Today's Weather

@fluffy2560

https://news.sky.com/story/storm-claudi … g-13470641

It's really cold outside.  Only 4C. 

We're going to have our first frost tonight.  We will need to turn off our outside taps and empty the pipes etc.  Otherwise it's really sunny after yesterday's miserable deluge.

I was going to take the Furry Friend walkies but I've developed a cold so probably best I stay in.  The dog doesn't fancy it either it seems.

It's really cold outside. Only 4C.
We're going to have our first frost tonight. We will need to turn off our outside taps and empty the pipes etc. Otherwise it's really sunny after yesterday's miserable deluge.

I was going to take the Furry Friend walkies but I've developed a cold so probably best I stay in. The dog doesn't fancy it either it seems. - @fluffy2560

Same here, oh bugger the outside tap.

Same here, 5C with a forecast high of 6C, air quality is good; Solar is drawing 723w ; currently house is using 394W, but of that, only 16W is from the grid, rest is from the sun.  They're forecasting snow for our region tomorrow, but not for here.

Wife is working tomorrow, the good thing about our EV is we can get it to clear the windscreen of ice/snow and heat up the car remotely from the Škoda car app.  She used it this morning and didn't tell me, so I get in the car dressed for the cold, and it was like a Sauna!

@SimCityAT

Oh, oh, thanks for the reminder.

@SimCityAT Oh, oh, thanks for the reminder. - @Cynic

I am considering putting the hose pipe itself in the shed.  If there's water in it, if it freezes, it could split the plastic pipe. 

Our outside taps are insulated.  We've got valves inside areas which will never freeze.  That's how we cut off the external taps.  So we turn them off inside, then open the tap outside to full drain the pipework.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing predictions of below zero temperatures and snow by the weekend.    That's real winter sticking its face in.  What with the cold and rain, the poor dog hasn't been anywhere for over a week.  Precipitation forecast for tomorrow, 26mm of rain (or snow!). I'll have to get the 4WD out if snow.

Right now, 3C with no wind but 3.5mm of rain since midnight. 

We've got no heating on but it's still 23C inside.

Wife is working tomorrow, the good thing about our EV is we can get it to clear the windscreen of ice/snow and heat up the car remotely from the Škoda car app. She used it this morning and didn't tell me, so I get in the car dressed for the cold, and it was like a Sauna! - @Cynic

Did you consider a BYD electric car?   They are popular here. I wondered what they were like.

@SimCityAT Oh, oh, thanks for the reminder. - @Cynic
I am considering putting the hose pipe itself in the shed. If there's water in it, if it freezes, it could split the plastic pipe.
Our outside taps are insulated. We've got valves inside areas which will never freeze. That's how we cut off the external taps. So we turn them off inside, then open the tap outside to full drain the pipework.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing predictions of below zero temperatures and snow by the weekend.  That's real winter sticking its face in. What with the cold and rain, the poor dog hasn't been anywhere for over a week. Precipitation forecast for tomorrow, 26mm of rain (or snow!). I'll have to get the 4WD out if snow.

Right now, 3C with no wind but 3.5mm of rain since midnight.

We've got no heating on but it's still 23C inside. - @fluffy2560

Currently, 3C, it was -2C earlier; forecast high of 4C.  We had snow yesterday, a small shower that was gone by tea-time.

i have an insulated bag I place over our outside tap; it's worked well over the past 2 winters.  One of the nice things about our EV is that we can de-ice it from our kitchen (or anywhere else, it's app based), just set the car inside temp to your requirement (we choose 20C); the heater comes on in the car and 5 minutes later you have a warm car and the ice has gone from all over the car.

@fluffy2560

I would not buy a Chinese car, or any car with Chinese made lithium batteries.  Perhaps I'm overreacting to what I read in the technical assessments of previous incidents involving them, but I sleep better at night knowing I have none on charge in my house.

I should add that BYD are a popular brand, my views are my own.

@fluffy2560
I would not buy a Chinese car, or any car with Chinese made lithium batteries. Perhaps I'm overreacting to what I read in the technical assessments of previous incidents involving them, but I sleep better at night knowing I have none on charge in my house. - @Cynic

I just looked up the EV cars from BYD and they range from about £23K for the tiniest to £60K for the fanciest.   At that top end, I'd call it unaffordable for the average joe.   So that's out of the question.

