Scribbler

Damn! I'd very briefly popped down to Budleigh Salterton around lunchtime (soon after I posted anyway) and it was pretty windy down there too, obviously. Walking near the sea front was, as you say, difficult already. Back again now and believe it or not, our neighbours fence is already leaning more than it was this morning. Our views to their garden will change radicallly after this storm! Our cats, meanwhile, have already got the wind-up! They love it when it's windy and chase around the garden in much the same way as the leaves. They're big (little) kids really! Love to spend time on Windy - sometimes find out more there than on the Met Office forecast page.

I'm reading that winds of 80 mph are expected widely in Scotland and that somehow concentrates our interest on that area. Sure, I'd hate to live in a place expecting winds that strong but I live down here in Taunton, Somerset which is generally a pretty well-sheltered place. However, I notice from the Met Office page that we can expect gusts, between 7 and 11 pm on Sunday, of 53 mph - which is apparently 46 knots. So I'm guessing that the Scottish wind gusts will be considerably higher than 80 mph. That's remarkably high for us considering that the storm is mainly "up north" and I'm not sure that I've seen such a wide range of places so far apart both due to get winds so far in excess of gale force. This Storm Isha is a BIG storm! (Also, if those winds do actually arrive, our neighbours fence - between us and them - is a sure gonner!)

It's been up to around 33C this afternoon but now there's a belt of light rain crossing us here in Taunton. But for once the radar isn't telling the truth - the rain simply isn't reaching ground level - it's still as dry as a bone!

Max of 28.3C yesterday here in my sheltered garden in Taunton. Max of 22.7C today at 11.30 this morning but less than 3 hours later and it’s already down to 16.0C and falling steadily. That's it - summer's over!

In Taunton - where it's relatively sheltered and safe, my weather station recorded a gust of 70 kph (44 mph) just after 5 pm. Only around 8mm of rain today - a far cry from the 36mm I recorded yesterday.

Still only moderately windy - gusts to 20.6 mph recently, but it seems to be easing. 1.8mm of rain so far, in the half hour after midnight. Temperature steady at 16.6C. Pressure STILL falling - down to 978.3 mb now. Been falling ever since 5.30 pm yesterday..... The worst must be over by now - time for bed.

The rain cleared around midnight - 14mm for the day, most of it after about 9 pm. Wind picked up not long ago and it's getting a bit noisy out there now but not as windy as yesterday afternoon yet. Things rattling and bouncing around in other people's gardens..... Max gust tonight - 28.2 mph - sounds like more.... Pressure falling rapidly - down to 980.7 mb. Temperature risen to 16.6C

Oh the perils of living at low level! Down here at 42m asl, the rain is slowly turning white but it's still coming down more like rain with just the occasional flake. 3.3mm today so far. However, I see from the radar that this is just a period of light rain - is there more to come later tonight? Temperature 2.0C (35.6F) and falling steadily.

Average max for the last 5 days - 14.2C Forecast max for next 5 days - 4.4C I am not impressed! Been able to have some lovely days in the garden (after the overnight rain has dried away a bit) - but now everything will regress back to winter. But will we get rain or snow down here in Taunton? Or nothing?? (Actually I'm secretly looking forward to the impending blizzard - hope the snow will come down in the day so I can take some pix!)

Evening All, As there's something nasty coming in from the southwest, it would be interesting to hear from those members down in Cornwll and Devon, with their 'progress' reports as the rain or snow arrives. As at 8.30 pm I see that the Met Office radar shows precipitation into west Cornwall - so how far will it reach by midnight? Anyone in Exeter expecting snow tonight? Here in Taunton, Somerset I'll try to keep track of whatever it is arriving - but as I'm expecting it to get here during the early hours I'll add to my comments tomorrow. Safe journeys everybody....... Currently 5.7C and steady. Wind Southerly about 10 mph.

Uh Hm! According to the Manley CET figures, (borrowed from Philip Eden's www.climate.uk) September 1985 was just warmer than the August of that year - 14.74 to 14.62. It would be nice to see this year follow suit but despite it being a "rotten" August it would still need a record-breaking September to do so. Therefore, calculating that we won't be having a record-breaker, and having sucked on my old piece of seaweed, I proffer 14.9 as my figure for the September CET

Ah - but we do!!! This was a little colony that set up home on one of our trees (an Amalanchier) last year. They erupt beyond their usual small numbers every four years and you should report any large outbreaks to MAFF (or someone important) Small colonies like this are ok but the authorities want to stop them spreading so that we don't get problems with our bikes and trees.

