Benvironment

I do love it when the nation has a collective 'natural' experience like this, when my Facebook/Twitter feeds suddenly fill up with different views of the same amazing sight across the country (remember the nacreous cloud incident?) We didn't really get yesterday's amazing sunset here as there was that stubborn low cloud, but it was thin enough to mean that the grey murk outside went the weirdest shade of pinky brown, which did prompt me to get up out of my chair and peer out the window cos the room had filled with an odd glow

I genuinely can't remember being less interested in winter weather as I am right now. This is interminable!! PS - I really don't remember much these days anyway

Gawd I hope so!! 12.1C here this morning, which makes it the warmest January day I've recorded since moving to the hill in 2010

It really has been dire. Yesterday there was a bit of sunshine in the Lomonds.....but other than that, there's been nothing for two weeks. We were fortunate two weeks ago to be above the cloud on the Saturday, but for most other people in Fife and West Lothian (where I work) they were still below the murk, so for them it's been even longer without sunshine. I genuinely can't recall a greyer, drizzlier, foggier, soggier spell of weather as we're currently experiencing. January 2013 springs to mind as being similar for overbearing greyness. Worst run of weather in years! (and that's saying something!!) So.....erm.....Happy new year I guess ! PS - pretty sure I heard on the radio on the way home just now that it has been the 'dreariest December' in 65 years. Not entirely sure the newsreader was referring exclusively to the weather tbh

I did a double take just now when I glanced at the weather station. 10C here above the fog! We had a low of 2.3C this morning with a good frost too. Unusual for us to get a diurnal range like that in winter. I was in the Cairngorms yesterday and within maybe ten steps, at about 1150m, you could feel the air get very suddenly warm. T-shirt weather on Stob Coire Sputan Dearg but still icy underfoot, with a glaze of ice on the paths and rocks ...but then the walk out back to Derry Lodge was thick with frost, where it had sat all day. Lovely weather!

Shifting Baseline Syndrome I do find it especially depressing when professional weather folk succumb to it. You hear it the other way around too these days, with presenters saying that 5C will be ‘bitterly cold’ after it’s been 12C in November for three weeks

Ooo, lovely house!

Aww, fantastic! It baffles me that when Canada-bound planes pass over Greenland, 99% of folk on the plane AREN'T looking out the window. I'm glued to it for hours!!

Sorry to hear some of you still don't have power. 24hrs was bad enough but two days is the pits. Last time it happened to us was Jan 2012, and after two days we'd had enough and booked in to a hotel in Freuchie We were lucky to get a room actually cos the hotel was stuffed full of folk fixing all the power lines. Hope you're back to normal soon. And you just know that 20 mins after you get home with your new generator, the power will magically come back on This morning's early morning jaunt wasn't nearly enough wintriness ....given you never know whether this is all we'll get this year or......god forbid....we all get locked down again.....so in late afternoon I headed next door into Kinross-shire for a sunset walk up its highest hill. A fair few footprints from earlier in the day but didn't see a soul

I see everyone's happy today I'd intended to head up to Spittal of Glenshee today but I never like to miss the first lying snow at home, even if it's only 2cm....so it was an early stroll from the door Nice to see the reservoir frozen over so early, although that's mainly cos there's so little water in it! Arrival of 'first lying snow' in previous winters...... 20/21: 3rd Dec 19/20: 28th Jan (yeah that was a horrid year!) 18/19: 15th Dec 17/18: 25th Nov 16/17: 9th Nov 15/16: 30th Nov 14/15: 10th Dec 13/14: 19th Dec 12/13: 5th Dec 11/12: 5th Dec 10/11: 27th Nov PS - power came back on around 8pm last night

Awww Brings back memories of the storm in Jan 2012. Beecraigs lost its new Go Ape and zip wire when every single tree on the course was brought down.

