Snowy Isle of Wight

[von Baur 54]

OK, I guess I have to be the one to say it. It really is the Isle of White.

[Rickitycrate 10]

OK, I guess I have to be the one to say it. It really is the Isle of White.

Finally! It's been nagging at me but it was just too easy. If you guys can't go to work are you able to crawl to the Pub for a pint?

[ConradB 0]

For frozen doorlocks, apply heat in any form possible. Once you get it open, have a thin oil ready in a spray can. Any thin penetrating oil will work. What happens, is the factory and maintenemce shops will put grease on the nechanism, and when it gets cold, the grease freezes.

[Bullethead 12]

For frozen doorlocks, apply heat in any form possible. Once you get it open, have a thin oil ready in a spray can. Any thin penetrating oil will work. What happens, is the factory and maintenemce shops will put grease on the nechanism, and when it gets cold, the grease freezes.

 

And if you find that your WD-40 freezes as well, just hold a cigarette lighter in front of the orifice to melt all the ice good and proper

[Flyby PC 23]

Thanks for the de-icing tips.

 

The WD 40 does work best, but only for a couple of openings I find. First time, (even overnight), 100%, second opening 60%, third 10%. You need to spray it every time you lock it, and being me, I forget. I've never had it freeze on me though. - Jings!!! Deisel yes in the old days, but not WD40.

 

Heating the key is a pain, and it does work eventually, but not that effective I'm afraid to say. When the landy freezes, and especially the container padlocks at work, you can't actually get the key into the lock. I think part of the problem is the lock. More than one person has told me it's a weakness in the landy. And don't whatever you do blow into it. If your lips touch metal, you're stuck, and stuck looking like a pillock. Either that or you pull your face off.

 

Kettle is quickest and easiest, but I know the hot water re-freezes almost immediately, and you've just filled your lock with water. - Can't win, but at least you're in!

 

I'd leave it unlocked except there's too many scruffs about who wouldn't leave it alone.

 

What happened yesterday when driving was the lock had opened, but the door button itself had frozen in, so the door latch was staying open. I couldn't stop to sort it because I was on the move by then and there was nothing I could have done anyway.

 

Well said indeed Themightysrc. Most accurate reflection of our status I've heard since it all began.

 

There is a relative factor to remember too. I fully expect Pappy55's snow in the Isle of White is a bigger shock to the local system than what we have here. Experience is a big factor in dealing with it. Be great if the Council had 100 ploughs and snow blowers sitting idle for the past 20 yrs ready for today, but it would be a spectacular waste of resources. It's a bit grim here, worst I can remember if I'm honest, but only 'the' worst by a small margin. It's been close to this before. At the end of the day, we're only catching what Scandinavia gets every year. If we caught it every year, we'd be ready too.

 

What I'm beginning to see is the hysteria beginning to wane quite a bit, and people are just getting on with it as the Brits typically do. I think they're the type of people to whom the media delivers quite a disservice. With all their 'wolf' crying, nobody now cares about another 'severe weather warning' from the Met Office.

 

Only thing I see that's properly daft and irresponsible is people just abandoning vehicles where they come to a halt. That's a big kick in the nuts for the plough drivers trying their best to clear the road. If you can't hack it, at least get your vehicle off the main carriageway. And if the car ahead is stuck, get off your arse and get him moving again. Do the arithmetic. If he's stuck, you're stuck. Haven't these people heard about people dying in blizzards not 50' from their cars? I'd fine them, and void their insurance when they get a snow plough up their arse. Keep truckin' Dude!!

[themightysrc 5]

"If you guys can't go to work are you able to crawl to the Pub for a pint?"

 

Trust me, the weather's never so severe that I can't get to my local...

 

FlybyPC - I'll return the compliment: your post - nail, head. Some people really have been suckered in to the idea that the current weather is The End Of The World, when all it is is simply atypical British winter weather. A bit of forethought and preparation means you'll still be able to get to work and if you see other people struggling then give them a hand. It's not every man for himself: it's a chance to show the much vaunted community spirit. I've seen far more examples of kindliness and co-operation of late than I have in the past year. What's more, if you have a car, you'll never get such a priceless opportunity to gain self-confidence and new skills in current conditions. I'm sure my driving has improved leaps and bounds.

 

I don't know which bit of the UK you're in, but it sounds like you've got the best sort of vehicle for current conditions. WRT locks - I've taken to spraying deicer straight into the lock and working a warmed key into it. A minute or so, and a bit of gentle pressure, and hey presto, you're in. YMMV, as our colonial cousins might say.

[Flyby PC 23]

Isle of WHITE. Just got it......

