Lousy UK weather, currently ...

[Drummond]

Wind and rain is currently lashing most of the UK. One gust at the Isle of Wight has exceeded 95 mph. Travel extensively disrupted, trees uprooted, that sort of thing ...

I've been listening to reports on LBC radio throughout the afternoon, and that station is talking about little else.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51425482

Heavy rain and gusts of wind reaching more than 90mph have brought widespread flooding and travel disruption as Storm Ciara hits the UK.

Trees were toppled, buildings were damaged and some homes had to be evacuated as rivers burst their banks.

Thousands of people are without electricity and sporting events have been cancelled due to the weather.

Airlines have also cancelled hundreds of flights, while several rail firms have urged passengers not to travel.

But two items of particular 'interest' (unfortunately not mentioned above) have come of it.

The first is the revelation that, apparently, Brits are keen trampolinists. Report after report came though of railway lines cut off because trampolines have been blown on to lines.

I suppose it figures. If you've got time on your hands, and you happen to plan on strolling near a railway line, how better to fill your time than a spot of 'impromptu' trampolining ?? [The sun shines, the birds tweet, all is right with the world: and a happy couple's thoughts inevitably, of course, drift to ... trampolining .....]

The other interesting fact is this: a subsonic passenger flight from New York (I'm fairly sure its destination was Heathrow) has, today, made the fastest ever flight of its kind (this doesn't include the old Concorde flights, of course) recorded for flying across the Atlantic. Travel time, definitely wind-assisted ... 4 hrs 35 mins !!

A day to be remembered in aviation history, by Jingo .... ?

[FakeNewsSux]

Wild weather over here as well, Drummond. Last week we had so much rain that a tree let loose and fell on the Interstate Highway about six exits up the road from my house.

https://www.11alive.com/article/weat...9-27f94a41a867

...and yesterday I woke up to snow on the ground but like most Atlanta snow falls, no shoveling required. Wait till mid afternoon and let the sun melt it all away!

[FakeNewsSux]

...The other interesting fact is this: a subsonic passenger flight from New York (I'm fairly sure its destination was Heathrow) has, today, made the fastest ever flight of its kind (this doesn't include the old Concorde flights, of course) recorded for flying across the Atlantic. Travel time, definitely wind-assisted ... 4 hrs 35 mins !!

A day to be remembered in aviation history, by Jingo .... ?

Reminds me of my first flight home from Hong Kong back in November of 1985. Our rickety old PanAm 747 took off from Kai Tak at sunrise Monday and landed at SFO at sunrise the same day! Normally a 14 1/2 hour flight, the pilot found the jet stream just past Guam and rode it all the way to San Francisco which got us there in just under 12 hours.

[Kathianne]

Wind and rain is currently lashing most of the UK. One gust at the Isle of Wight has exceeded 95 mph. Travel extensively disrupted, trees uprooted, that sort of thing ...

I've been listening to reports on LBC radio throughout the afternoon, and that station is talking about little else.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51425482



But two items of particular 'interest' (unfortunately not mentioned above) have come of it.

The first is the revelation that, apparently, Brits are keen trampolinists. Report after report came though of railway lines cut off because trampolines have been blown on to lines.

I suppose it figures. If you've got time on your hands, and you happen to plan on strolling near a railway line, how better to fill your time than a spot of 'impromptu' trampolining ?? [The sun shines, the birds tweet, all is right with the world: and a happy couple's thoughts inevitably, of course, drift to ... trampolining .....]

The other interesting fact is this: a subsonic passenger flight from New York (I'm fairly sure its destination was Heathrow) has, today, made the fastest ever flight of its kind (this doesn't include the old Concorde flights, of course) recorded for flying across the Atlantic. Travel time, definitely wind-assisted ... 4 hrs 35 mins !!

A day to be remembered in aviation history, by Jingo .... ?

Trampolines are big here too, two of my kids have them already for their kiddies. Sure MY kids do get up and bounce, flip, and seat drop. They are fun-but should be tethered down so as not to blow around. Chicago is known for it's 'sort of windy days' with gusts over 60mph. When it's really bad, well all the tethers in the world probably wouldn't work. (Though so far, none of theirs have going to air. )

[Drummond]

Trampolines are big here too, two of my kids have them already for their kiddies. Sure MY kids do get up and bounce, flip, and seat drop. They are fun-but should be tethered down so as not to blow around. Chicago is known for it's 'sort of windy days' with gusts over 60mph. When it's really bad, well all the tethers in the world probably wouldn't work. (Though so far, none of theirs have going to air. )

Yes, but, on especially gusty Chicago days, do the train lines around there end up covered in trampolines .. ?

It's been an odd day. Trees, yes. We sometimes have delayed trains due to 'the wrong sort of leaves on the line'.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...nctuality.html

... Not only were the leaves of the wrong consistency, but they fell too fast, said Southern, which provides services from the Sussex coast to London, ran late.

