Extreme cold weather from Feb 25th on, and now St. Patrick's Day on...

gozunda · 25-02-2018 12:14AM

BigSteaks wrote: »

Jaysus fella stop attacking him. Relax and have a beer or something. 18 pages of this and no decent thread on cap, ifa thread closed. Holy hell whats happening on f&f...

You have a long and varied post history of 25 posts - you'll have to wait at least a few years before trying that overview ...

wrangler · 25-02-2018 12:15AM

Reggie. wrote: »

A lot of farmers here gone to small vans. 8 years is a fair length of time too

Everyone thought it was a great idea at the time, farmers queued to sign up, it's worse now , you as a driver has to drive on poor roads to Athlone to get a jeep and maybe back to here 25mls away to get a doctor or paramedics into some isolated place.
If someone in an an office spent as long on a phone as you were on the road they'd up date that database and find who still had jeeps.

Green farmer · 25-02-2018 12:19AM

Reggie. wrote: »

No problem with George but he seems to be the one with an issue. I'm getting the impression that he believes we should be reacting in a certain way and if we don't then we are in denial

I think as farmers we play things down. So much crap is thrown at us, you just have to turn a negative into a positive and move on. You have to. So yes this weather mightn’t be great over the next week, but so what, we’ll work through it and it’ll be fine. I do appreciate and listen to the expertise George is giving, but still I keep the positive attitude that things might not be as bad as predicted. Whatever it is, we’ll sort it and look forward to the thawing out afterwards and see the green shoots of spring popping up.

Reggie. · 25-02-2018 12:20AM

Green farmer wrote: »

I think as farmers we play things down. So much crap is thrown at us, you just have to turn a negative into a positive and move on. You have to. So yes this weather mightn’t be great over the next week, but so what, we’ll work through it and it’ll be fine. I do appreciate and listen to the expertise George is giving, but still I keep the positive attitude that things might not be as bad as predicted. Whatever it is, we’ll sort it and look forward to the thawing out afterwards and see the green shoots of spring popping up.

Agreed

I says · 25-02-2018 12:25AM

As long as I can get out for porter one of the evenings I don’t give a fiddlers.

squarecircles · 25-02-2018 12:25AM

Is cork the least snowiest place in Ireland or something.???

wakka12 · 25-02-2018 12:31AM

squarecircles wrote: »

Is cork the least snowiest place in Ireland or something.???

The further south and west you go the less snowy it gets so it'd be among the least snowy yes

Neddyusa · 25-02-2018 12:32AM

greenfield21 wrote: »

He's caused more disruption to my farming than any weather ever will, its disgraceful he has not got banned yet.

Very strange post..... :rolleyes: all I see is George providing advance notice to people of a cold spell that could be as bad as 2010.

I know a lot of farmers who suffered hardship in 2010.

Maybe you didn't, and great if you escaped, but for those who had trouble with tractors, water pipes, milking parlours, shed roofs, sheep lost on hills, travelling to herd, etc. this thread and the updates from the likes of George gives notice to people reading, to take action over the next two days to minimise potential hardship.

Keep up the updates George.

Reggie. · 25-02-2018 12:37AM

I says wrote: »

As long as I can get out for porter one of the evenings I don’t give a fiddlers.

Somehow I think you'll manage

Waffletraktor · 25-02-2018 12:56AM

Reggie. wrote: »

Somehow I think you'll manage

You'll borrow an army chopper and deliver a care package either.

Reggie. · 25-02-2018 01:16AM

Waffletraktor wrote: »

You'll borrow an army chopper and deliver a care package either.

Nah he's on his own

MickeyShtyles · 25-02-2018 02:09AM

Reggie. wrote: »

A lot of farmers here gone to small vans. 8 years is a fair length of time too

At work (on a farm) we’ve gone, Jeep, Jeep, car, van, van, jeep. And that’s only 7 years.

listermint · 25-02-2018 03:34AM

greenfield21 wrote: »

He's caused more disruption to my farming than any weather ever will, its disgraceful he has not got banned yet.

Ha lol , yourself and Reggie going on about how bad 2010 and him giving lifts to kids with his vehicles for medical treatment but when someone with knowledge points out that this week will be as bad if not worse your try to shoot the messenger and down play it.

Some people can't be told.

And then asking for people to be banned.

Pretty amusing to be honest pretty amusing indeed.

