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Weather : past adverse weather in Birmingham

It is strange but so many unusual happenings these days are ignored or simple bot noticed by people. Is it a question of 'not getting involved' or are many pre-occupied with phones and are oblivious to their surroundings.
Your story. Lady P, sounds like it could be made into a 'gothic horror' show. :eek: I hope you carried a bottle of holy water with you! :D
 
What smudger she goes outside to replenish the bird table before she makes your breakfast. Where's her priorities. Your far to soft on her.
 
It seems the South West is set to get snow. some varying amounts over the peninsular. The one inch that landed yesterday has more or less blown away as the wind is still very strong.
I am frequently puzzled by the Met folk; they keep talking about a beast from the east but the storm heading our way is coming from the south! As they have modified the dates for the start of the four seasons maybe they also have a modified compass?
Curiously I have not heard anyone of their clan yet mention today being their first day of spring - avoiding a huge amount of ridicule I guess. :D
Last evening a neighbours young son - I believe he is around fifteen years old - called to see if we were alright and whether we needed anything. We thanked him of course. It is good to have younger neighbours that are so thoughtful. I remembered some years ago he asked his mother about us and mentioned that as we were older people (well when your young anyone over 35 seems old) and should he be concerned for us. That has obviously been something he has not forgotten.
 
Radiorails, I think there are two snow storms but hopefully both will miss the Midlands. Today it's fine powdery stuff which I haven't seen for a very long time. When I lived in the pre-fab it used to drift right up the adjacent park fence. Great fun for jumping into.

My neighbour sent me an email which read: 'Today we have an amber weather warning for snow which will be really good as I've only ever seen the white stuff'.
 
HYes I n oticed today when out that the snow , very slight, was all little needles, and not the normal snowflake
 
well they didnt call where i live little syberia for nothing but being so high up we have very high winds..powdery snow blowing all the place and bitter cold even the poor birds are flying backwards:(

lyn
 
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Smudger said:
I hope all you guys out there are as kind & considerate as what i am.
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I have been very considerate to my wife. I let her borrow my best spade when clearing the drive, and I let her take my car when she went shopping yesterday, which helped her to get back home though the heavy snow, in time to cook my dinner.

As a big thank you, I let her watch her favourite TV programmes, instead of watching mine. I know she has appreciated all of my help in this bad weather.

On a serious note.I wonder how, as a 14 years old newspaper boy, in the January-March very harsh winter of 1947, I managed to deliver early morning newspapers, every day, get to school on time, and then deliver the Birmingham evening newspapers, often through deep snow. Around journey of about 6-7 miles a day. I loved the snow, loved snowballs, but always cautious in case one contained a house brick! Road and rail transport did not stop, albeit, a bit tough at times, schools stayed open, and so did shops, although we did not have a great deal of choice in those days,

Now, even at the slightest suggestion of snow, everything goes into panic mode. Trains cancelled, school closed, even before the snow hit.

If is was not so sad, it could be deemed laughable. Great Anglia closed all services at 10pm earlier this week, before any snow landed. Then ran the trains through the night, empty, to be ready, and available, for the following morning. As a rail follow for over seventy five years, I find the rail system a joke, but that is not matter for this website. However, I can say... A few steam locomotives could have done a great job, as proved in 1947..

Eddie
 
Spare a thought for them Druids on Barr Beacon, being arguably the highest place from the Steppes in Russia.
 
Lyn, there's always a biting wind at the Yenton when you get round the corner from Broadfields Road. We always say that you could see Russia if it wasn't for the Co-op!
 
Been trying to find an apt description of this fine snow and decided 'frozen, high-powered drizzle' was the best I could come up with.
 
norfolk brummie said:
I have been very considerate to my wife. I let her borrow my best spade when clearing the drive, and I let her take my car when she went shopping yesterday, which helped her to get back home though the heavy snow, in time to cook my dinner.p

As a big thank you, I let her watch her favourite TV programmes, instead of watching mine. I know she has appreciated all of my help in this bad weather.

On a serious note.I wonder how, as a 14 years old newspaper boy, in the January-March very harsh winter of 1947, I managed to deliver early morning newspapers, every day, get to school on time, and then deliver the Birmingham evening newspapers, often through deep snow. Around journey of about 6-7 miles a day. I loved the snow, loved snowballs, but always cautious in case one contained a house brick! Road and rail transport did not stop, albeit, a bit tough at times, schools stayed open, and so did shops, although we did not have a great deal of choice in those days,

Now, even at the slightest suggestion of snow, everything goes into panic mode. Trains cancelled, school closed, even before the snow hit.

If is was not so sad, it could be deemed laughable. Great Anglia closed all services at 10pm earlier this week, before any snow landed. Then ran the trains through the night, empty, to be ready, and available, for the following morning. As a rail follow for over seventy five years, I find the rail system a joke, but that is not matter for this website. However, I can say... A few steam locomotives could have done a great job, as proved in 1947..

