The Weather Thread - Storms! Floods! Snow! Sun!?

[Jonno]

Tres bien, Ian, tres bien!

I had to smile on my way to work today when I saw that the treacherous area that was my undoing 24 hours earlier was well covered in grit now! No such incidents today I'm happy to report - just 2 of us in the office today but I had such a busy day that instead of leaving early as previously, I ended up staying 45 minutes late!

I was due to meet an old acquaintance tomorrow that I haven't seen for a few years now as she was coming into London for the day, but she's having to give it a miss as she can't get her car out of her area to get to the coach for the trip. It's a shame, but to be honest I'd rather meet her when it's warmer! She's from the Reading area so Si and Steve amongst others will appreciate the situation! (Thanks for your kind sentiment above BTW Steve).

[WhiteCrowNZ]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8449755.stm

They're running out of grit.

I've read a lot from this side of the world, about how people should get back to normal and get back to work.

But it does seem the UK has been his by weather which is perilous and bordering on a minor catastrophe. There seems to have been a considerable death toll so far due to accidents on the roads.

Unlike when last this kind of weather hit the UK, people now work much further from home than they did in the 50s, as car ownership is so much more widespread.

I'm amazed reading Facebook how guilty some people people feel about working from home or leaving work to go home early rather than be stuck in their car on the road.

Just hope everyone is putting their own safety first, and not feeling guilt tripped into making an unnecessary or perilous journey.

[Larry]

I'm not sure what the situation is like with Wokingham Council, where I live but just a couple of miles down the Road in Bracknell, the local council has said they only have enough grit to last untill Tuseday.

but it's these mental panic buyers that really get me annoyed my brother went up to Waitrose yesterday and all the milk and bread had gone he said he saw people with trollys piled high with food. Today we took the car for a much needed run and stopped in Sainsbury's to get some Cokes and you'd think it was christmas there wasn't a car park space to be found . We then went along to Tesco asnd that wasn't much better and things weren't helped by the selfish sh*ts who were parking in the disabled bays when they had no right to be there.

There are so few disabled places as it is at most of these supermarkets and It's at this time when conditions under foot are so dangerous that disabled people like myself so desperatly need those places near to the shop.

[Rob McCow]

I agree Larry! It's so utterly stupid. There was no bread in Sainsbury's when we went, there was a bit of milk and for some reason they'd sold out of onions as well.

Most of the food will probably get chucked out in the end.

[Captain Tancredi]

There are so few disabled places as it is at most of these supermarkets and It's at this time when conditions under foot are so dangerous that disabled people like myself so desperatly need those places near to the shop.

In a slight design flaw, my local Sainsburys has the disabled parking spaces right near the store entrance but at the bottom of a pitched roof so all the snow slides down the roof and onto the cars. Yesterday they were all roped off but the Sunday before Christmas there'd been a big fall from the roof which set a few alarms off.

I don't normally buy bread but the shelves were almost empty last night, the same with milk this morning. The local independent bakers over the road also seemed to have sold out by 3pm, but their normal Saturday lunchtime trade in pasties, quiches and pizza slices seemed not to have appeared.

[Simon R]

There's bread a plenty in our Budgens if that helps. I haven't tried driving in the snow yet. I would on monday as the roads round here don't look too bad now but there's the threat of more snow tomorrow. We were bloody lucky it eased off for New Year's Eve last week.

[Andrew Curnow]

Panic buying in town today as well - one woman had about thirty pints of milk in her trolley! Even if she does get snowed in, it's not going to stay fresh that long is it???

Maybe I'm just too nice to the Council (although that seems unlikely) but I'm fed up reading/hearing on the news about the lack of grit. Yes, it's not ideal, but the suggestion almost seems to be that in 'the old days' there was enough grit for every two-bit road and dirt-track, how much better things used to be, etc. I can't ever recall back roads and little roads being gritted, so what's different now? And if there was a month's worth of grit in every Council Depot every year "just in case" then the media would have a field-day with that waste of public money, wouldn't they.

[SiHart]

I was most amused early this morning by a woman from the Shadow Cabinet going on about how this is typical Labour inepitude, but when asked what she'd have done to deal with this situation didn't really know... just something different. Says it all really- she was obvioualy there to deal a cheap shot but just ended up loooking like a clueless twit.

Si xx

[Philipnet]

I wouldn't recommend driving around the roads of Bracknell!

I had problems getting out of our side road this morning and most of the dual carriageways are single lane only.

Our drive - and the short stretch of pavement to the road - is now clear of snow.
The road isn't, however and neither is the ring-road around the estate.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Over here in October we had something called "Disaster Awareness Week" which is something I'm beginning to think should happen in the UK.

Basically everyone is given a list of things they should have in their house - this includes a basic medical kits and (tinned) food and water for up to two days. The idea is that in the event of a catastrophe, which cuts off communications, electricity and power, people will be self sufficient for a couple of days, so the emergency services can concentrate elsewhere (which after a major earthquake you don't want people ringing up 111 asking for water).

Hearing about people panic buying milk and bread you have to think much the same. Maybe it makes sense to have these things in the house in dried/frozen format before not after the fact? The mass buying of milk is a bit pathetic - surely buy a bit extra, then buy some powdered just in case?

But alas there's a kind of hysteria. You see someone with 4 loaves of bread, so everyone kind of follows suit.

