Daily discussion post: Let's talk about the weather

[smallhobbit]

Because I'm a Brit, and that's what we do.

It is a characature that whenever two Brits get together the first thing they discuss is the weather, we all know it and acknowledge it, and continue to do it.  It's the easy ice breaker, the way of politely spending the first couple of minutes before moving onto something of greater depth.

And why not - we live in a country where one day it may be cold enough to need to put the heating back on and the next day all the windows are thrown open with the plaintive cry of 'it's too hot!'  And where in one place it will be pouring with rain and a mile away it's still dry as a bone.

So, what about you?  Do you live in a place where the weather is more guaranteed?  Do you like it hot or cold, wet or dry, snowing or thunderstorms?  And what is your weather like now?

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Also, this month I'm taking part in the story_works communications challenge and sending e-cards to anyone who requests one.  Therefore, if you would like an e-card and are happy to give me your email address, please drop me a DM.  Alternatively, if you live in the UK and drop me your address I will send an actual card to you.

Comments

[shadowhive]

As a fellow Brit I can confirm, this is exactly what we do!

The weather here is so changeable lately. One day it’s grey and gloomy, next day it’s sunny, next it’s a bit of both. I’ve got a dog so I’ve been walking her daily still (we live in a village so it’s easy to do) but even for that brief time the weather can be annoying. I went out yesterday in my jacket cause it looked grey, then bam, sun came out and it was annoyingly warm. Boo

(Although seeing someone mention weather now also makes me think of Night Vale where the musical interlude is called the weather)

I like when it rains/thunderstorms as long as I’m inside and able to just snuggle and listen to it.

Oh that sounds like a interesting idea!

[smallhobbit]

I've been walking daily (no dog, but still) and trying to decide what to wear isn't easy. I regularly walk down a canal footpath and where the sun shines it's really warm, but in the shade is still quite cold. And there's always the question of 'will I get home before that big black cloud arrives?'

Do DM me your details if you'd like something :)

[shadowhive]

Oh we have a canal that’s just like that here, a few times we’ve been caught out by an unexpected storm going that way. We were gonna head that way today (therea some tadpoles there) but it’s gone dark so we’re gonna give it a miss!

Ohh I might do when I get back!

[smallhobbit]

I've not seen any tadpoles - we don't see many frogs, but I have seen sticklebacks in one of the tiny streams, and bream in the canal.

[shadowhive]

Ohh nice we had loads of tadpoles there and I have seen fish, but they move to fast for me to get a good look (or sink into deeper water)

[write_out]

I live in Maine (USA) and a popular saying here is, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." We can have the same whiplash-y changes you mentioned. We have late springs here (the leaves only just arrived) and this one has been quite strange, which suits 2020. We had more snow in April than in February, yet that same month I also got a terrible sunburn.

Right now a rainstorm is blowing through, but tomorrow looks to be sunny and mild. I do love a good rain. I grew up in the Seattle area, where overcast skies are the norm, so I love them.

I'm not a fan of temperature extremes; I like an occasional hot or cold day, but not streaks of either. Lots of snow or high humidity? No, thanks! Give me a late autumn day with sun and and clouds where it's nice enough to be outside without a jacket, yet cool enough to wear long sleeves, and I'm in bliss.

[smallhobbit]

Snow in April is ridiculous! Some years ago we drove back from a late April wedding (which was lovely) and found ourselves driving through heavy falling snow. Spring wasn't a bit late for us this year, but when it did arrive it all came in a hurry, from first leaves to full trees in a week.

I'm definitely with you on late autumn days when there's a crispness in the air yet it's not cold yet.

[redbird]

I'm in Massachusetts, where snow in April is normal (even in the Boston area, moreso west/inland), but visible snowflakes in *May* were weird and unwanted.

Right now I'm glad of every clear or warm day (high above 60F/15 C), because it's comfortable to be outside in my little bit of garden, where tt's both legal and safe to be outside without covering my face.