Eddie
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Apparently it is nothing to do with the weather, but elfnsafety. The snowflakes of today are terrified of being held responsible for anything that might happen if they continued to operate a school train, bus or council office when there was the chance, not the actuality, of a snowflake. Heaven help us if there is ever another war, because it will be a case of compulsory call up for all ex National Servicemen.
Bob
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Lady Penelope said:
Lyn, there's always a biting wind at the Yenton when you get round the corner from Broadfields Road. We always say that you could see Russia if it wasn't for the Co-op!
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When we lived in Court Lane, I had the front bedroom and when the east wind blew, you could really feel it even though the windows were closed, Dad, and remember he knew everything, always said that there was nothing between us and Russia. Unusually for Devon we are seeing snow and most of the courses that we have running tomorrow have been cancelled, Combe Martin cut off, no transport between Plymouth and Barnstaple, even from Bideford 4 miles away, we have questions of accessibility, so much for spring, it is fine wet snow coming from the South East minus 4 at 1630hrs and a cutting wind. But cheer up it will soon be Summer.....do not mention the holiday makers.
Bob
 
It started to snow again around 11 am this morning. It has been continual but more of a flurry than heavy. Part of the gardens have no snow, others, where the strong wind had caused minor drifting, sees around four inches. It stopped around 7.30 pm this evening and rain is forecast later. However, many parts of the west country have had heavy falls of snow, the rural and places with a high elevation are finding life difficult.
Being close to the English Channel has been more than helpful here as places a few miles inland have had significant snow. I have only been outside for fuel and mail - my dog can't get back indoors quickly enough! :D
 
Bob Davis said:
When we lived in Court Lane, I had the front bedroom and when the east wind blew, you could really feel it even though the windows were closed, Dad, and remember he knew everything, always said that there was nothing between us and Russia. Unusually for Devon we are seeing snow and most of the courses that we have running tomorrow have been cancelled, Combe Martin cut off, no transport between Plymouth and Barnstaple, even from Bideford 4 miles away, we have questions of accessibility, so much for spring, it is fine wet snow coming from the South East minus 4 at 1630hrs and a cutting wind. But cheer up it will soon be Summer.....do not mention the holiday makers.
Bob
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oldMohawk said:
Had a look at the weather in the south west and I've been to Ilfracombe a hundred times but never seen snow there ... only a bit but it's there and snowing. Their web cam looks good on full screen setting https://ilfracombewebcam.co.uk/
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Bought a 4x4 8 years ago after being snowed in in Cornwall, never snowed since. Had a few cars after but decided to change to a normal front wheel drive 6 months ago, whoops what a mistake to make as snowed in again and having to walk everywhere as our wonderful Cornwall Council state that insufficient residents to make gritting worthwhile. Council prefer to spend money on ridiculous
road improvements that no one wants or need.
 
Bob Davis said:
But cheer up it will soon be Summer.....do not mention the holiday makers.
Bob
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.

I have heard people moaning because this weather has hit us on the first of Spring. I look at that positively, Bob. Better now than at the start of January-February. I think we have got through the worst of the winter, with the lighter nights, and warmer days, just around the corner.

Eddie
 
It is only the meteorological folks first day of spring, which they have quietly not mentioned as far as I can see. ;)
 
Radiorails said:
It is only the meteorological folks first day of spring, which they have quietly not mentioned as far as I can see. ;)
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My wife's birthday is 21 March and she has always celebrated it as the first day of spring, suffice to say I have upset her by telling her the date has changed, if I can get back in, I can explain it was meteorological, thanks
Bob
 
The other big problem affecting parts of the SW is the high winds. The sea wall at Dawlish is damaged again it appears - no trains again - and some coastal places in Devon and Cornwall are experiencing flooding and coastal road damage.
 
Norfolk Brummie has got it absolutely correct. "The Beast From The East"....for the love of mike. When we lived in Ohio in the late 1970's we suffered - and I mean suffered - two very severe storms, one of which laid down over 30" of snow in 24 hours. It's easy for us to say, "Oh, the Americans are prepared for that kind of thing!", but how do you 'prepare' for that kind of weather, which even over there doesn't happen all that often? Just about everything came to a standstill, and only essential services continued to function as best they could until the roads could be ploughed. Personally I hate snow, but this time, even worse, is the continuous high wind and the chill-factor. Normally our wind patterns are from the SW and mild, but this one is direct from the slopes of the Urals by the feel of it. Horrible.

Anyone who remembers the Big Freeze of 1962-63 will recall that although there was disruption most things carried on as best they could, there was no panic media-reaction, and after a couple of weeks the weather didn't even make the news most nights. And in those distant days we had no central-heating and an outside loo, as well.....

G
 
A few years ago the South East had a lot of snow and my son was returning from Colchester where he was working at the time. He became stranded on the motorway together with many other people. He wasn't too badly off as he had all his site clobber in the back so was able to keep fairly warm. He was more worried about the young families in the same predicament and could hear babies crying through the night.
 
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