Scotlands coldest Winter
As Nairn sees more snow drift in over the past few days, the met office have reportedly declared the current Scottish Winter the coldest for almost 100 years – since records began in 1914. Ice patches still remain from the previous snow falls, rain had already soaked the roads and ground, so freezing temperatures and [...]
-11C
The temperature outside read at 8.5C this afternoon, and has now cooled to -11C. No doubt it’ll get even colder tonight, even though the bite in the air is incredibly sharp. The Highlands remains frozen, but it looks like life is continuing as normal – school starts this week but I can’t find any of [...]
Big Freeze continues
The big freeze continues, and the met office are warning that it could last another two weeks. Meanwhile, travel disruption continues, with all important road, rail, and air links across the Highlands subject to continued problems. At a time when councils are facing budget cuts, it seems most Scottish authorities will be forced to over-spend [...]
Driving through Frozen Scotland
When we arranged to spend Christmas week with relatives down south, we could never have expected the weather conditions to be as severe as they were. It’s not just the roads that were bad: roads, rail links, and airports across the UK were disrupted or closed because of heavy snow and freezing temperatures. Driving through [...]
Severe weather driving
I had to drive down to Dumfries yesterday on a family matter – and all I can say is that the next time I see a severe weather warning – I’m staying at home!! When a particular strong and heavy snow shower drifted in from the north on Sunday morning, I figured on main roads [...]
Freezing fog returns
The freezing fog drifted in during the morning, retreating briefly before rolling back in for the afternoon. Stretching in patches from Brodie to at least Inverness, it left the minus temperatures settled in Nairn, making for a still and icy day. Last year saw a dramatic icing up as the fog remained with us for [...]
Snows settle for winter
After a brief appearance in October, when Ben Wyvis was peaked with a temporary cap of snow, it looks as though they have now returned for the winter. At the end of last week I could taste the ice in the air. On Saturday, there was a brief storm of hail, and Sunday felt freezing [...]
Floods in Moray
It just wouldn’t stop raining on Sunday – and the result was a lot of flooding across North and North East Scotland, as the BBC reports: The following roads are closed: • The A96 at Huntly. • The A97 at Deveron Bridge. • The A920 Dufftown to Huntly road. • The B993 Kemnay to Monnymusk [...]
First snows on Ben Wyvis
The first snows settled on Ben Wyvis on October 3rd this year, as a chill wind blew in at the weekend, leaving the mountain white-capped on the Saturday. The cold of winter is certainly trying to tease through the Highlands now, but are not yet strong enough to keep the snow on the peak, melting [...]
River Nairn in flood
Elgin is still on a Severe Flood Warning, and my sister-in-law at Kingston by Spey Bay reports that the village was cut off by flooding, and that Fochabers was reported to have been hit hard, with one property rumoured to have partially collapsed because of the flood waters. In the meantime, the River Nairn is [...]