Potential weather disruption this week

[Ediswan]

Side and rear windows, plus all lights should be visible, but I really don’t see how clearing the roof is necessary.

If you had to drop back, you were probably too close- especially in snowy/icy conditions and what’s the worst that’s going to happen? It’s something that falls naturally from the sky in the first place and your wipers will easily deal with it.

I agree with @RichJF on this one. Large quantities of loose snow on a car being driven at speed can create a mini-blizzard, far more dense than what usually falls from the sky in the UK.

 

[jon0844]

Clearing the roof IS necessary and not doing so can lead to a fine and six points.

 

[class 9]

Amber warning for Northern England tomorrow.

 

[GusB]

I agree with @RichJF on this one. Large quantities of loose snow on a car being driven at speed can create a mini-blizzard, far more dense than what usually falls from the sky in the UK.

Not only that, failing to brush the snow off the roof result in the whole lot sliding forward if there's sharp braking. It only takes a few minutes to clear the lot before driving off; not doing so is just the height of laziness.

 

[Techniquest]

I don't drive but I'm with the others who are in favour of clearing roofs of snow from cars. I would say it should be obvious to do that, although I must add that I know some people who would struggle to reach much of the snow off their car roofs without a step ladder. Perhaps the driver in question was not terribly tall?

The snow here stopped a good while ago, I haven't looked lately but it appears that more is due to land here tomorrow.

Good luck to all those going out in the morning, or indeed within the area covered by amber warnings!

 

[Ediswan]

Not only that, failing to brush the snow off the roof result in the whole lot sliding forward if there's sharp braking.

Been there, once, over 40 years ago, never again. It was normal braking. The car had warmed up and thawed the base of the snow layer on the roof. Came down over the whole windscreen. Fortunately, no worse than embarassing.

Currently, I have a hand brush with soft artificial bristles reserved for clearing snow off the car.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

Oh please, theae reports of "Snow bombs" "the new beast from the east" " cold snap to affect the UK, heres where and when" headlines have been pedalled on social media and poorly grammared newsquest managed news web sites since the middle of January and Im still waiting.......

Frost mitigation protection in force on the ECML is seeing TPE 802s run on diesel with pans down while Caledonian Sleeper 92s are operating normally with pans up.....

Frost wasnt an issue with 91's so why are the future proof zoom zoom derived trains afraid to hook up to the big bad juice wire?....

 

[Iskra]

Clearing the roof IS necessary and not doing so can lead to a fine and six points.

While it can, I suspect the number of people given 6pts for having clear windows/lights but snow on the roof is zero.

Just driven from one side of Sheffield to the other; and while it is snowing, all roads including side roads are clear. It seems slightly too warm to settle.

 

[birchesgreen]

To be honest around here seems rare to see people even properly clear their windscreens before starting off.

 

[jon0844]

While it can, I suspect the number of people given 6pts for having clear windows/lights but snow on the roof is zero.

Oh for sure. And sadly people are arrogant enough to not bother clearing their car precisely because they assume nothing will happen, instead of appreciating the need to clear their vehicle for the safety of others.

Same reason people just push through gatelines on that basis that nobody is going to stop them.

 

[GusB]

Well, having reported a bright day yesterday, it's a very different picture this morning. This is what the view from my house looks like currently:



It's snowing quite heavily now, and that sky suggests that it's not going to be letting up very soon.

 

[Lost property]

Not only that, failing to brush the snow off the roof result in the whole lot sliding forward if there's sharp braking. It only takes a few minutes to clear the lot before driving off; not doing so is just the height of laziness.

It certainly can, plus, if it's become frozen, large chunks being blown off in the direction of any vehicle behind you isn't something you want to be the recipient of.

However, it's amazing how many people were former tank drivers, and, have X-ray vision it seems.....this on the basis of the number you see driving with all the windows obscured, and a little patch on the front cleared.

I'm certain one of the many contributory reasons is people become conditioned to leaving home at "xx" hrs, and don't think to be prepared to adapt their timings due to snow on the vehicle, the clearing of which will disrupt their schedule...

 

[Techniquest]

It clearly snowed quite a bit here in the The Ford overnight, but the snow stopped a fair while ago and the roads are sounding incredibly wet. Pavements got covered this time, but it's all turning into slush quite fast.

Ugh, slush, horrible stuff to even walk through. I can imagine in the countryside the effects of the snow will be much worse, a lot of Herefordshire is rural after all, so there will be plenty of disruption across the board here. Almost impossible to predict what the shops will be like today, it's either going to be crazy or it's going to be deserted.

Whatever happens though, this is not the sort of weather I was expecting in March! I was looking forward to nicer weather, ideal for going exploring, and putting the winter behind me. I'm just glad I have my time off towards the end of the month and not right now, although equally I'm preparing for delays getting to London on the 27th of March. The walk to the coach at around 6am that day will hopefully not be in winter conditions!

 

[Iskra]

It clearly snowed quite a bit here in the The Ford overnight, but the snow stopped a fair while ago and the roads are sounding incredibly wet. Pavements got covered this time, but it's all turning into slush quite fast.