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2006/16au...utter_strip.jpg http://www.spaceweather.com/ for other info.

Don't say that - you'll have Daniel on here saying that he told you so! :lol: Ice Age Next! :lol:

It’s going to be rather interesting when the next solar max arrives because we’re all so dependant on our various airborne communication systems. If there are excessive numbers of much more active sunspots there will be every chance of satellites being knocked out; mobile phones becoming useless and even the Internet being affected. Am I wrong to suspect that we’re going to find ourselves in all sorts of trouble in 2011/2012? :lol:

Has Cycle 24 started? A backward sunspot is a sign that the next solar cycle is beginning. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/15aug_backwards.htm The next cycle, Solar Cycle 24, should begin "any time now," returning the sun to a stormy state, says David Hathaway, a solar physicist at the Marshall Space Flight in Huntsville, Alabama. However…………for the full story see the article! For other information about Solar Cycle 24 see - http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10...tormwarning.htm

When a so-called planet is named after a Disney dog then it deserves to be downgraded!

No – it’s not been a month to remember – yet but it hasn't been that cold. My average daytime shaded max is 23.7C which is actually 2.2C down on August last year but that is still something like 4C up on our local long-term average for August. Having a houseful of dogs who appreciate the open air, our back door, which faces south, has been open EVERY day this month from around 7 am until sometimes as late as midnight without any of us suffering frostbite. It happens to have been shut tonight to stop the rain from blowing in! This may only be a small country but the climatic differences from one end to the other are quite considerable and I’m glad to be in the warmish south rather than the coldish north. Summer is still here, even if it did peak in July.

Ah - but wouldn't a cross-dressing hurricane rotate in the opposite direction!!!???

Tropical Cyclone Names 2006 Alberto Beryl Chris Debby Ernesto Florence Gordon Helene Isaac Joyce Kirk Leslie Michael Nadine Oscar Patty Rafael Sandy Tony Valerie William I’m quite sure that you already know all these names – but you keep describing this up-and-coming Tropical Storm Chris as a SHE. Since alternate names are male (1st-3rd-5th, etc) and then female (2nd-4th-6th, etc), unless I’m mistaken this one is a HE!! Regards from me Chris (HE) Sorry - Paranoid - same thought!

2000 - 16.6 2001 - 16.8 2002 - 17.0 2003 - 18.3 2004 - 17.6 2005 - 16.2 Average 17.1 + 0.5 for luck and good judgment! I can see no reason why the general warming trend shouldn't continue, despite last year’s figure. My forecast is therefore 17.6 :lol: :lol: Oh yeah! It's alright for the Mods to adjust their figures whereas we mortals have to stick by our errors! :lol: :lol:

Will the heat last…………..? I was prowling through some cricketing memories when I came across this article; http://uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/cur...ory/254098.html The last few lines caught my eye – “The two hottest summers of the 20th century were 1911 and 1976. The first was followed in 1912 by the wettest and windiest summer on record, the second by one of the coolest. You have been warned.”

The real problem is that the various ‘alternative’ power sources are so inefficient. To achieve an adequately useful output we would need extraordinary numbers of solar arrays; wind farms; wave and tide energy machines, etc, given today’s equipment. How much power (as a percentage of today’s needs) do the above produce at present and how much could we reasonably expect from such sources in the future? Of the more efficient sources – Geothermal energy is a bit hard to come by throughout the UK. Hydroelectricity can only be generated where there is enough water and elevation. Barrages are only appropriate in certain places. Biofuels work with existing and fairly efficient power stations but there seems to be something of a reluctance to take the idea aboard possibly because of the CO2 output. Only nuclear power can provide enough energy to be a useful percentage of our requirements. All in favour!

Hi Paul Sorry to be a long time replying - missed your post - been too busy. By sticking my oar in, I didn't imply that I was in favour of the content of that article. What I was trying to do was to add another view of the situation. The article happened to pick up on particular aspects of the debate - so I stuck the link in for the hell of it! Just shows that people in high places work hard to fudge reality. Chris

We've had them here for years - ever since I started growing roses which was about 12 years ago. Roses seem to be one of their favourite leaves. The bees in question have now made their nests and aren't cutting any more so I can't give you any pix of the bees. However, here's one of their typical cutouts.