What’s Worse?

~ beetleypete

Here I sit trying to decide which kind of weather to moan about, and having to choose between two options.

Last week we had exceptionally cold weather, and for some regions of the UK snow brought chaos to roads, railways, and electricity supply. Over in the East, in Beetley, we had sharp frosts, some lovely sunny blue skies, and very cold nights.

On Sunday morning, I was woken up when it was still dark by heavy rain hitting the windows. By the time I took Ollie out for his walk, it had slowed to just ‘rain’, and the raindrops were cold when they hit you. Later that afternoon, we had to drive to see our grandson for his birthday celebration, and that drive was in heavy rain that persisted throughout the night.

When I went to bed at 11pm, I could hear the rain hitting the windows, and when I woke up today, it was still raining. 31 hours of constant rain that has made it dark enough to need the house lights on constantly. But although it is still cold, currently 5C, there is no frost, no traffic disruption, and no ice.

On balance, I have to choose rain over snow and ice, as it is less dangerous.

And I own two umbrellas.

52 thoughts on “What’s Worse?”

  4. I’ve a few eery encounters with ice, and I couldn’t agree more, Pete. I lived very close to the top of a hill in the UK, and when the weather got bad, I’d park the car on one of the streets at the bottom, to prevent accidents (there were cars parked on both sides quite often, and it was a narrow cul-de-sac, so it could get scary). Not missing that side of things here. I hope the weather gets milder, Pete.

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  7. Great post Pete 🙂 I agree that driving in the snow is more annoying than rain. At the very least, rain is not fluffy.

    Btw, you are probably aware of this by now, but did you hear that British director Terence Davies passed away two months ago? He was a great director, who never made a bad film. I think I might have gave you a link to him talking about Ealing comedies, but If not, here is the link below 🙂

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  10. Given the amount of rain and wind we get in the south west I opt for the cold (without the snow or heavy frost) with blue sky and sunshine. I am quite happy to wrap up warm to be able to go out for a walk, but I detest walking when it is wet and blowing a gale. I’d love to hibernate between November and February – two bonuses – I’d miss Christmas and all the damn adverts and Christmas movies and I’d wake up thin!!

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        1. We had some food delivered to put in the freezer for Christmas, but I like to buy fresh stuff myself, so I can choose what looks good, or has decent ‘sell-by’ dates. Plus the supermarket shop is one of the few times I venture out of Beetley. 🙂
          Best wishes, pete.

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    1. I haven’t flown anywhere since 2011, so I never think about airport disruption. But I took some flights on Aeroflot in the 1970s/80s where they physically hammered sheet ice off the wings of the plane before we took off. It was almost -30 in Leningrad when we flew to Moscow.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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        1. We had no choice, Carolyn. Flights to and from the Soviet Union, and all internal flights, were arranged by the tour company in England. Aeroflot is the only airline I was ever airsick on, and also the only time I was in an emergency landing in a plane. (Wheels up, scraping along the runway!)

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  14. Normally there is snow on Mt. Charleston in November. This year, despite having more precipitation earlier in the year than usual, it’s bone dry on the mountain. I can’t complain about the sun, though. We’re having great weather for hiking, even if the rather cool temperatures suggest I wear a windbreaker or light jacket, at least during the morning hours while the sun is rising in the sky.

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  21. Let’s face it, winter is a damn nuisance; constant rain is tedious at any time of year, of course, but when it’s bone-cold at the same time, I just want to hibernate [would that be Hiberniate in Scotland? Just an thought]. I love seeing the snow outside, but getting around can be difficult, especially driving, which I no longer do. Solstice in a couple of weeks or so, and roll on springtime! Cheers, Jon.

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