“This autumn the leaves, which compress and form a Teflon-type coating on the rails, fell in a shorter time frame than last year and resulted in more delays than in autumn 2009," a spokesman said.

"Twenty per cent of our delays and cancellations for the period were down to leaf fall alone, while infrastructure failures, including points and signalling problems accounted for many more.

Trampolines, though .... !! .......

See ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_wrong_type_of_snow

"The wrong type of snow" or "the wrong kind of snow" is a phrase coined by the British media in 1991 after severe weather caused disruption to many of British Rail's services. A British Rail press release implied that management and its engineering staff were unaware of different types of snow. Henceforth in the United Kingdom, the phrase became a byword for euphemistic and pointless excuses.

The phrase originated in an interview conducted by James Naughtie on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on 11 February 1991. British Rail's Director of Operations, Terry Worrall, was asked to comment on the adverse effects of the unusually heavy 1991 snowfall on railway services that winter. Worral explained that "we are having particular problems with the type of snow, which is rare in the UK". Naughtie replied "Oh, I see, it was the wrong kind of snow," to which Worrall replied, "No, it was a different kind of snow". The exchange prompted a headline in the London Evening Standard saying "British Rail blames the wrong type of snow" which was swiftly taken up by the media and other papers/

I suppose our big problem today was that they were the wrong kind of trampolines.

[Drummond]

Wild weather over here as well, Drummond. Last week we had so much rain that a tree let loose and fell on the Interstate Highway about six exits up the road from my house.

https://www.11alive.com/article/weat...9-27f94a41a867

...and yesterday I woke up to snow on the ground but like most Atlanta snow falls, no shoveling required. Wait till mid afternoon and let the sun melt it all away!

Well, our storm came from your general direction. Perhaps the two storms had a common origin .. ?

Just as flights from the West were speeded up, so flights coming from the East were correspondingly delayed. There was a report of a Lufthansa flight taking double its normal time. Also ... the pilot had to make four attempts to land, before he managed it ...

[Drummond]

Proof that I actually was NOT kidding about trampolines .....

https://www.worldnewsempire.com/uk/s...e-rail-delays/

trampo.jpg

Flyaway trampolines caused rail chaos when Storm Ciara blew them on to tracks across England.

All services were stopped between Bedford and Luton after a trampoline struck a train and reportedly became stuck in overhead wires.

Trains into London were delayed when trampolines flew on to lines at Bickley and Chelsfield.

Network Rail asked people living close to railway lines to fix trampolines to the ground to ensure passenger safety.

[Gunny]

Reminds me of my first flight home from Hong Kong back in November of 1985. Our rickety old PanAm 747 took off from Kai Tak at sunrise Monday and landed at SFO at sunrise the same day! Normally a 14 1/2 hour flight, the pilot found the jet stream just past Guam and rode it all the way to San Francisco which got us there in just under 12 hours.

I left Narita at noon and arrived in LAX 2 hours before I ever left Japan after 14 hr flt. Worked out great for my annual leave balance

Going back not so much. Leave LAX Saturday and arrive Monday.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

We just got dumped on pretty good with snow yesterday. Most so far in one storm this winter.

I hope February doesn't turn into SNOWruary. More is predicted for Thursday and Saturday and Sunday.

And I hate winter.. WTH am I doing here...

[Drummond]

Storm Ciara, last weekend. This weekend, in the UK ... we have storm Dennis.

They're a rough equivalent of each other.

Dennis has greater potential for damage, not last because the flood damage caused by the first storm, may in many areas be added to by this latest one.

The BBC (whose licence fee is being seriously challenged by the Government .. that's another story !) is doing ts civic duty to its adoring Public, as this link shows:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51491143

As England is hit by the second stormy weekend in a row, here are some tips to stay safe and minimise the damage.

Many areas are still recovering from Storm Ciara ahead of the warnings for the arrival of Storm Dennis.

It is "likely to bring very heavy rain, flooding and disruption to travel", the Met Office says .

Warnings of very heavy rain are in force in some parts between noon on Saturday and 15:00 GMT on Sunday.

And with gales of 60mph to 70mph also expected, here is the advice about staying safe and the answers to questions such as, how do you stop your trampoline from blowing away?

Photographs of flyaway trampolines circulated on social media during Storm Ciara after several caused train delays.

Network Rail asked business owners and people living near railways to secure anything outside which could be blown on to the tracks.

RoSPA said trampolines should be stored safely "particularly during winter months when the wind can force a trampoline to become airborne".

"Tie down large trampolines - there are tether kits available that can be used for this purpose," it said.

"With smaller trampolines, flip them upside down.

So, now we know. We can all breathe more easily now ....

[I hope we have a Storm Fred. Yabba Dabba Doo .... ]