As usual the weather forecasters in the UK have got it wrong again in the last week, with the many inches of snow that we were forecast on the South Coast for the weekend not appearing. Well maybe a dozen small flakes, but that was all.
Instead of heavy snow, all we saw was sunny blue skies at the end of the week and most of the weekend. Unfortunately the sun is so low in the sky that the warmth was not enough to melt the now compacted snow and ice on the roads and pavements. It just helped turn the snow and ice into a smoother slicker version that is now very dangerous to walk on in places.
On Saturday morning, since it was bright and sunny, I decided to go outside with a shovel and try to break up some of the snow and ice from our road, since it’s on a steep hill and has been difficult to drive on. Where some grit and salt had been put down, or where the sun had warmed the road, I was able to chip chunks of ice away to uncover the road, but for the most part attempts to chip at the ice did little, the ice being practically welded to the road surface.
After about an hour of doing this, intermixed with meeting various neighbours who were walking to the shops instead of driving, I realised that I had a sore on my thumb. I know this is the price you pay for not wearing gloves, but I really find it hard to work with gloves on. Well looking at my right hand, I found another three sores, each of them larger than on my left, and the skin hanging off! Ouch!
So I headed back indoors where Debbie said “why didn’t you wear your gloves”, and tried to not feel the pain as I washed my hands in icy cold water and then she helped to put some band aids on them. Of course when you get blisters from working, it’s always on the pressure points that you use to do practically anything, from opening a jar to getting dressed and tying your shoes, so I have been struggling ever since with trying to not have anything touch them.
We were supposed to have more snow last night, and the whole day yesterday was so dark and gloomy that you would think we lived in the Arctic! But, no more snow, just temperatures that were marginally above freezing, and perfect for making the pathways even slicker than they were.
The back path that slopes down to where I park the car in the alley at the back of the house was rather slippy yesterday morning, and this morning it was even worse, looking really glassy and shiny and very hard to walk on. As I navigated my way downhill to the car this morning, Debbie poked her head through the bedroom curtains to see my literally clinging onto the garage walls to try and stop myself from slipping on the last few feet, where I could not walk on anything but ice to get to the back gate.
Today has also been several degrees above freezing, and still no more snow, and I wonder when I get home if anything will have melted, or if it will be worse than this morning. If it does snow overnight I am sure things will be chaotic tomorrow, since nothing has been salted or gritted for days.
My plan for tonight is therefore to try and use the shovel on the back path to see if the ice has come lose enough to chip it away, otherwise tomorrow morning is going to be fun! Of course it might just snow…
Just heard from Debbie, who went shopping and of course the supermarkets have no salt either. She brought two small packets and they went nowhere. Oh well… It you don’t hear from me for a while, I might be lying on my back recovering from a fall…
5 thoughts on “Is The UK Winter About To Get Better Or Worse?”
Kitty Litter helps. We use that and we always have a large plastic trash can of non-salt (salt is banned in Colorado) ice-melt. When we lived in UTAH where the snow accumulates; we had to shovle out into the street. If you didn’t a shelf of ice would accumulate in front of your drive. “Hang in there”.
I remember that in Indiana too, with the snow building up either site of the pathways and getting ever higher and higher every time I shoveled them.
Well tonight I got home and the snow was melting enough for me to shovel most of what was left from most of the back paths. It’s set to drop to just below freezing tonight, but with luck that will be out of town, and the more melting will continue around the house.
Of course the southwest of England is forecast to have up to 6 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow, but we are maybe 30 miles from the eastern edge. That means we could have either a lot of snow, a little, or none. Hopefully the latter…
.-= tony´s last blog ..Silent Night And Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Performed By Robots =-.
PS: wearing gloves in Colorado is not optional.
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