[ConradB 0]

just hold a cigarette lighter in front of the orifice to melt all the ice good and proper

 

Didn't want to suggest that. Some folks are dangerous! Just look, we fly simulated WWI aeroplanes and shoot at things! I don't know if I'ld trust any of us with a cigarette lighter, or a potato gun for that matter.

 

Actually though, the windshield spray de-icer works really good, but the method is a little intricate, since the spray nozzle doesn't use a tube to direct the spray. If you can fit a nozzle from a WD40 can, or any other penetrating oil spray, just start the key into the lock so you can spray it into the tumblers. Just make sure you have a rag handy to wipe any overspray off the paint.

Edited January 8, 2010 by ConradB

[Pappy55 1]

The snow dosent bother me.. at least we are safe from the Triffids here

[Rickitycrate 10]

The snow dosent bother me.. at least we are safe from the Triffids here

Oh their day will come. Be warned.

[Bullethead 12]

Only thing I see that's properly daft and irresponsible is people just abandoning vehicles where they come to a halt. That's a big kick in the nuts for the plough drivers trying their best to clear the road. If you can't hack it, at least get your vehicle off the main carriageway. And if the car ahead is stuck, get off your arse and get him moving again. Do the arithmetic. If he's stuck, you're stuck. Haven't these people heard about people dying in blizzards not 50' from their cars? I'd fine them, and void their insurance when they get a snow plough up their arse. Keep truckin' Dude!!

 

In some places in the states, the policy is that snowplows can bulldoze abandoned cars off the roads. The drivers really enjoy doing that, I hear .

 

Some years ago, I lived in Arlington, Texas, which is part of DFW. It usually doesn't snow much there, but 2 or 3 ice storms per winter are common, coating everything and making travel impossible because there are no saltshakers and plows to deal with it, and nobody knows how to drive on it.

 

One fork of the Trinity River runs through there in a fairly deep, wide canyon, which a major road crossing the canyon but nothing running along it. When it's icy, this section of road acts like an ant lion pit, because cars that venture too near the edge slide down and then can't get out again until the ice melts, usually 2 or 3 days later. And despite the ice happening several times a year, each time there's a huge pile of cars all smashed together on the bridge at the bottom. To make matters worse, the bottom of the canyon is wide enough to contain a couple of large apartment complexes, the residents of which are stuck not only for the duration of the ice but also until the logjam of smashed cars is towed away.

 

It would sure suck to have an emergency situation down there under such conditions. Ambulances and fire trucks couldn't do anything. I can't imagine how the apartments stay in business after the 1st time folks see this.

[Typhoon 5]

We had about 3 inches of snow yesterday not a lot by our standards, however when I got home this was the scene directly across from my house.

 

 

No one was hurt but the 4 wheel drive SUV was totalled and I was out of power for 4 hours. The policeman told me that she was talking on her cellphone when she lost control.

 

Tony

[Pappy55 1]

We had about 3 inches of snow yesterday not a lot by our standards, however when I got home this was the scene directly across from my house.

 

 

No one was hurt but the 4 wheel drive SUV was totalled and I was out of power for 4 hours. The policeman told me that she was talking on her cellphone when she lost control.

 

Tony

 

I think people who talk on phones while driving deserve everything they get..

It seems its innocent that somtimes pay with their lives though..

[ConradB 0]

Finally got a real snow storm here in Michigan! This is what I remember as a kid, accept that we used to get it as early as All Hallows Eve.

 

 

 

Then the morning after:

 

 

 

 

And a rainbow while a few flakes were falling:

 

[Ras 0]

I am not sure where in the USA, this is but I think it was in the very north of Michigan along the lake. Or it could have bene in the Buffalo, New York area. They've really been hammered as of late.

[Bullethead 12]

No one was hurt but the 4 wheel drive SUV was totalled and I was out of power for 4 hours. The policeman told me that she was talking on her cellphone when she lost control.

 

And then she voted....

[Flyby PC 23]

0 deg this morning. Woohoo! Felt like summer. Nearly run home to put my shorts on and dig out the BBQ..... Nearly.

 

 

 

Seriously, zero degrees never felt so good. Felt so good I took the dogs a good long walk, forgetting the snow was still 2ft thick. Maybe not my most inspired judgement - damn well nearly killed me. - I'll have to get myself fit.

 

 

[Bullethead 12]

0 deg this morning. Woohoo! Felt like summer. Nearly run home to put my shorts on and dig out the BBQ..... Nearly.