We bought a brand new car maybe 4 years ago, petrol 1.5L, Ford estate car and it cost £16K.  It's a big car suitable for 4 people, dog, luggage and can drone down motorways comfortably.  It's now got 89K km on it and we use it quite a lot.  We find it costs a fair bit to keep it running.  It's in the garage now - can you believe it, the clutch pedal (the actual pedal) broke, the tyres are worn down (only 2 years old, Korean, Hankook all weather, that's mad), brake caliper front left and all brake pads worn out all over and it needs an MoT (yearly test).  OK, some of that I can just put down to wear and tear.   We're looking at maybe 300K HUF (£700) in repairs.  I think that's nuts for a 4 year old car.   The quality of it is not what one would expect. I am seriously thinking of getting shot of that Ford and getting a family car like a Kia or even just a Skoda (I have one of those too and it's just a VW in disguise).

Meanwhile, I think there's going to be Chinese parts in all cars.  The batteries are indeed more likely (it seems) to burn your house down.

@fluffy2560

@fluffy2560 - @SimCityAT

Those balcony systems are becoming rather popular in DE and perhaps AT.   I believe we'll need planning permission.  We don't have a balcony like that either.  Ours is like a corner chopped out of the house and my plans for a metal railings balcony, that was refused and we had to have brick sides.   I am told we cannot have panels on the side of the house.  That's a real problem as roof points to the North and we only have large walls going South.

Today's weather:

-1.5C, wind 1.6 m/s from West, feels like -3.4C with the chill factor.

Humidity 48%, pressure steady. Sunrise 0700h and sunset 1600h.

Snow lies all around and more can be expected!  At these low temperatures, it's hats, gloves and walking boots for dog walking planned for today.

@SimCityAT

I can't see the picture on my Firefox browser, I can on my Edge browser; I'm seriously considering switching.

Anyway, it looks like a good system if you have a south facing balcony.  I just checked out the Jackery UK website, they have an office in Birmingham and a whole load of different products.  Can you let me have the German URL if you have it?  I'll have a chat with them to see if they sell/market it in the UK, maybe worth a post on the UK Forums.

@SimCityAT
I can't see the picture on my Firefox browser, I can on my Edge browser; I'm seriously considering switching.
Anyway, it looks like a good system if you have a south facing balcony. I just checked out the Jackery UK website, they have an office in Birmingham and a whole load of different products. Can you let me have the German URL if you have it? I'll have a chat with them to see if they sell/market it in the UK, maybe worth a post on the UK Forums. - @Cynic

https://eu.jackery.com/

I just tried Edge, I've considered it and don't like it one bit, I shall use it to view images that don't work in Firefox.  Anyway, the weather for/from my little bit of North Yorkshire:

Mostly cloudy, with broken, rainy intervals, currently 3C and raining quite heavily, we're expecting a high today of 7C; typical autumnal day in North Yorkshire, but we're still pulling 1500 kWh on our solar panels. 

Air Quality today is medium; I couldn't work out what would have caused this, so, for the first time ever, I asked the AI Co-Pilot if it knew why, from what it said and from what I know, where I live is an old pit village, quite a few ex pitmen still live here, and they have a lifetime entitlement to free coal, add that to the houses that have had wood-burning stoves installed, it does cause the PM2.5 levels to rise above what they usually are.

@Cynic

Might worth letting the Admin know about Firefox, they might be able to tweet something.

@SimCityAT
I can't see the picture on my Firefox browser, I can on my Edge browser; I'm seriously considering switching.
Anyway, it looks like a good system if you have a south facing balcony. I just checked out the Jackery UK website, they have an office in Birmingham and a whole load of different products. Can you let me have the German URL if you have it? I'll have a chat with them to see if they sell/market it in the UK, maybe worth a post on the UK Forums. - @Cynic
https://eu.jackery.com/ - @SimCityAT

Thanks, I've emailed them and asked about the balcony system, which they don't feature on their UK website.

@Cynic
Might worth letting the Admin know about Firefox, they might be able to tweet something. - @SimCityAT

I just reported the post and asked if they could do what you have suggested - thanks.

