It's really bad today in many places, up North in Leeds very stong winds. Today I noticed it rocking the car around when stationary at traffic lights, a new shape Panda. I know it's only around 850kg and quite boxy - a bit like the Wagon R etc. The tyres are quite narrow and it doesn't feel too stable.
When do you think it's too bad to decide not to drive? The Police advise motorists to be cautious etc. I know it's about 80mph wind speed. Has anyone ever seen a car blown over, as happens to lorries?
I don't feel to happy about the return commute tonight...
If a tree comes down well no car would protect you?
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Chances of your car blowing over in this wind is minimal., Chances of the car behing hit with debris is quite high, The touran has just been clobbered by a sizeable piece of tree as I passed Horsel Common, Either a bit of tree or a bit of martion tripod, made a fair old bang
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Are you sure it wasn´t something falling off the suspension/bodywork/gearbox dropping out etc etc ?
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Highly likely barkingmad, its bound to be an expensive bit too.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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It was probably my ridge tile, 120 miles no probs in this wind, something else to blame the roofer for!
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Top of Lansdown hill, Bath - very windy today as I went to race course. Could really feel the car swaying. On my way home I shall gather up the bits of tree blown down for my log fire tonight.
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I'm sat at home at the moment,due to a day off work,and I'm currently using my ham radio set up (NOT CB) and the TrafficEngland website,to update any motorists within the range of the local ham radio repeater,of any updates,and as well as that,I'm getting constant updates from mobile ham radio operators,of any problems that are materialising,before they actually appear on the Highways Agency site.
I for one am pleased that I'm not driving today,as I'm a Class 1 driver,because I'm hearing of some terrible accidents,and there is a couple of my friends who have turned around,and gone back to their depots,purely on the grounds of safety,and I can't blame them.
Lets hope that there aren't too mant tragic accidents today,and that evryone gets home sfaely.
Ken.
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Had a 106mph gust in Buxton, Derbys. Bits of building sheeting are peeling off as I type.
I'm not driving until things calm down a bit.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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I've had my fence in the back garden disintergrate,and the only thing left that was attached to it,is the gate to the back field.
I rung my mate and told him,and he said to make sure that the gate is locked so no-one can get in........
There's always one.
Ken.
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Fence at the bottom of our garden started to get battered and finally gave in broke up and blown over/in. An hour or so later neighbours fence cracked a bit and then fell apart and it was not even old. I went around and helped get all of the panels into their garage for them. The lady next door is tiny and her husband was not about but she was starting to deal with it. Then for the larger panel in the high winds it took me and the 20 year old step-son who happened to have popped around!
We live near Stockport and as people will know, in Marple a lady died and someone in Manchester was killed after being blown into metal shutters.
Not a good day for travel at all. Glad my trips this week (London/Sidcup on train and Crewe by car) were earlier in the week.
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Was very nervous passing lorries this morning, especially after watching a van passing me being blown into lane 3.
Was a little bit dumbfounded to see a lorry carrying a mobile home trundling down the M5 this morning. Surely this could not be an urgent delivery. With all the gaps for the wind to get in under the caravan, and its sheer size surely would have made it a bit of a handful to drive.
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Was a little bit dumbfounded to see a lorry carrying a mobile home trundling down the M5 this morning. Surely this could not be an urgent delivery.
On the contrary, where else is Cheddar going to live now his roof has moved to Belgium?
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I think the risk to cars is of being blown across the road rather than being blown over.
I know that the local bus company have withdrawn all the double deckers from service after one went off the road this morning (I spoke to the recovery girl at lunch time). We also have lots of patches of flooding / standing water which dont help.
I am watching next doors fence which looks as if it will be visiting my apple tree shortly.
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Seen a few empty curtain-sided HGVs with the taurpaulin pulled and tied back, seemingly to let the wind pass through the empty container rather than it hitting the curtain full force.
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One of the other dangers also,
is when you travel over a open bridge such as the Severn Bridge, although the new bridge has baffling barrier/fence to reduce the force of the wind.
You have the wind across the motorway in one direction steering against the gusts, then when you travel between the supports within its shelter or deflection you then have steer the opposite way and then sharply back again just the same as passing lorries/large vans.
Its frightening when you are not used to it, as my wife.
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Its frightening when you are not used to it, as my wife.
But I bet she's a lovely girl when you get to know her!
;-)
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A friend of mine, when driving his Berlingo, was caught by a freak gust, which blew the car across the road (as opposed to blowing it over), resulting in considerable damage.
As for myself, I tend to leave my Berlingo at home when gales are forecast., and take the Ka. There are times when it is handy to have one of these claustrophobic, low-slung vehicles :-)
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I used to find my Polo got really blown about - perhaps because it was fairly square and slab sided, whereas the Golf doesn't suffer so much. It's also a bigger, heavier car I guess.