 

18^F here today, 2nd day in a row. My pond is completely frozen over for only the 2nd time in my life, although it's still translucent, not the thick, white, hockey-pond type of ice. Today I amused myself skipping rocks all the way across the pond (about 50m), and noticed a phenomenon I've never before encountered. Every time a rock touched the ice, it made a chirp or tweet like a songbird. Even when skidding across the ice without bouncing, it warbled constantly. I've never heard that before, but my main experience with rocks on ice is watching curling in the Winter Olypmpics when I was drunk and too lazy to change channels .

 

I know I wasn't imagining things because the sound totally freaked my dog out. She could see the rocks skipping and sliding along and heard them chirping and warbling, so thought they were small woodland creatures. She ran to the far side of the pond and caught some of the rocks when they bounced up on the far bank, and was totally perplexed when they turned out just to be rocks. And this dog NEVER chases or fetches anything I throw, whether Frisbee or stick. All she chases is animals. She runs down and catches deer routinely, and tries to herd them back to me--it's her Border Collie blood. So I don't think she'd have reacted if the rocks hadn't been making this weird noise.

 

So, you all who live in the permafrost, are these warbling rocks a normal thing?

[Flyby PC 23]

18^F here today, 2nd day in a row. My pond is completely frozen over for only the 2nd time in my life, although it's still translucent, not the thick, white, hockey-pond type of ice. Today I amused myself skipping rocks all the way across the pond (about 50m), and noticed a phenomenon I've never before encountered. Every time a rock touched the ice, it made a chirp or tweet like a songbird. Even when skidding across the ice without bouncing, it warbled constantly. I've never heard that before, but my main experience with rocks on ice is watching curling in the Winter Olypmpics when I was drunk and too lazy to change channels .

 

I know I wasn't imagining things because the sound totally freaked my dog out. She could see the rocks skipping and sliding along and heard them chirping and warbling, so thought they were small woodland creatures. She ran to the far side of the pond and caught some of the rocks when they bounced up on the far bank, and was totally perplexed when they turned out just to be rocks. And this dog NEVER chases or fetches anything I throw, whether Frisbee or stick. All she chases is animals. She runs down and catches deer routinely, and tries to herd them back to me--it's her Border Collie blood. So I don't think she'd have reacted if the rocks hadn't been making this weird noise.

 

So, you all who live in the permafrost, are these warbling rocks a normal thing?

 

What a difference 5 months makes. Thermometer just topped 30 deg C today. 30 deg! In May! In Scotland!!!!

 

Here's hoping we get a spell of it. Lovely jubbly.

 

About time mind. I started building my workshp three years ago. (Seems a long time, but we need to make a living first and built a bit more when we've got spare time). I've had two of the wettest Summers ever, the highest flood level ever recorded in the town, followed by the second ever highest flood level, plus one of the worst winters in terms of absolute temperature, depth of snow, and lowest mean temperature ever recorded.

 

Heatwave next?

 

Bring it on.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

4:00am start with Fishing tomorrow...it's way too hot by 10:30am!...I love summer

[OvS 8]

4:00am start with Fishing tomorrow...it's way too hot by 10:30am!...I love summer

 

Same here... we slogged through another brutal Long Island winter... complete with a tree falling on my f'n car... but it was 70+ degs today and gorgeous!!!

[shredward 12]

Snow last night, today, calling for more tomorrow!

Cheers,

shredward

[TSmoke 2]

A bunch of co-workers and myself went snowmobiling in Revelstoke, four weeks ago. Over a meter of fresh powder fell the night previous and another half a meter during our first day.

 

Couldn't see more than 30-40 feet ahead of your machine, but had a blast. The next two days were perfect clear sunny and around -10C. With tons of new untracked powder to play in. Just have to be aware of the avalanche dangers.

 

They aren't BSing when they say that they have the worlds finest powder for sledding.

 

Last Victoria day we still had a couple of feet of snow and -20C, this year no snow thank you and +20C.

[themightysrc 5]

I'm still marveling that a mere 14 weeks ago, my area was in the grip of the most severe Winter weather in some decades. Today, I've been out in the garden doing some much needed work, and my back and shoulders are now prickling, so strong was the sun.

 

However, I'm not complaining. The weather in the UK can be downright odd at times, but now, with the temperature dropping to about 20 degrees, and the evening sunshine heralding a display of light and scenery that is augmented by a cooling late Spring breeze, I'm have one of those gestalt moments when you realise that it's all just perfect.

 

No doubt I'll wake up in the morning with a reddened back and overheated arms, but just for the moment, I'll take this little vignette of semi rural calm and remember January and just how special that was too.

[OvS 8]

SNOW?!??! IN LATE MAY?!?!??! WTF?!?!

 

You Canuck's are all nuts... and apparently... lost the edge in Hockey too .... GRRRRRRRRR... I was bettin' on the Canadians over the Flyers as they dumped my Dev's in the trash 1st round!!

 

OvS