I just tried Edge, I've considered it and don't like it one bit, I shall use it to view images that don't work in Firefox. Anyway, the weather for/from my little bit of North Yorkshire:Mostly cloudy, with broken, rainy intervals, currently 3C and raining quite heavily, we're expecting a high today of 7C; typical autumnal day in North Yorkshire, but we're still pulling 1500 kWh on our solar panels. Air Quality today is medium; I couldn't work out what would have caused this, so, for the first time ever, I asked the AI Co-Pilot if it knew why, from what it said and from what I know, where I live is an old pit village, quite a few ex pitmen still live here, and they have a lifetime entitlement to free coal, add that to the houses that have had wood-burning stoves installed, it does cause the PM2.5 levels to rise above what they usually are. - @Cynic

Do you believe what it said about the AQI?   Could it be something else like a pressure system directly over your location?

I mainly use ChatGPT 4.0 (free) and it's easy to get sucked into believing it absolutely.  Maintaining scepticism has to be the way forward. I know it gets flummoxed sometimes but it's got better and better.  I had this like 50 page document I'd written parts of so I  asked it to summarise the document and present it in Powerpoint in 20 pages.  And it blinking well did it.  Not quite good enough.  But saved me thinking a lot and I used its output as a template and added a load of extra material.   It really saved a load of time.

It's creeping into our lives whether we like it or not.  However, it cannot move the fridge water filter from one place to another or reconnect the cable TV upstairs. Or walk the dog.  I have to do that myself.

It's UK budget day next week. I wonder if HM Treasury is using it to plan the next cycle?  It might do a better job.

p.s. Try the Vivaldi browser, it's more compatible with web sites than Firefox.  Turn off or limit ad-blocking.

@Cynic
Might worth letting the Admin know about Firefox, they might be able to tweet something. - @SimCityAT

Hah, they fixed it. Thank you both.

@Cynic

Hello Cynic,

I'm sorry but the team hasn't looked into this issue yet.  The report is still pending review as they don't work during weekend.

So, it has been resolved by itself or maybe by something you changed in the settings ? Or perhaps it comes from Firefox

However, the report is still pending. They might have a look today.

Regards

Bhavna

Hello Cynic,

A private message with some instructions has been sent to you.

Please check it and let me know.

Cheers,

Cheryl

@Cheryl

I've answered you via PM

Miserable day, 7C but 8mm of rain, 2.2 m/s from ENE. Sunset is 15.59h.   Wind brings chill factor 5.5C

It's beginning to look like we're living at the North Pole. My weather station on the roof isn't getting enough sunlight to charge the batteries. 

Barometer shows inclement weather and rain.

Not bad temp wise in the city.

I do turn on a small heater after Din-din when my activities slow down, put on a sweater and lap blanket to just sit and watch some U tube.

Otherwise I am fine, age 70, only 120 lbs, no body fat on me.

It hardly ever snows in the city limits.

We dislike having the gas heat on,seems to just dry the air out.

In many ways I really, dig, the weather here coming from S.Ca. where people flip out with a bit of rain or temps dropping to 60F.

Other times I wonder WTH are we doing here when we could be sitting pool side somewhere and enjoying the sun.

I feel somewhat nostolgic in cold weather, not sure why, must be in the human DNA with  ancestors who lived through big freezes.

3°C with us today, and it's trying to rain and snow. The snow won't settle; it didn't the other day, it tried to. We are on low ground.

Vienna got it when it tried to snow last week.

Not bad temp wise in the city.I do turn on a small heater after Din-din when my activities slow down, put on a sweater and lap blanket to just sit and watch some U tube.Otherwise I am fine, age 70, only 120 lbs, no body fat on me.It hardly ever snows in the city limits.We dislike having the gas heat on,seems to just dry the air out.In many ways I really, dig, the weather here coming from S.Ca. where people flip out with a bit of rain or temps dropping to 60F.Other times I wonder WTH are we doing here when we could be sitting pool side somewhere and enjoying the sun.I feel somewhat nostalgic in cold weather, not sure why, must be in the human DNA with ancestors who lived through big freezes. - @Marilyn Tassy

With the weather as it is, it makes one wonder indeed why we're suffering here. 

