Weather

[poliphilo]

And today I turned on the same tap- the hot tap in the kitchen-  and nothing came out at all.  If I want to wash up I'll have to boil the water in a kettle.

We used to have heating in the kitchen to prevent this sort of thing,  but when we had the new units put in we took the radiator out- which was stupid, wasn't it?

When Odi was leaving yesterday we had a snowball fight.

A few minutes ago Ailz called down from her eyrie and drew my attention to a line of very dark cloud along the western horizon. Did I think it was weather or a big fire? I stepped out into the street to take a better look. It was definitely weather. 

And then the snow began to fall. 

Comments

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

It's both magic and scary, isn't it? I will endeavour to battle my way eastwards at around two this afternoon, but should probably bring chocolate with me in case I am trapped in a snowdrift for the whole Christmas...

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

You too? The snow is falling here on the East Coast of USA in blizzard conditions. Isnt it amazing how dark it gets just before a really BIG snow?
We had problems with frozen pipes in New Hampshire. I dont know if you can get it over there, but there is such a thing as electric heat tape which they use under mobile homes to prevent freezing. We bought some and wrapped the water pipes under the house with it and it stopped the problem unless there was a power failure. Also, it uses a minimal amount of electricity, so does not add much to the bill.
As long as the pipes were freezing, I had to go down cellar first thing in the AM with my hair dryer after opening all faucets, then heat the pipe gradually with the dryer until the water ran. If you do this, make sure the faucets are open or the pipes could break when they thaw.
I hope you are able to get thawed out quickly.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

If you want to postpone the visit to the new year it's fine by us. I don't know what the weather is like your end, but it's always worse up here in the hills. Right now the snow is falling heavily and thickly. You will probably be able to get here, but....

I'd offer to pick you up, but in these conditions Ailz- who is the only driver- daren't set foot outside the house for fear of falling.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Electric heat tape is new to me. It could be well worth looking into.

It's only the one tap that's frozen. It's fed by a pipe that runs along an outside wall. I'll proabbly leave it to thaw out in its own sweet time.

We're on the edge of the weather system. other parts of the country have been hit far worse.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the pipes and snow.

We got ourselves more-or-less dug out yesterday, here in the Virginia highlands. At 10:00 am, there were 18.5 inches on the ground and another two inches or so may have fallen since. It was the most we'd had January of '96.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's only the one pipe- and it's happened before. there's a particular length of pipe that runs along the inside of an outside wall.

We have about five inches of snow- but it's steadily mounting up.

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll see how it looks in an hour and drop you another mail then!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

OK.

Up here the snow continues to fall.

Seriously, I don't think it's worth the risk. Which is compounded by it being Sunday- and who knows what the bus services are like....

We do really want this tea party to happen- but I think a date in the New Year would be wiser.

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

OK, let's be middle-aged and cautious then! I'll be back in the New Year, and hopefully the earth will no longer be like iron, water no longer like a stone, etc. Merry Christmas till then, and thanks for understanding.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Middle-age and caution rule, OK!

It makes sense, it really does.

So, Merry Christmas and we'll set something up for the New Year- when this amazing weather system has run its course.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed at the amount of snow different parts of the UK are getting...and how long it's lasting this time. It's worse than last February when I got trapped in the Great London Snow...at least it seems to be in many areas.

I hope your pipe thaws and doesn't burst.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

This does seem to be an unusually heavy snow storm- and it looks as if the hard weather is going to continue.

I aimed an electric heater at the pipe and it thawed out within minutes. :)

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I'd worry about it bursting.

Plumbers who design outdoor pipes should be shot. Or made to stay outdoors in the cold until they thaw...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's our fault. The pipe is where it is because we wanted the sink moving from its original position. It was a bad plan all round- and if we ever have the money I'll move things back the way they were before.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

That's where our frozen pipes were -- on the outside north facing wall in a stone and dirt cellar that had no furnace in it - always freezing down there.
Does it seems to anyone else that global warming is a misnomer? Last winter was brutal with lots of ice and snow, and this winter is looking like more of the same. Also last spring things didnt warm up and dry out until July! We used to have HOT summers here. This year we had only about two weeks of heat waves. Also, I remember from childhood many winters with scant snowfall and mild temperatures and lots of rain -- usually the ones when I got ice skates, skis, or sleds for Christmas.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have my doubts about global warming. There's evidence the statistics are being manipulated to create unjustified panic.