Carry on up the Cairnwell

The Schaf was due to be on the News Channel over lunchtime, but he was mysteriously supplanted by Susan Powell {i} et al.

The mystery was soon solved, as The Schaf informed us that has travelled up to Nowheresville! Perhaps it's to atone for *that* incident; I hope the locals don't make him into a wicker-man, to keep themselves warm.

I jest of course: The reason he has been sent up there, is because the BBC recognise his worth, his enthusiasm over the possibility of a record low temperature and we can't wait to see him report up there. He is off the Braemar in Aberdeenshire, where it's likely that the temperatures may reach below -27.2C. It was here in 1895 and 1982 when temperatures dipped to that record low; in 1995 temperatures also dropped that low at Altnaharra (Scottish Highlands).

Tomasz has kindly supplied us with a picture at Braemar, the bench giving some indication of the depth of the snow:



Tomasz explains:
I'm off to Braemar in Cairngorm, Scotland today with the BBC. I'll be reporting on BBC Breakfast and the News Channel tomorrow morning from what could be the coldest place in the UK. Near record temperatures are possible down to minus 25C.

Tomasz is sensibly taking a 4x4 up Cairnwell, rather than cycling up there. For those who like trivia, "The Cairnwell" is the highest public road in the UK, at 665m (2181ft). The highest road in the UK is to an aircraft-radar station upon Great Dun Fell, at 848 m (2782 ft)-- the second highest point in the Pennines.

So what is causing these low temperatures, you may ask? When there is not snow on the ground, by day the ground absorbs heat from sunlight and the air; by night this stored heat is gradually drifts into the air, giving some relative warmth at ground level. However several inches of snow on the ground; it acts like lagging, and keeps any stored heat in the ground (also sunlight reflects off the snow). This factor, combined with clear skies and cold winds, give us the plunging temperature.

Thankfully temperatures are not so cold elsewhere, only a predicted -7C round my way tonight, hope it isn't to raw where you are.So make sure you tune into BBC Breakfast tomorrow, to watch His Loveliness live from Aberdeenshire. Also the News Channel around the same time. Stay safe Tomasz!

Coming in clumps

That's how The Schaf described the freakish (for this time of year) snow showers, that are blighting the British Isles at present, Tomasz giving us a good ten inches in some areas {i}

Amusingly the weather radar showed snow over London on 10:30 broadcast, yet there was no snow at BBC TV Centre-- "they [Met Office] obviously didn't get my text" Tomasz dryly quipped. And you know if the snow is becomes bad in the UK, when London gets it [wink]!

Especially freaky are the temperatures experienced with this weather. The current record for the UK's lowest temperature, is -27.2C. Tomasz fascinatingly informed us, that we could see temperatures dipping to almost -30C in the Scottish Highlands over the next few nights. It will be so cold, you won't be able to tell the difference between Angus and Agnes. For the rest of us, a "positively balmy" -10C!

If there's a record to be broken, I like to Tomasz will be the one to announce it. I hope he's right, we don't want frosty Scots writing equally frost letters to a certain newspaper.



His Loveliness raises a good question there, about "cats and dogs". Intriguingly there's little evidence as to the origin of the phrase: The most likely, is that in the filthy streets of C17th and 18th England, heavy rain would occasionally carry along dead animals and other debris. Whether that phrase and notion could be applied to snowstorms or not-- answers on a postcard!

Tomasz told us it will feel frigid with this biting temperatures. If there's one cure for frigidity, it's watching (or listening on Radio 4 at 12:57 GMT!) to The Schaf {ii}

Thankfully my corner of Notts has seen only light snowfall, no more than inch accumulated-- main roads are clear too. Temperatures are still low by day, barely nudging 0 degrees, dropped to -5C last night! Of course people reading this in Canada, Finland, Russia, Tibet, Alaska, Iceland (lucky you, with your geothermal heating) and Norway-- you'll be thinking it's "positively balmy"!



Thanks to Terratec, for the upload

{i} Behave
{ii} I should behave too.