Ugh, slush, horrible stuff to even walk through. I can imagine in the countryside the effects of the snow will be much worse, a lot of Herefordshire is rural after all, so there will be plenty of disruption across the board here. Almost impossible to predict what the shops will be like today, it's either going to be crazy or it's going to be deserted.

Whatever happens though, this is not the sort of weather I was expecting in March! I was looking forward to nicer weather, ideal for going exploring, and putting the winter behind me. I'm just glad I have my time off towards the end of the month and not right now, although equally I'm preparing for delays getting to London on the 27th of March. The walk to the coach at around 6am that day will hopefully not be in winter conditions!

It traditionally snows more in March than December/November in my experience. It’s not a month I would ever anticipate being warm, although we have had the odd nice weekend here and there.

 

[Techniquest]

It traditionally snows more in March than December/November in my experience. It’s not a month I would ever anticipate being warm, although we have had the odd nice weekend here and there.

I definitely don't remember the last few March months being this rancid. Chilly, perhaps, and with a need to protect oneself from the elements at the very end of winter, yes. Weather that would be more at home in December/January, when we should be at the beginning of spring, no.

 

[Iskra]

I definitely don't remember the last few March months being this rancid. Chilly, perhaps, and with a need to protect oneself from the elements at the very end of winter, yes. Weather that would be more at home in December/January, when we should be at the beginning of spring, no.

March has a similar average temperature to November, which you wouldn’t call a warm month.

 

[Techniquest]

Hard to argue with stats it is, but I definitely have more adventures in March than November!

 

[MikeWM]

Hard to argue with stats it is, but I definitely have more adventures in March than November!

I tend to take my main holidays of the year in March, which can be a bit of a gamble because it can be very pleasant but equally can be rather problematic (eg. 2018's 'Beast From The East'). Last year March was mostly reasonable for example, though I did get briefly snowed on in Newcastle.

For one reason or other, I unusually hadn't planned a March holiday this year, which turns out to be rather a good plan as it looks like it will be very unsettled for at least another week.

The signifcantly increased hours of daylight is probably the main factor in making March feel more pleasant than November. Sunset is already 1.5 hours or so later now than it was at the start of November, and sunset times are rapidly moving later at ths time of year.

 

[Techniquest]

Agreed on the longer hours thing, it is much more pleasant at this time of year than it is in January and February for that alone.

As for the snow here, it's been clearing quite rapidly. A lot of it still around, of course, but compared to around 5 hours ago the amount is minimal. My wellies remain awaiting any usage!

 

[158756]

In the Amber warning area here, it's been snowing on and off all day but never stuck. The Met Office are a bit like the boy who cried wolf when it comes to snow. I know a few years ago a headmaster of a school apparently vowed never to close again for a weather forecast, after a terrible forecast which in the end didn't see a single flake of snow falling. Most snow here seems to fall without any weather warnings and with no attention from the national or even regional news.

 

[Strathclyder]

Just looked out my window here in Clydebank and noticed some light snowfall lazily drifting down. Whether or not it'll get any heavier or will even lie for any length of time I'll wait and see, but it certainly has been cold enough for it today!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Heart of Wales line closed all day today (Thursday)?

 

[_toommm_]

Heart of Wales line closed all day today (Thursday)?

Looks that way. Two services each way managed to run across the full line (one in each direction), but the second of which encountered a small 4+ hour delay between Llandrindod and Knighton.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Heart of Wales line closed all day today (Thursday)?

Looks that way. Two services each way managed to run across the full line (one in each direction), but the second of which encountered a small 4+ hour delay between Llandrindod and Knighton.

Wasn't sure if it was shut all day, or if it was due to snow and/or obstructions on the line, or some other reason(s).

 

[route101]

Had very little snow in my part of Scotland.

 

[Techniquest]

All turned into rain and flooded parts here now, virtually no sign of any snow whatsoever now in my part of Hereford. Doubtlessly, other parts of the shire will still be suffering and there were plenty of cancelled orders on Home Shopping today. So that has created issues of its own in Herefordshire!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Merseyrail have given up today. All services suspended.
Initially there was a points failure at Hamilton Square (which couldn't have been a snow problem), but now everything has stopped because of the snow.
197s are out and about for TfW, so can cope with the snow.
Chester seems to be working close to normal, but Merseyrail is absent.
It would have been a good test of 777 operation in the snow, but it seems they are not attempting it today.
I'm 20 miles from the Merseyrail network and we have the promised 30cm of snow, so not easy for any kind of transport.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Yesterday's 22.35 Sheffield to Huddersfield got as far as Stocksmoor and encountered a fallen tree. It went back to Barnsley, reversed, on to Wakefield Kirkgate and reversed again before heading to Huddersfield via Healey Mills and Mirfield. Arrived just after 02.00.
Well done to Northern and the train crew.

 

[Iskra]

5 inches where I live now, got stuck in the car about 150m from home earlier so gave up. It is supposed to warm up around lunchtime so hopefully it clears, but it's going create a lot of water when it melts.

 

[DelW]

Some big north/south divergences this week. In Surrey we had a couple of inches of rather wet snow on Wednesday morning, with more falling during the day. Much of that melted overnight, and the rest went yesterday with afternoon temperatures shooting up to over 10°. Today we have rain clearing and 4° but very windy.