Snowfire · 25-02-2018 03:58AM

For what it’s worth, my tips for the week ahead...
-Get Silage pits stripped back, at least the Tyres and top layers of plastic, impossible to do it when snow and frost arrive.
-Empty water from water filled land rollers, my own one expanded and burst after 2010 freeze.
-top up antifreeze levels on all vehicles, sprayers etc.
- insulation and heating in water pump houses, vital to have water Supply, even if drinkers freeze, once you have a source of water at the pump house to haul water to animals.

Reggie. · 25-02-2018 04:10AM

listermint wrote: »

Ha lol , yourself and Reggie going on about how bad 2010 and him giving lifts to kids with his vehicles for medical treatment but when someone with knowledge points out that this week will be as bad if not worse your try to shoot the messenger and down play it.

Some people can't be told.

And then asking for people to be banned.

Pretty amusing to be honest pretty amusing indeed.

I don't think anyones saying it won't be bad. I for one know it will be and I also know how bad things can get. I know this from experience in 2010 as I was out in the thick of it for weeks when many stayed at home and rightly so didnt travel unless necessary and I also served overseas in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania in the winter. So im fairly confident when i state i have experience in what heavy snow can do. I only hope it's short but I don't think it's to last as long as 2010 is all I'm getting at. Heavy snow for 3 or 4 days maybe?

The fact the military was deployed to carry patients around the country shows how bad things were then. Do you think we will be deployed again for this event? I have to admit that take a little offence to your belittlement of the job myself and my comrades did for troubled family's at that time but it's commonplace now unfortunately for the general public to show disrespect towards the defence forces of late so i cant say im surprised. As I can def tell you that the childrens parents were very happy to see us arrive at the door to transport thier kids to crumlin as they had no way of doing it themselves.

I'm proud to say I never failed to get a child to thier appointment during that time. Because of this I know only too well how heavy snow can affect the countries transport system so please don't insuate that I'm somehow burying my head in the sand so to speak.

I welcome George's posts but he's the one that is getting upset that we aren't taking it serious enough. What exactly should we be doing outside preparing for it in our own way?

As farmers and contractors we deal with adverse weather conditions all year round. Let it be excessive rainfall, drought or calender farming. As farmers we just have an attuide of just "getting on" with what has to be done when we can and no point getting too excited over things. Out of the whole population we probably have the best overall knowledge and equipment/machinery to deal with such an event compared to the average person.

Sure we just went through weeks of rain after the slurry ban was lifted and a fodder crisis. Now this coming bad week of snow and after the snow has melted and gone we might have to deal with possibly a slow start to grass growth afterwards that will prolong the fodder issue. Then We have to get geared up to replace the used fodder for next winter and onto the next crisis that appears after that.

We are just hardened to the hardships of farming life and get on with it without a song and dance about things really. Maybe that's a bad thing in your opinion and so be it if it is.

Reggie. · 25-02-2018 04:31AM

Snowfire wrote: »

For what it’s worth, my tips for the week ahead...
-Get Silage pits stripped back, at least the Tyres and top layers of plastic, impossible to do it when snow and frost arrive.
-Empty water from water filled land rollers, my own one expanded and burst after 2010 freeze.
-top up antifreeze levels on all vehicles, sprayers etc.
- insulation and heating in water pump houses, vital to have water Supply, even if drinkers freeze, once you have a source of water at the pump house to haul water to animals.

Good advice there. Nothing worse than bloody frozen plastic on the pit.

I says · 25-02-2018 06:15AM

Reggie. wrote: »

Nah he's on his own

Where is your humanity?

memorystick · 25-02-2018 07:12AM

Reggie. wrote: »

Good advice there. Nothing worse than bloody frozen plastic on the pit.

I remember the milk bottles freezing on the wall after being delivered. Everyone recycling and not making a fuss out of it.

Muckit · 25-02-2018 07:38AM

memorystick wrote: »

I remember the milk bottles freezing on the wall after being delivered. Everyone recycling and not making a fuss out of it.

Would it break the seal on top of the bottle?

nhg · 25-02-2018 07:40AM

Today's forecast from M.T. Cranium on the Weather Forum:

Sunday, 25 February, 2018

Forecasts for Ireland

ADVANCE ALERT continues for very cold temperatures and potentially heavy snowfalls from Monday night to at least Friday of next week.

TODAY ... Sunny intervals, rather cold with highs 5 to 8 C. Winds increasing at times to southeast 50 to 80 km/hr. Somewhat more cloud in far west at times.

TONIGHT ... Clear and cold, lows -5 to -1 C.