Yesterday I was replacing the headlight bulb on the car and it was really cold but it doesn't really require that much dexterity with numb fingers.  I was also fixing my neighbours bike - the tyres were flat and the brakes jammed on.  All solved.  I have many tools for these things.   I had to rush those jobs because of loss of daylight.

But today has been a write off really.  I've done nothing, not even any paid work. 

It took me until about 12 to even get moving.  And now it's getting dark.  My DIY jobs are backed up due to inertia.  One of the external lights has gone US (unserviceable) and I bought a new one but going up a ladder in this kind of rain, forget it!

And the wind has picked up now to 4.4 m/s.

Wednesday 26 November 2025

Drizzle, 6mm rain since midnight, wind 2.6 m/s, temperature 2C, chill factor feels like -1C.  Sunset 15.58h.

My advice is to just stay home.  The forecast said it would clear up at 10am but now it's a little after 11am and it looks just as crappy as it it did earlier.   Pressure is steady and it shows just clouds. 

Just heard 3p/mile on EVs in the UK budget.

I wonder how that will work. 

Spying in the car?  I can see that being problematic for many people.

Looks like self-assessment.

It  will also slow down the green agenda.

Just heard 3p/mile on EVs in the UK budget. I wonder how that will work. Spying in the car? I can see that being problematic for many people.Looks like self-assessment.It will also slow down the green agenda. - @fluffy2560

It's to raise revenue to replace that lost from the reduced use of fossil fuels, the RAC website has the details.

Just heard 3p/mile on EVs in the UK budget. I wonder how that will work. Spying in the car? I can see that being problematic for many people. Looks like self-assessment. It will also slow down the green agenda. - @fluffy2560 It's to raise revenue to replace that lost from the reduced use of fossil fuels, the RAC website has the details. - @Cynic

I realise why they did it but will it stop anyone buying an EV? 

Probably not. 

But the spying aspect is a likely be a bit suspect with snap inspections and wotnot possibly even remote scanning of the vehicle.

BTW, there's another thing going on - a cut of the link of electricity prices and gas prices. I heard it discussed on the radio. It was instituted 20 years ago but now makes no sense at all what with renewables becoming increasingly part of the mix.  It could be the price at the charger is going to go down considerably.    Other countries have cut the link but the UK hasn't done it yet (apparently).

We had our first frost last night. It was -1C. 

Now it's 3C, slight breeze 1.6  m/s, chill factor 0.7C.

Pressure steady.

Very sunny but it's that low sun typical of winter in Northern Europe.  Makes driving a bit challenging depending on which direction one is going.

Monday 1st December @ 11.11h

Fog! 

Freezing too -0.5C, sunshine predicted, no wind, humidity 46%.  Sunset 15.55h.   

Just a few weeks until 21 Dec and sunlight will return.

Planes are delayed at BUD airport.

Overcast, currently 12C, which is also today's forecast high, it's just stopped raining (been doing that all morning).  Air quality is moderate; I've figured out why, it's because in this weather more people use their cars; cars were 4 deep in our street this morning (we live in a cul-de-sac with a school at the end).  There is one woman in particular who sits in her car with the engine running, smoking a cig and doing stuff on her phone; she's going to get a talking to if she persists.  I really wonder what these people will do when the council put the lines down that will stop all parking.

Overcast, currently 12C, which is also today's forecast high, it's just stopped raining (been doing that all morning). Air quality is moderate; I've figured out why, it's because in this weather more people use their cars; cars were 4 deep in our street this morning (we live in a cul-de-sac with a school at the end). There is one woman in particular who sits in her car with the engine running, smoking a cig and doing stuff on her phone; she's going to get a talking to if she persists. I really wonder what these people will do when the council put the lines down that will stop all parking. - @Cynic

Oh dear, school run is a disaster. 

We live in a village and most kids can just walk to school but our kids go to school in Budapest. 

They have to get dropped at the bus stop if the weather is bad or they can walk there in good weather (10mins).   Mrs F insisted they went to school in the city and not in the village.  She thought they'd be more worldly if they went to town and I guess it must be so. 

One of the schools here has a kiss and go drop off lane! Literally there's a symbol of a kid kissing the parent on the drivers (left) side.   And the lane is used.