I tend to say that I can cope better with cold than with heat, because I can always put on another layer, but at some point there's nothing left to take off. But a serious Boston winter can test that, and Montreal -- I have people there -- can go beyond that. (-30 and windy is a good time to stay indoors, even if we're not looking out the window watching snow fall.)

[smallhobbit]

Yep, snowflakes in May are definitely weird.

I've enjoyed sitting in our garden on some days and lapping up the sun.

[verdande_mi]

Norwegians also talk about the weather, for the same reason as you. May started warm with lots of sun, then it turned cold and we’ve had hailstorms and lots weird and interesting clouds. I put my wool clothes away but have since put them within easy reach again! I prefer around 20-23 degrees Celsius; I don’t like warm weather at all. With regards to seasons I love autumn and spring. I’m glad to live in a place with four seasons and different types of weather.

[smallhobbit]

I'm not a fan of hailstorms. I know exactly what you mean - I was about to wash up my thicker clothing ready for next autumn, but ended up wearing it again.

I like spring because it means the end of winter, but autumn is my favourite season.

[goodbyebird]

It's snowing here and that is bullshit.

[smallhobbit]

That is entirely ridiculous!

[liseuse]

As a Brit, yes I adhere to this stereotype. I live in Yorkshire but in a fairly sheltered bit of it, so we don't get the extremes. But we do get all of the different weather. I think it's Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island in which he points out that the reason Brits talk about the weather is not because they get big weather they just get lots of it.

My preferred weather is cold and dry; I love the crisp clear autumn and winter days. I also quite like it cold and wet, although preferably if I'm inside. I love snowy days although Home City doesn't tend to get much snow because we're quite sheltered and what we do get turns to insipid brown slush very frequently. I do not enjoy hot weather, particularly when it is also humid. So the last few weekends of bright sunshine were fine because the humidity levels were fairly low. I can cope with sitting outside and reading in the sunshine when the air doesn't feel like a damp washcloth.

Currently it is grey clouds and a light breeze. The clouds look a little threatening and it's quite the change from this morning when it was bright blue sky and sun. These are, I find, the irritating days of mid- and late-May where most of the day is warm enough to be comfortable in the house (albeit I keep my house at levels described by others as 'frigid' and 'icebox') but by the evening I have to whack the heating on for an hour because I'm shivering. Current internal temperature of my house is about 14C and the backdoor is wide open for the cat and half the windows are open because they always are except in the depths of winter. It hailed at the beginning of the week which was a little bizarre.

[smallhobbit]

So much easier to keep the back door open for the cat than have to get up to let him/her in/out at regular intervals.

We were in your neck of the woods three years ago next week and it was so hot the jelly babies in the car melted and turned into a uniform dull green blob! And then the same time last year we spent two days in Bridlington when it rained almost non-stop.

[liseuse]

It's just so unpredictable. I was surprised it didn't snow over Easter this year because it really felt like it was going to for a while and then Easter was lovely. A friend has a mid-August birthday and was visiting from London for it a few years ago and sent me an email asking if she'd need a jumper or a raincoat. "Yes, both," I replied.

If I'm home and it isn't raining into the house or the wind isn't blowing the roof tiles off I just leave the door open for the cat. He's perpetually on the wrong side of it and I only have so much patience.

[aome]

Do you live in a place where the weather is more guaranteed?

AHAHAHAHA. No. We've got hot and humid, freezing cold and dry, inches of snow, occasionally feet of snow, severe thunderstorms, high winds, sun, clouds, and basically every type of weather you could think of. This week we started off with temps in the 50s (F), and today it's supposed to be 84F. And it's humid. Normally significant humidity doesn't show up until closer to July. MiniPlu and I tried to walk the dog on Monday afternoon only to be caught in a sudden rainshower. We sprinted the 2 blocks back home and grabbed an umbrella and light coats ... only for it to immediately stop raining and the sun came back out so we were then stuck carrying everything for the rest of the walk.

I prefer sunny and in the 70s F for general weather, but if I'm going somewhere where swimming is an option, I'd like it to be in the 80s F.

