What About This ******* Weather?

It is a peculiar place but the weather is guaranteed I suppose. It is the Premier League of holiday destinations - massively hyped but when you get there it isn't as good as it's made out to be.

 

I can see why people like Dubai, it’s like a very upmarket Benidorm (I genuinely don’t mean that to be as disparaging as it sounds) in that it’s got everything some brits would want (shops, golf courses, nice restaurants etc.) but with guaranteed sunshine. But having been there once it’s not for me personally.

 

Spare a thought for my poor wife, 9 months pregnant and the due date came and went yesterday. Hope the boy hangs on in there until Wednesday now.

 

My main recollection of our son’s birth was the baking heat and the continual need for cold flannels.

And yet Mrs Moose has no apparent sympathy for what I went through.

 

Women just don’t understand, do they?

 

I’d rather spend a week in Skegness.

 

Poor woman! Hope she’s somewhat comfortable.

 

There's a theory behind this.

 

Well she managed a slap up lunch with her mother today while I was at work grafting so it can’t be that bad

 

Indeed. Even before contemplating the pregnancy and pending ridiculous heat . Presume it may even get over 20 degrees in Leicester ?

 

Ha!

 

It’s freezing here today. I’ve had to put a hoodie on

 

It doesn't attract me in the slightest. Seems fake and culturally blank.

Much prefer Thailand or Goa or something.

 

Me neither. Second only to Malta in a list of crap **** holes

 

We went there when there were only 2 or 3 destinations on the green list. 2-3 days in the city and then 3-4 days in the desert was a great mix. Fake, absolutely but the architecture esp around the lagoon/harbour area or whatever it’s called is visually stunning. A drive around the deserts and mountains by Oman is fascinating for the desert wildlife, gazelles, oryx and unique birds.
I’d never wanted to go but was actually an interesting week.

 

Do you need to drink the water or just keep it on you?

 

Ahem, what sort of photography. Cough. Blush.

 

I was in Australia over Christmas in 2006 and I remember new year's Day being about 45 degrees or something close. Me and my house mates were all hanging from spending all day new years eve drinking at Macquarie point I think it was called for the fireworks at midnight.

We'd smuggles in some boxes of goon (slang for cheap wine) at about $10 for 4 litres which was roughly £1 per litre in 2006. Some right wrong'un stuff but generally did the job required.

We spent new year's Day just melting and sweating out the previous day's alcohol and if I recall correctly, watching Grease.

They were simpler times.

 

A couple of welcome degrees have fallen off the forecast. Looking more like between 38-39 as the high mark.

 

Please God don’t anybody actually enjoy the next two days.

The nanny state wouldn’t be happy.

Every day now seems to be full of warnings. Don’t do this, don't do that.

Cold weather. Windy weather. Hot weather. Covid. Travelling. Eating. Drinking. Etc etc

The things we used to just get on and deal with, or go ahead and deal with without much thought, have now all apparently become life or death situations or choices.

So please can we all be miserable at the prospect of (just) two very hot sunny days now.

No enjoying it.

 

You're right about the incessant warnings we're subject to now. There are far too many and I'm not sure the overall amount helps more than it hinders. Yet today and tomorrow's weather is a dangerous situation and one that merits some warning. It's just a shame the threshold is now so low for warnings in general that frankly it's understandable if a lot of people no longer pay any attention.

The Met Office in particular jumped the shark when they started issuing 'yellow' weather warnings covering vast swathes of the UK at any one time for routine British seasonal weather such as rain or moderate gales.

 

Thing is we have never just ‘got on and enjoyed’ 40 degree heat. The UK’s (recently set) record is 38.7 degrees.

In the past, old folk and others expiring in their homes due to heat exhaustion would barely have raised a headline. That isn’t a recommendation for how we dealt with it in the past. We expect better these days and not to die before our time. There are simple changes of behaviour we can make to avoid the worst of it and it seems sensible to make those.

It also seems sensible to build in some capacity. An extended run of near 40 degree weather in the UK would be difficult to bear with our poorly insulated homes and creaking infrastructure (fancy the non aircon underground today?). These two days will be difficult enough and it’s not enough to say you’ve had it toastier on holiday. You weren’t working in a poorly cooled factory, on a building site or travelling between care visits then.

 

36 forecast in Wigginton, Tring. Think I might need an extra sweater.

 

The BBC's hysterical coverage of this short spell of warm weather is bizarre. No wonder kids are growing up with mental health issues if even a nice sunny day comes with grim warnings of death and destruction.
Walk the dog early in the morning; settle granny down under a shady tree in the garden and give her a fan and a gin and tonic; encourage the kids to go off and find a river to jump in; make sure there's plenty of beer in the fridge and enjoy the sunshine!

 

There will be extra deaths today as a result of this heat amongst the elderly and the obese/unhealthy.
I wouldn't want to be in traffic jam at 5pm with my car trying to keep cool by sucking in heat from the exhaust in front to cool it's radiator against a background air temp of c40 degrees. Think there will be a lot of breakdowns and car fires this evening during the commute home.

 

You seem determined on this one, so you may like to look at the reasons and methodology.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/guides/warnings

 

They’re fighting a losing battle. Most people’s instincts in Britain are to go outside and enjoy the sunshine, because the country usually gets such a miserable climate so any good weather is welcomed.

So it’s very difficult for the experts to get the message across that there’s a big difference between a sunny day when it’s 20-29c and two days like some areas are about to endure now. It’s naturally much easier to warn people of snow or storms than it is heat.

They’re not helped either by the mass media. I’ve seen all the front pages today, and without exception each newspaper has a pic of a beach or people sunbathing in the park. So the photos don’t match the text, which is full of warning. They’re subconsciously implying people should go out in the heat and take advantage of it. Mixed messaging.

I sense the country will divide into two today. Half the people will stay inside, scared witless to venture outside, imagining they will burn to death if they do. The other half will be out enjoying the sun, maybe not all taking sensible precautions. Whereas the sensible solution would probably be somewhere in between. But that’s not allowed because of all the scare tactics.

 

That's the plan for 30 degrees.
Hopefully it's just as effective at 40 degrees
"short spell of warm weather" ....

 

You do realise that 39 degrees means 39 degrees in the shade?

Sticking granny under a tree with alcohol is probably only a good move if you are waiting on an inheritance.

 

...and red warnings mean ...

Red Warning: Dangerous weather is expected and, if you haven’t already done so, you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the severe weather. It is very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure. You should avoid travelling, where possible, and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.

 

Thank you - though I knew that already. If anything it just supports my view that the lower level alerts are essentially meaningless. Anyone who is already motivated enough to tune into the weather forecast (ok, so most of Britain given it's our national obsession) can probably hazard a guess that rain will make things wet, snow and ice will make things cold and wind might blow things over.

Take this for example from January this year:

https://www.mylondon.news/weather/uk-weather-met-issues-yellow-22625974

How does it help anyone? Does it convey any sort of useful message that a grown adult couldn't already work out for themself?

 

If you live in an area prone to flash flooding 20mm is enough. If you don’t, then ignore it. If you were going to play golf and don’t care about a bit of rain, you may care about lightning. It’s information . The relevance is personal. Not going on a boat? Don’t listen to the shipping forecast.

It’s also worth pointing out that weather is always in ranges. Amber could be very little happens or make it into yellow.

I don’t get this angry of Tonbridge Wells act at the New. Like it’s the thin end of some wedge.

 

I think it's a useful message actually. It doesn't say panic it just warns of heavy rain and strong winds - no harm in that as many people just ignore the weather forecast and could change their plans as a result of hearing this. If it doesn't affect you then just ignore.