MONDAY ... Sunny intervals to start the day, then variable cloud developing, turning sharply colder during the day, possible snow or sleet showers by late afternoon or evening near south and east coasts. Morning temperatures rising slowly to about 3 to 5 C, then falling during the afternoon in eastern counties, with a slight risk of snow or sleet showers by sunset, winds east-southeast 50 to 80 km/hr.

TUESDAY ... Windy and very cold with risk of snow developing across eastern and southern counties, morning lows -7 to -3 C, afternoon highs -1 to +3 C, winds east to northeast 40 to 70 km/hr adding a chill factor (feeling like -6 C). Heavy snow is likely to develop late in the day across Leinster. 5 to 15 cms possible there. This snow may be accompanied by thunder. Flurries or light snow could occasionally develop further south and west. Hail and sleet showers may be reported near sea level on east coast but snow will dominate any distance inland.

WEDNESDAY ... Windy and very cold with widespread snow, some of it heavy at times with thunder possible. A few sunny breaks in north Connacht, Donegal and north Clare, but flurries could invade there too, in winds east to northeast 50 to 80 km/hr. Morning lows generally -4 C but could be as low as -8 C in a few parts of the northwest. Afternoon highs -4 to +1 C. Snowfalls of 10 to 30 cms are possible in Leinster and 5 to 20 cms in some parts of Munster, inland southeast Connacht, and much of Ulster except likely less in Donegal. Near blizzard conditions are possible, and severe disruptions to travel may begin to intensify (with an extension of that in the following outlook).

THURSDAY and FRIDAY present a forecast challenge in that low pressure could be moving up from the south to clash with the very cold air, and this could set off a prolonged interval of heavy snowfalls, amounts between 10 and 50 cms are possible in this period but forecasts could change closer to the time. If the low does not get close enough to participate, it will be more of a continuation of the east coast and occasionally south coast snowfalls (perhaps 10 to 30 cm) in cold east to northeast winds 60 to 90 km/hr, so the low would be mostly a cause for snow to spread further west and north. Another variable is that the low could push close enough to Ireland by Friday to change the snow to sleet or rain, at least for a time, some model scenarios have this happening only near the southeast coast with snow gradually tapering off as the low moves away by Saturday.

The extended OUTLOOK is for one of two possible scenarios, depending on which group of guidance models proves to be correct. Either we see a gradual end to the cold spell with rain at times, fast melting of the snow pack with possible local flooding, and milder temperatures (to 7 C) or the cold hangs on in modified form, keeping the snow pack from melting very fast, in sleety bouts of light snow or rain and temperatures around 3 C. With that second scenario, cold air is not pushed very far north and could return for a second engagement around 7th of March or so.

At any rate, we can be fairly confident of extremely cold weather with localized snowfalls mostly in Leinster, south and east Munster and east Ulster for three or four days, and moderately confident of a heavy snowfall to follow that by Thursday night into Friday, but what happens from there on remains low confidence and so you could look for clarity on that by perhaps Thursday.

wrangler · 25-02-2018 08:02AM

Reggie. wrote: »

I don't think anyones saying it won't be bad. I for one know it will be and I also know how bad things can get. I know this from experience in 2010 as I was out in the thick of it for weeks when many stayed at home and rightly so didnt travel unless necessary and I also served overseas in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania in the winter. So im fairly confident when i state i have experience in what heavy snow can do. I only hope it's short but I don't think it's to last as long as 2010 is all I'm getting at. Heavy snow for 3 or 4 days maybe?

The fact the military was deployed to carry patients around the country shows how bad things were then. Do you think we will be deployed again for this event? I have to admit that take a little offence to your belittlement of the job myself and my comrades did for troubled family's at that time but it's commonplace now unfortunately for the general public to show disrespect towards the defence forces of late so i cant say im surprised. As I can def tell you that the childrens parents were very happy to see us arrive at the door to transport thier kids to crumlin as they had no way of doing it themselves.

I'm proud to say I never failed to get a child to thier appointment during that time. Because of this I know only too well how heavy snow can affect the countries transport system so please don't insuate that I'm somehow burying my head in the sand so to speak.

I welcome George's posts but he's the one that is getting upset that we aren't taking it serious enough. What exactly should we be doing outside preparing for it in our own way?

As farmers and contractors we deal with adverse weather conditions all year round. Let it be excessive rainfall, drought or calender farming. As farmers we just have an attuide of just "getting on" with what has to be done when we can and no point getting too excited over things. Out of the whole population we probably have the best overall knowledge and equipment/machinery to deal with such an event compared to the average person.