[smallhobbit]

It definitely needs to be warmer for swimming - but 70s is good, not too hot that you can still do something. And yes, I have experienced that sort of shower in the past :)

[petrea_mitchell]

I live near Portland, OR, which is notable for getting the most hours of rain per year of any place in the United States. It's nowhere near the most total rain, though, since most of it is more of a half-hearted drizzle.

In other words, we have very British weather! Ask any British person around here why they moved here, and the first answer is always, "The rain makes it feel like home."

(Portland has also been described to me by a British person as, "It looks just like Wales, if you ignore the volcanoes.")

A week ago it was above 80F (high 20s Celsius), but the last few days it's been dark and gloomy and damp and cold.

Our peculiar local term for the rain is "Oregon sunshine".

I'm originally from the SF Bay Area, where the unique local weather term was "tule fog"-- for the thick fog that fills up the river valleys, where the tule reeds grow. Do you have any interesting unique local ways of describing weather?

[smallhobbit]

If I were moving someone I'm not sure I'd deliberately choose anywhere which reminded me of the rain. And yes, it does feel like it always rains in Wales - and where we live we are right in line for the west wind helpfully blowing the rain straight to us!

[althea_valara]

I love rain! We had a thunderstorm here yesterday and I felt quite happy during it. Unfortunately we tend to have gray days without precipitation, which can irk me. If it's going to be gray I'd prefer it to DO something.

It's finally warm enough today that I don't feel the need for a long-sleeve sweatshirt over my t-shirt. I also got warm enough last night that I opened the window for sleeping.

It feels like spring and fall lasted longer when I was a kid. Now they feel quite short in comparison, which makes me sad as my favorite weather is during those seasons.

I prefer winter over summer, as you can always pile on more blankets if needed. Summers tend to be humid here, which can be miserable.

One of these years I'd like to either knit or crochet a temperature blanket. I love the idea of them, and they can come out quite pretty.

[smallhobbit]

Yes - grey days but without anything else do seem a bit pointless.

I'm looking forward to the days when I no longer need my thick hoodie and can open the window at nights.

What's a temperature blanket?

[althea_valara]

You assign colors to a temperature range or type of weather, then knit or crochet a row or square of the blanket with the color corresponding to the day's weather. The result is a colorful blanket that usually has a nice gradation of colors in it. Here's an example of one:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/temperature-blanket-4

[smallhobbit]

Oh, what an interesting idea. *Adds it to list of craft possibilities for when I have the time*

[ninetydegrees]

Weather here goes from cold to too hot for Europeans who are not used to it bc global warming. It rarely snows nowadays ;_; so we usually get cool, warm, hot, rainy, sunny, cloud-cloudy and pollution-cloudy. It has been exceptionally sunny these past few months or so it has felt, and as with every passing year it seems, way too warm for the season. I prefer cold sunny weather but I also like rain, wind and snow. Really hate it when it's above 25°C and *shudders* humid.

[smallhobbit]

Hot and humid is no fun at all and pollution-cloudy is miserable. I hope you enjoy some lovely sunny and not too hot days.

[hannah]

I grew up in California, spent two years in Pittsburgh, and now live in New York City. The lushness of a place with so much rain and so much water hasn't faded for me yet, and the cold and the snow - when I get enough of it to be worthwhile, at least - show me the joy of wintertime. I didn't grow up with downpours or thunderstorms, and I've let myself get caught in those from time to time. The feeling of putting on dry clothes after being wet is a sublime one, and when the rain is really coming down, it smells like swimming in a river without leaving the sidewalk.

But I still miss the hot, dry summers that I grew up with. There isn't that kind of heat here, and on the sticky summer days, I long for it, and the cool, dry nights where the day's heat is gone and all that's left are the breezes rustling through the tall grass.

[smallhobbit]

Yes, I don't mind coming home and changing out of wet clothes, it's when you get wet on the way somewhere and have to sit and gently steam it's somewhat less pleasant.

Hot and dry is much easier to cope with than hot and humid - I certainly wouldn't object to a few days of the former.

[rosefox]

I just want to put in a plug for localweather, where all we do is talk about the weather. :)

[smallhobbit]

There's a community for everything! I shall certainly follow it :)