing the risk of damage to trees and the possibility of disruption to transport."

There's nothing more than a gentle breeze and clear blue skies

Forecasts remain fairly consistent with the track of the St Jude storm bringing the low pressure centre to the south of Ireland and approaching Wales by early morning on Monday, and then it moves ENE across central England to the the North Sea during the day.

Ahead of the storm will be a large band of moderate to heavy rain so Sunday night will become very wet across southern and central Britain with as much as 30 to 60mm over SW England and Wales, the highest totals most likely in Wales. The persistent rain will then swing up across northern England during Monday morning.

The main feature will be the winds with a high risk of severe gales across southern England and South Wales in the morning, to the south of the low pressure centre, the high winds then extending across the Midlands and East Anglia from midday and early afternoon. At the peak early in the morning we may see storm force winds across Cornwall and southern Devon with peak gusts 80 to 90mph around coasts.

The severe gales then running along the Channel coasts through the morning with gusts of 80mph. Inland across central southern England to East Anglia gusts may reach 60 to 70mph from late morning to early afternoon, and we may see similar gusts for a time over Wales and the central Midlands. The high winds easing quite quickly from the west by mid afternoon and the severe gales transferring to northern coasts of Holland and later Germany and Denmark. Scotland will miss the storm with light winds, although southern Scotland will see a spell of moderate to heavy rain.

With many trees still in leaf in southern Britain these high winds may bring down trees and also cause some structural damage to roofs and chimneys. Batten down the hatches. Before the St Jude storm arrives, Sunday will also be a very blustery day with gusts to over 40mph across central to eastern England and Wales, and over 50mph in exposed western areas.

The winds will ease down quite a bit for Tuesday and early Wednesday next week before increasing again late Wednesday with strong to locally gale force SSW winds in the NW Wednesday evening.

http://uk.weather.com/story/news/severe-weather-outlook-st-jude-day-storm-28th-october-2013-20131023