Well....certainly not the most violent storm we've ever had here but the direction made it sound much worse. Just the weirdest noises creaking around the house. Anyway as with so many other folk, power went off at 9pm and I doubt it'll be on till tomorrow tbh. We're always way down the priority list up here. My other half thought I was overreacting by filling all the saucepans for when the water pump cuts out Hope everyone without power is managing to stay warm!

Loads of great analysis in here as usual. Eerily quiet cos the adjacent barn shields us from the north, but very lightly snowing a moment ago despite being a balmy 4.5C! I spent an hour this morning moving the weather station away from its normal SW-prone position to somewhere a bit more exposed to the north. Really curious to see what happens up here in a northerly gale like this.....but also filling saucepans just in case there's a power cut, cos we need the electric to draw water via the pump. Have to say, feels like it's been years since we've had a big storm here. Back in 2011/2012 it felt like we got them all the time, even in May, and I do remember there being a steady supply of fire wood from all the beech trees coming down. Haven't been able to saw up a downed tree in a very long time.

Met Office has gusts nearing 60mph here tomorrow. I have to say I'm intrigued to find out what that sounds like, cos I don't think we've had such strong winds from the north since I've been up here on the hill, and the house makes all kinds of weird noises even when it's a tame northerly

I'd gladly take either of those! Even the latter would be very welcome, especially if it means that night time temperatures can finally return to something approaching normal. They've been freakishly high up here since June. I'm outside working with some volunteers tomorrow morning and I genuinely can't wait to finally.....FINALLY.....be out on a sunny, cold morning

Oh my! Look closely

Everything feels at least a month out so far. August weather for September. September weather for October. I was out along the Water of May today and while many of the birch have dropped already, everything else still feels some way off. Still looked lovely though! Same with Dollar Glen last week, although that's mostly oak and so is usually on the late side anyway: But thankfully there was at least a taste of proper autumn yesterday, albeit fleeting. Nipped up to Meall nan Tarmachan just to roll around in some proper frost Gutted that it's already a memory and that we've got a soggy 17C forecast this week!! Eurgh! It has however been interesting the last couple of days, driving up & down several hill roads in Fife, Kinross and Perthshire, to see that the lapse rate is actually working again after months of being broken Rapid decrease in temperature with height, whereas the last few months it's been pretty much the same up here at the top of the hill as down at the bottom.

Wet, windy and cold at 8.5C....and it's flippin' marvellous!

<stirs> <rubs eyes> <yawns> <stretches> Right.....what did I miss?

It was still 20.1C here after 10pm. I know I’ve only been recording weather here since 2010 but in all that time, that kind of warmth at night time is unprecedented up here on the hill. Even in the hottest summer heatwaves we cool down quickly at night time, so I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing when I checked the thermometer! High of 25.5C today smashed my previous September high of 22.9C. Warmest Jun Jul Aug in my dataset by some margin too. Dearth of single digit nights since mid May. Little or no wind. Next to no rain. Feels all kinds of wrong! Other than that hope everyone’s tickety boo! Been lurking and reading and respect all you stalwart contributors Waiting for the cool down but feels further away than ever.....

Holy moly it's cold out there in that wind this morning! Beautiful.....but cold -4C and steady 25mph. Taking a while to get the house warmed up. 1844638277_Glassliespindrift-HD1080p.mov

20cm here

Best snow of the 'event' so far, pushing us up to 20cm Mesmerising. May as well pull up a chair, seeing as I spend hours standing at the window gawping

FINALLY IN ON THE BLOB ACTION!!!!

Aww, really nice to see so many folk loved up with snow this morning So far the same thing has happened as with all the other easterlies I've experienced up here - the lines have gone south over Ballingry, Cowdenbeath etc....or north along the Tay....and we kind of skim the edges. Sooooo....a very welcome but relatively modest 6cm this morning, but nice and cold at -2.3C PS - Supposed to be over at Beecraigs for work but can't see that happening cos they've been completely dumped on by the sounds of it.