Overcast, currently 12C, which is also today's forecast high, it's just stopped raining (been doing that all morning). Air quality is moderate; I've figured out why, it's because in this weather more people use their cars; cars were 4 deep in our street this morning (we live in a cul-de-sac with a school at the end). There is one woman in particular who sits in her car with the engine running, smoking a cig and doing stuff on her phone; she's going to get a talking to if she persists. I really wonder what these people will do when the council put the lines down that will stop all parking. - @CynicOh dear, school run is a disaster. We live in a village and most kids can just walk to school but our kids go to school in Budapest. They have to get dropped at the bus stop if the weather is bad or they can walk there in good weather (10mins). Mrs F insisted they went to school in the city and not in the village. She thought they'd be more worldly if they went to town and I guess it must be so. One of the schools here has a kiss and go drop off lane! Literally there's a symbol of a kid kissing the parent on the drivers (left) side. And the lane is used. - @fluffy2560

This is what has happened here; the village has grown in the period since we arrived (30 years ago), is now regarded as a small town, unfortunately, as is often the case in the UK, the villages grew, but the authorities failed to provide the services needed to cope with the expansion.  Today if you buy a house in our village (I have refused to acknowledge our promotion) and have kids, there are no places for them in any of the 3 local primary schools, you will have to take your kids to the schools in the unpopular areas around Leeds, and they will probably come home speaking a funny language.

They did expand the school at the end of our cul-de-sac and even provided a kiss and drop off zone outside the main entrance; of course nobody around here does that, they just abandon their car in the zone and walk with their kid to the gate, then stand there chatting with their f'ing mates.  Of course, we live at the back of the school and have the back gate where, at the time of the expansion, we were told at a public meeting, because of the limited road space in our street, only tradesmen would use it, fantastic eh?  Then they brought in the kindergarten portacabin by the back gate and because of the ignorant f'kers blocking the kiss and drop off zone at the front, decided that all the 1st years would use the back gate (nobody told us, just one morning the road was ram-jammed 4 deep on what is not much more than a single sided road where we, the people that live there, are not allowed to park) - end result, absolute chaos, luckily, the only person in our little part of paradise who actually works is Mrs C and her shifts are much earlier or later than the school opening times, so apart from it providing some entertainment as the idiots can't get back to their cars, or get them out of the street.  Now, the latest youth craze, electric scooters, I seriously think that the parents of these kids have something missing in their brains, they let their kids off on the loose once they enter the cul-de-sac, 1 or 2, not a problem, but there a many more than that, none have any road sense and several have hurt themselves when they have come off and bounced off my fence, or one of the 2 lamp-posts (that I have now renamed electric scooter attractors); one cheeky f'cker suggested I should replace my fence with a hedge, so the kids wouldn't hurt themselves!

Weather, partly sunny, temp of 8C, a bit windy, so it feels colder than it is - air quality is still moderate, and I can tell because my COPD is playing up, I shall need my inhaler later.  Solar is doing well 2500 kWh, batteries are currently 50% full and rising, I'm using 500 kWh, the rest is going to charge the batteries, so there will be some exporting back to the energy company this afternoon, once the batteries are full.

We've had clear skies all day, so while it was good for the solar, not so good if you're out and about; it's currently, 6C, but it feels like 1C because of the wind.  Air quality has been good today.  Mrs C is impressed with the car; you can set it to warm up 5 minutes before she leaves for work, and it's toastie when she gets in; all the ice has cleared, and it has heated seats and steering wheel, so no more faffing about with the car cover.

We've had clear skies all day, so while it was good for the solar, not so good if you're out and about; it's currently, 6C, but it feels like 1C because of the wind. Air quality has been good today. Mrs C is impressed with the car; you can set it to warm up 5 minutes before she leaves for work, and it's toastie when she gets in; all the ice has cleared, and it has heated seats and steering wheel, so no more faffing about with the car cover. - @Cynic

Car cover? 

I've got a sheet of cardboard I put behind the windscreen wipers.  It's very green as it was recycled from Ikea packaging.

Our lemon of a Ford has heated seats and warming steering wheel.   I only noticed it had the latter when I saw it on the menu in the display console. 

The problem with heated seats is that it almost feels like you've wet yourself.   That kind of warm, spreading feeling.  It only heats the bum position but it should do the back too.  Then it'd be like a kind of heat pad for rusty bones and squeaking muscles.