Sure we just went through weeks of rain after the slurry ban was lifted and a fodder crisis. Now this coming bad week of snow and after the snow has melted and gone we might have to deal with possibly a slow start to grass growth afterwards that will prolong the fodder issue. Then We have to get geared up to replace the used fodder for next winter and onto the next crisis that appears after that.

We are just hardened to the hardships of farming life and get on with it without a song and dance about things really. Maybe that's a bad thing in your opinion and so be it if it is.

As I said that's your job, you signed up for it same as the lambing was here and we didn't expect a medal for the lambing season.
I'd demand and expect a proper health service and if it chooses not to have it on my doorstep I'd expect them to ensure I got to where it was.

Villain · 25-02-2018 08:05AM

Current Met Eireann forecast is worst I have read in many years:

Outlook

Headline: Becoming exceptionally cold with severe frosts and significant snowfall in parts.

Monday night: Dry on Monday night apart from the odd snow flurry near the east coast. A sharp frost will form with temperatures falling between -1 and -5 degrees in light or moderate easterly breezes.

Tuesday: Frost gradually clearing on Tuesday morning to leave it dry at first with some sunny spells. However, cloud will increase from the east in the afternoon with patchy sleet and snow moving in to affect parts of east Ulster, Leinster and east Munster - staying largely dry elsewhere. Maximum temperatures on Tuesday of 2 to 5 degrees in a biting east to northeast wind.

Tuesday night: Snow showers will become fairly frequent across eastern counties during Tuesday evening and overnight with slight to moderate accumulations expected by dawn. A good deal of dry weather elsewhere but a few snow showers cannot be ruled out. A severe frost forming with temperatures falling to between -3 and -7 degrees.

Wednesday: Extremely cold on Wednesday with sunny spells and snow showers, the snow showers will be heaviest and most frequent across the eastern half of the country with further accumulations expected. Temperatures remaining below freezing in most parts of the country with frost and ice persisting through the day. Maximum temperatures will range from -1 to +1 degrees in strong and gusty easterly winds.

Wednesday night: Further snow showers overnight, mainly across Ulster, Leinster and east Munster but with a few flurries possible elsewhere. Severe frost forming nationwide with temperatures falling to between -3 and -7 degrees in strong easterly winds.

Thursday: Bitterly cold on Thursday with scattered snow showers at first. A more persistent spell of snow is expected to develop across the south of the country during the afternoon, extending northwards later in the day. Strong to gale force easterly winds will accompany the snow leading to drifting, especially over high ground. Highest temperatures on Thursday ranging from -1 to +2 degrees. Outbreaks of sleet and snow across the country overnight with further accumulations.

Friday: There remains some uncertainty on weather conditions for Friday but it looks set to remain cold and unsettled with further outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow.

listermint · 25-02-2018 08:37AM

Reggie. wrote: »

I don't think anyones saying it won't be bad. I for one know it will be and I also know how bad things can get.
We are just hardened to the hardships of farming life and get on with it without a song and dance about things really. Maybe that's a bad thing in your opinion and so be it if it is.

There are plenty saying it wont be bad , that's my point. Even calls for a poster to be banned.

And farmers are no more hardened to life than anyone else tbh. But I don't think that was my point. It was solely about the fact that there are posters claiming a non event and a poster to be banned.

You have to understand someone who is interested in the weather is excited about the weather and wants to share his news. Don't be so harsh on them.

Muckit · 25-02-2018 08:37AM

Lovely fresh sunny morning here in the west. Light grass frost. Very dry.

BigSteaks · 25-02-2018 08:47AM

gozunda wrote: »

You have a long and varied post history of 25 posts - you'll have to wait at least a few years before trying that overview ...

Long time reader fella and longer time farmer. Speaking varied posts, this thread is turning into a cut and paste job from weather forum. Bit duplication going on. Never mind the weather forum here.

BigSteaks · 25-02-2018 08:52AM

listermint wrote: »

Ha lol , yourself and Reggie going on about how bad 2010 and him giving lifts to kids with his vehicles for medical treatment but when someone with knowledge points out that this week will be as bad if not worse your try to shoot the messenger and down play it.

Some people can't be told.

And then asking for people to be banned.

Pretty amusing to be honest pretty amusing indeed.

Don't think greenfield and Reggie are questioning that it will be bad. Think they are saying it will be a few days and as farmers are prepared for it.

What makes fellas here think they are experts and we should all believe them. From the start of the thread they have changed their forecasts numerous times.

Thats why we are listening to the real experts but these guys are getting offended and throwing the toys out of the pram!