Scotland (Alba) Regional Discussion 21st May 2013 onwards

[Coast]

A new Scottish regional thread for everyone in the region to discuss the weather outlook and meteorological stuff in general

[NUT]

Nice day today here. Skies looking clearer and it a little cooler but still quite warm (until tomorrow)

[Benvironment]

Wish you were here? A postcard from Kinross this morning.

Summer's lovely isn't it?

<counts the months til it gets colder and the bleedin' things die>

Edited May 21, 2013 by Scotster

[tempestwatch]

Lovey morning this morning over Fife and into Clackmannanshire, bit of a light rain shower about 7am though. There is a definite chill to that breeze!

[Ravelin]

Very similar in Aberdeenshire this morning too. Bright and sunny with broken white cloud but a stiff cool breeze. There was also one short rain shower before I left the house.

[Northernlights]

Occasional sharp showers of hail/icy rain with good sunny spells currently 9c but falls to 6c during showers. Some great cloudscapes with strong blue skies in the very clear air. Neeps will not be sown this week with the risk of frost in the next few nights.

[NUT]

Jesus lord it a bit blowy outside today mighty! The showers well a few of them just starting to creep in now too

[over_the_rainbow]

Jesus lord it a bit blowy outside today mighty! The showers well a few of them just starting to creep in now too

Yep very windy today and definitely cooler, despite the sunshine.

[Guest]

Kaboom!! Nice little rumble of thunder within the last couple of minutes First thunder I've heard for a while, it was quite nice :lol:

[Guest]

[mardatha]

We've got heavy hailstones

[Richard Taylor]

By God it's grim...I think we've regressed to February!!

[Northernlights]

Well a fresh dusting on the hills to the west and the Cairngorms to the south down to 1500 feet. Currently 3c here and a few wintry showers over the Firth to the north this evening.

Saw on the news tonight that we are looking at the loss of lots of wildlife in the UK due to global warming.I would change that phrase to climate change which in my neck of the woods has lead to cooling not warming in the last six years. Bird feeders have been emptied again today. Crops of grass are still very short and silage harvest will be into June this year maybe 2 to 4 weeks late. Will be no overnight growth for the next 4 nights so more delay.

[Hairy Celt]

Just spent 2 days doing some work on the Cairngorms and before that on high hills west of Inverness. Winter has not let go yet; there are large snow patches around most corrie lips and plant life is struggling to get going. I was at about 800m today and spent the day with full winter kit on, very pleased to be back home in the warmth tonight with the prospect of a couple of days of indoor work.

 

Most garden crops are slowly coming along but the fruit trees seem to be stuffed after today's wintry showers

[A Winter's Tale]

The past few days have all been pretty decent but very different with the muggy heat of Monday, to yesterday's pleasant May conditions to today's very clear, but chilly conditions with sub -5C uppers over the country. There has been some snow this evening in the Shetland Islands which just continues a very long season for wintry weather since late October. For the next couple of days temperatures should be on the low side for the time of year but perhaps turning a little warmer around the weekend. God knows what this summer will be like - we are well overdue a good one before the autumn chill returns once more.

[Benvironment]

2C here. Interesting to read comments about other people's bird feeders. My two here are filled with a feeder mix first thing in the morning but they're empty by mid afternoon at the moment. Goldfinches mainly.

[Ravelin]

Brrrrrr....it's far too chilly out there for the 3rd week of May! Car thermometer was reading 4DegC at 8:30am on the way to work, and with a strong wind it felt even colder than that.On a more positive note though it's broken cloud again so sunny spells, and not too much in the way of rain so far.

 

The birds around our way are still at the feeders, but as the wife deals with them I'm not sure exactly how much seed they are getting through at the moment. As for the veg patches, well I've been re-arranging them so I'm behind anyway, but at least one I could have planted 2-3 weeks ago but didn't bother as it's been so cold. I will probably just stick with salad stuff this year, what with starting so late (plus it's the one thing I seem to be able to grow successfully with little effort). Maybe this weekend I'll sow some seed, but only if I can get the plastic sorted to cover them and provide some heat/shelter. Of the seed potatoes I planted in bags & barrels 2-3 weeks ago, the earlies are just showing through but there's no sign of life out of the main crop ones yet.