[Captain Tancredi]

Panic buying in town today as well - one woman had about thirty pints of milk in her trolley! Even if she does get snowed in, it's not going to stay fresh that long is it???

Either that or it'll be one heck of a blancmange.

Part of it is possibly that people simply don't work and shop locally in the way they used to do- also that for understandable reasons, most of us tend to do our grocery shopping at supermarkets rather than a grocer, greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, baker and so on, so that if the supermarket delivery van doesn't get through there's no source of bread in town. We've also been told over the years how bad salt is for you, so we don't necessarily have the jar in the kitchen that you can use to do your path, and also in the past people would have had ash from coal fires to use as well.

[Larry]

Panic buying in town today as well - one woman had about thirty pints of milk in her trolley! Even if she does get snowed in, it's not going to stay fresh that long is it???

.

I honestly believe that in situations we have at the moment when shops could have problems in getting their deliveries the store managers need to step in and stop people from buying such large amounts of one item. If I went into Waitrose for a flaggon of milk only to find the shelves empty and get to the cash desk to see some one had hogged 30 pints I'd be pretty angry and it's things like this that will cause people to lose their tempers.

The rediculous thing about the panic buying in Waitrose is that their main supply depot is just a couple of miles down the road so it's not as if they are not going to get new deliveries.

[Larry]

I wouldn't recommend driving around the roads of Bracknell!

I had problems getting out of our side road this morning and most of the dual carriageways are single lane only..

the A329m is still two lanes but on the slip roads on and off it only one lane has been cleared.

[Stephen Morgan]

Snowing heavily here this evening. Weather warnings have gone out for the whole of South Wales.
Brother in Law, who works as a porter in the Royal Gwent hospital, has been phoned and told not to go in tonight, he couldn't even if he wanted to as he is blocked in where he lives.
My factory has yet to make a decision to send the afternoon shift home or not, so I'm waiting for a call to say the factory is closed tonight. I've just been out to clear the car in readiness to go, but as fast as I did it it was covering just as quickly, the street is covered, no one has been up or down it this evening. I suspect I won't be going down it tonight either.

[Jon Masters]

For the first time tonight had real difficulty getting up our road - got stuck three times. I think the surface layers have started to thaw, so the slush is causing wheelspin with the frozen ice just below. Bit harum -skarum weaving and sliding round all the parked cars.

And the possibility of more snow tonight.....

[Philipnet]

Apart from the atrocious traffic conditions this morning it's not too bad around here now.

On the way back, I found that two tracks had been salted/gritted down our road which makes life a lot easier - I still 'skidded' onto the driveway though, all that snow hasn't gone yet!

[Stephen Morgan]

No work for me tonight, the factory has been closed. A message was left for anyone phoning our absence line stating the factory would be closed to nightshift, but would re-open at six in the morning. Judging by the way it's still snowing heavily, and that police across the county have advised people NOT to use the roads unless absolutely necessary, I think hoping to re-open in the morning is being a bit ambitious.

[Philipnet]

About 1 to 2 centimetres of snow has lightly dusted the outside world around these parts (Bracknell, Berkshire).

I imagine that things will be slippery on the roads, but the commute into do-able.

The Met Office are now predicting more snow (another few centimetre) during today.

[Philipnet]

I spoke too soon.

I'm working from home today.
The Council haven't gritted/salted the road around the estate, there are cars struggling to get up that hill and gingerly going down it. At the roundabout at the bottom cars are queuing to get up Mill Lane (an A road!). There's also been reports of accidents/problems on the major routes to work - and I'm not even going to try a minor route!

And it's still snowing!

[Larry]

not exactly overjoyed to see more snow like a lot of people on my estate our rubbish bins have been sitting just off the pavement since last Tuseday. Wednesday is supposed to be collection day but it looks like they won't be coming again which means we've had no rubbish collection since before christmas.

[SiHart]

Nor us Larry. The binmen in our area have been redeployed since last week clearing the pavements around the shops in each neighbourhood in Bracknell. They were hoping to get back out and start collections today but I'm guessing that will now be shelved.

Si xx

[Jon Masters]

A good 2" on the car this morning and still snowing. School is closed to students but message said staff should come in if safe to do so.

Taken me about 45 mins to do a 30 min journey - lots of sliding around at junctions and on bends. Now I'm here .... and there's only about 4 staff in !!

Will get some admin done and head home at lunchtime methinks.

[Philipnet]

On BBC Radio Berkshire (my new Best Friend! ) they are reporting that some people haven't had their bins collected for six weeks!

[Philipnet]

I've just heard this on the Radio, but someone is petitioning Number 10 to stop the silly situation where people are discouraged to clear driveways/paths because they can be sued if they clear it and someone then slips over on it.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop litigation by anyone having an accident on a path/road that has been cleared of snow

When there is snow on pavements/roads many people are positively discouraged from clearing paths/roads due to the fear of being sued if someone should fall on the cleared area. I believe people using cleared areas should do so at their own risk.

Here's the petition: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SnowClearedPaths/

[Larry]

On BBC Radio Berkshire (my new Best Friend! ) they are reporting that some people haven't had their bins collected for six weeks!

what makes it worse is that you can't tgake your bins back in for fear of the dustman turning up a day late so you just have to leave the bins where they are.