Toadfish Monastery

We are due high winds (80) and torrential rain tomorrow, late afternoon into overnight to Monday. Orange warnings out for trees being blown down and floods. Such not seen since 1987 I am informed. However, even so, not to be compared with those in other parts of the world. This is a very English version.

"... Very English"

So, just before the flood enters your house, it politely apologizes for any inconvenience?

I'm sure it will, yes. And apparently I am wrong, it is a yellow warning, not orange. There is no orange.

No sign of wind or rain yet.

We have (what looks to be 500 year old) a very very large chestnut tree right opposite where I park my car (allocated spaces) - when it is windy I always hope it won't be blown down on top of my car.

It is reasonably well cared for. Being a protected tree - not allowed to fell it - the council does lop dead branches off once in a while. But I've seen a chestnut eaten away by fungus inside resulting in huge branches falling off, so always a bit wary.

Wrong again. It's an Amber Storm Warning. 2nd highest.

Despite them saying it would hit land in the evening (or might miss us completely), it is already blowing pretty fiercely.

The brown leaves are swirling in the breeze, tumbling past my windows. And the clocks went back last night. Inevitably (except for the clocks which aren't) we are tipping over into winter. Personally I think the clocks should go forward three hours instead of back one hour.

oh dear, oh dear. My neighbouur suggested I put my car in my garage; loads of trees everywhere. I thought I couldn't, but then I thought I must. This involved moving stuff around inside the garage to make space down sides. Then backing car in (if I went in forwards I'd never back it out again), using side mirrorrs (luckily my Dad taught me how to reverse on side mirrors in my late teens, he ran lorries), because less than 1" either side to spare. Needless to say, this took hundreds of shunts then the car hit something at the left backhand side, which I couldn't get to as car now in the way......... more shunts - ....-....-... Came back in so breathless it hurt, and shaking uncontrollably, and sweat pouring down me everywhere.......... actually wasn't sure if I would make it back into flat. Then my neighbour rang to say she'd seen me and she would have offered to do it. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaar!! This little exercise means tomorrow will be a total write off, unable to do anything, as I get the CFS payback.

At least your car is safe, now.

That has to count for something, right?

(of course-- now that it **is** safe?  Nothing will happen to the space it formerly occupied... Murphy is such a b**tch). 

Yes. The wind has dropped. There's a spot of rain but nothing much. They said on the London news that the storm would hit land about 1 am and affect London between 5 and 8 am, but the then the main UK news showed a weather map which showed London sitting between two blue bits at 5 am and then the storm moving up north east ie. no storm in London. they obviously don't compare national and local news idiots however London was dead centre of the orange warning swathe on the map.............. but yes yes probably my car effort was a waste of time and precious energy - we will see. Some people think they are only saying there's a storm because the got it wrong in 1987 and forecast fine weather.

ok, it is windy now, but showing up only in one tree of four. So not very. Yet.

Sounds awful! I hope that you and your car recover from this traumatic event.

Here it's just been coooooold!

Hmmmm. So, fences down. Tree down just down my road. Tree outside my block, leaning at a very odd angle. No sign of having actually needing to have put car in garage. But suppose was sensible.

Odd, was awake all night and heard some wind but nothing like would have been blowing mature trees down.

Still quite windy.

Peace of mind is nothing to be dismissed, and you have that at least.

Hopefully it'll (the storm) pass.

Far too warm for the season. Weather changing quickly back and forth otherwise, now sunny, soon a bit rainy, dead calm changing to strong gusts of wind and back.

Calm and cool today. Warmer and windier expected tomorrow.

The storm hits several European countries, but low number of deaths. Some are just horrible but one has to wonder at the man who was crushed in his car when a tree fell on it - what was he doing driving around? You have to be stupid don't you? But sorry he died.

Ice this morning.   

My garage has a steep(!) ramp to the street. A busy street, with a lot of morning traffic both directions. I gingerly started down the ramp only to have my car slide slowly and inexorably into the side retaining wall...  I freed it, eventually, but now have a small scratch next to the wheel well.

I picked up some heavy-duty ice melt tonight and threw it liberally around the ramp as we are scheduled for snow again tomorrow.