[Northernlights]

Very cold out there today currently 3c Cawdor hills white down to 1500feet. Snow covered hills across the Firth emerging from behind a rash of wintry showers behind Hairy Celt.

Cattle shifted a few days ago on the strength of the forecast to a south facing field with a dyke(stone wall on its north side) which today they are lying down behind in any sunshine chewing the cud contentedly. Grass will only last a few more days in this field and the next shift will be to a silage field which we will graze and then shut up again.

[Coast]

Met Office warns of wintry weather in Scotland's hills

 

Climbers and walkers are being encouraged to heed weather forecasts

 

The Met Office has warned walkers and climbers to expect wintry conditions in Scotland's hills and mountains over the next few days. It said bitterly cold and strong northerly winds and snow would "present some very challenging conditions". The Met Office added that the conditions were forecast to improve over the weekend.  Bob Kinnaird, of the Scottish National Outdoor Training Centre, said the condition could be severe.

 

Met Office chief forecaster Martin Young said: "Although we are well into May we will see some very difficult conditions on the mountains, especially on Thursday. "On the tops of the mountains in Scotland we could see winds gusting up to 80mph, giving blizzard conditions in the snow and making things very hazardous." Mr Kinnaird added: "Although it's not that unusual to encounter winter conditions on the Scottish hills at this time of year, this is a very severe forecast for the high tops. "While this still leaves plenty of options to enjoy the hills, careful consideration should be given to planning and route choice, particularly for those who have little experience of mountaineering in Scottish winter conditions."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-22631483

[spindrift1980]

Snow down to road level (about 600m asl) on the A93 at Glenshee Ski Centre.

http://www.webcam-ski.com/webcams/interfaces/glenshee/interface.php?pk_interface=278&m=images&r=panoramique#depart

Some very wintry looking webcams at the ski centres, in particular Cairngorm:

http://www.winterhighland.info/testcam/ssc.jpeg

http://www.winterhighland.info/testcam/lady.jpeg

[skifreak]

Around 3-5 inches of fresh at the base on CairnGorm around 6-8 inches at the top, possibly a bit more with the persistent showers this morning. Drifting a fair bit, up to 4ft drifts reportedly at the top and there was a shovelling crew at the Tunnel Mouth of the Funicular when the first train went past this morning. NMM brings in a fair bit of precipitation associated with the low to the East overnight!

Ptarmigan Tow Track and Runs, plus terrain park were complete prior to the new snow at the top, as was the White Lady to the mid-station. There is around 1800ft vertical descent still possible from the top of the Marquis Well's snow field above the Ptarmigan Tow to just below the boardwalks in the Ciste Gully!

If you fancy a final lift served turn this weekend (or some lift assisted with a bit of hoofing for the Ciste Gully), then bang the drum on CairnGorm's Facebook or the CairnGorm snow thread on Winterhighland. Or call 01479 861 261 and ask if their open at the weekend, see if the hint will be taken! lol!

[Ravelin]

OK, now this is getting silly. In Dyce we've just had a very brief (<30 secs) shower of snow rattling off the office window.

[NorthernRab]

We've had sleet and hail today, but I was just out in the garden having a coffee during a brief clear spell and it was lovely in the sun, pretty wild weather! 

[skifreak]

A couple of photos from CairnGorm Mountain this morning:

^Fresh drift on the viewing terrace of the Ptarmigan Restaurant.

^Ski Road looking wintry around 1500ft.

[lorenzo]

Am glad I never stuck with our HP anomaly for the end of may and revised it down to a 50 50 split between summer warmth and winter troughing. Would have been a total bust !

Although the world according to facebook is aghast and shocked with snow, don't think it is of much surprise to folks here.

Looking on the sunny side, hopefully this latest arctic drain us the last of the energy up there and we can look forward to something better in June, if not pronounced warmth for July.

Summer it would seem is on the same delayed schedule as Spring..