I have to drive down some rural roads to work and although there weren't actual trees down, there were some seriously chunky bits of branch lying around just waiting to be flicked up into peoples' windscreens. It does make me wonder how bad the 'great storm of 1987' must have been if it was worse than today!
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M4 was bad this morning [Bristol to Swindon]. Not so much the wind more the rain and the standing water.
Some parts of the 'slow lane' have those grooves worn into them by the HGV's and these were filled with water. I had to move to the middle lane for a bit as my car was aquaplanning like a good 'un. Not pleasant.
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The '87 storm was awful, but casualties were low because it was at night. I recall a car ferry actually grounded at Dover or Folkestone!
There was a storm a few years after '87 during the day and there were a higher number of casualties.
Please look after yourselves out there.
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My patio chairs blew over too. The weather in this country is so dangerous!
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Yes, 1987 was really bad - I was still living with my parents at the time and the eye of that storm actually passed directly over the house [ near Epsom ] - which conversely means we also caught the strongest winds immediately either side of the eye.
We were woken up in the night by that wind, and nearly 20 years on I can still remember watching the trees swaying [ we actually had two dwarf apple trees blow down in the garden that night ] and I can assure you the wind was much, much worse than today was.
Getting back to driving in this weather - unless it was an emergency I wouldn't dare; my car has a tare weight of only about 650kg and it can be a bit tiring to handle in winds of half the strength of those we had today... I wouldn't like to think how much it would get buffeted about in this storm.
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I was driving today, i did have cause to use my chain and chainsaw today though after coming up against a fallen ash tree in one of the lanes. (My good citizen bit done for 2007)
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"I was driving today, i did have cause to use my chain and chainsaw today though after coming up against a fallen ash tree in one of the lanes. (My good citizen bit done for 2007)"
Local Police called here on a windy Christmas Eve a few years ago. A tree had blocked a lane and wanted some chainsawing action. I obliged and on top of a load of free logs the cops called back later with a bottle of Scotch !! A very jolly evening was had. Turned out they'd had it it as a "pressie" from a local - but hey who cares ?
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Agree - '87 a different category but being at night saved lives. We were near Sherborne then, were woken by breaking glass as the small panes of blew in on our ancient farmhouse, no electricity and the lane blocked on either side of the house by trees - we were able to get out in the mini. The '89 one was worse as it was at its height at school collecting time - we were living in the top flat of Littlehampton seafront. Watching a double glazed window bow inwards is not a lot of fun, having managed to get self, 6 year old and babe home.
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Absolute chaos last night around Birmingham.
Why do they have to close the motorways to everything when we all have a very necessary journey to make (go home).
I could understand them being closed to high siders and speed limits being applied but closed altogether - why?
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Pretty bad down in Sussex as well, ironically I have just had three new fence panels put in after a bit of a wind at the weekend finally brought down the old one, luckily the contractor has done an excellent job and the replacement fence is still there.
I was awoken by the crash of the very heavy mahogany patio table blowing over . I had left it out bot folded down against the wall thinking it would be too heavy for the wind to shift - how wrong can you be.
Driving to work a local large building site had about quarter of a mile of hoardings all over the place.
Still not as bad as 1987 when I lived in Reigate and had a church opposite with a line of seven poplars in the evening - next morning they were all down. I have never experienced anything like that storm anywhere.
Spare a thought also for the pilots trying to land at Manchester yesterday - anybody see the footage on the news?
Exciting for the passengers.!
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I saw a couple of cars that appeared to have blown over on the M4 yesterday. There were counless lorries too - all along the routs from Bath to Ramsgate.
I didn't feel the wind catch my car though - I'm very pleased to say -as it is a horrible feeling (Volvo s80)
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Spare a thought also for the pilots trying to land at Manchester yesterday - anybody see the footage on the news?
Exciting for the passengers.!
Yes - scary ! There was a documentary on the 777 on Sky the other night, part of the certification process was landing in a monster crosswind, this giant was flying sideways, incredible !
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I flew to Amsterdam and back yesterday for work. Definitely two of the more "interesting" flights I have been on. The return flight was delayed by 6 hours (which was lucky as most were cancelled). Sitting in the window seat on a 737 and could clearly see the the runway and the VASI lights as we approached Heathrow and descended in a series of "steps".
Just sitting on the ground in the plane, you could feel it trying to lift in the strong gusts, and the flex from the wingtips was incredible.
Would have been quite cool if it didn't mean getting home at half 11 last night.
Cheers
DP
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Same in Poland, six deaths due to high winds and made a terrible mess of my mullet.
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"made a terrible mess of my mullet."
Made me laugh! ;-)
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Phil
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Especially when pronouncing mullet with a French accent.
Seriously been out with a friend this afternoon loading a trailer with logs until it got dark and still loads to do. Found a surprising number of car related debris caught up in hedges including wheel trims by the dozen must have been some serious frizbeing last 24 hrs.
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It's times like this when I appreciate having a reasonably low yet 1600kg car!
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It's nature's way of telling you not to buy a Kangoo.
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