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1949threepence

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Posts posted by 1949threepence


  1. 3 hours ago, blakeyboy said:

    https://www.stratusdeck.co.uk/tornado-scales

    Britain's strongest is a T8-9, so around 240 mph, so around F4.

    The T scale is way more scientifically based than the F scale.

     

    I'm in Figueres, NE Spain, on a job, and the locals have been complaining about the heat....

     

    OK, so using the T scale, let's remind ourselves of the definitions for T8 and T9:-

    T8 - Motor cars hurled great distances. Wooden frames houses and their contants dispersed over long distances; stone or brick houses irreperably damaged; steel framed buildings buckled.

    T9 - Many steel framed buildings badly damaged; locomotives or trains hurled some distances. Complete de-barking of any standing tree trunks.

    I'm fascinated to know when we had such a powerful tornado in the UK - so do you have a date and location? I can then check it out with the meteorological conditions. 

    I've spent many years studying weather and weather history in this country and have never seen factual and verifiable reports of such powerful tornados. I don't accept that the tornado which occurred in Portsmouth in December 1810 was anything like as powerful as touted by some, as a) there is very little information about it, and b) definitions are different these days to what they would have been then.


  2. 14 hours ago, 1949threepence said:

    Yep, cut off the gulf stream and we will immediately become dominated by a European or Scandinavian anticyclone in Winter, and Winters such as 1947 or 1963, will rapidly become the norm. Probably worse. Western Europe already colder than us in Winter, will become even colder.  

    Given how quickly the European continent cools down in Autumn, it's likely we would see a rapid temperature plunge from about mid November onwards. 

    We'd have a climate not dissimilar to Quebec in Winter - link 


  3. 2 hours ago, copper123 said:

    We are of course very lucky to have the gulf stream - without it these isles would be more like Canada in the winter - please god , no , I just hate my winter bills as they are nevermind a -30 ,in that temperature I am pretty sure I would be stuck at home in the winter for four months.

    Yep, cut off the gulf stream and we will immediately become dominated by a European or Scandinavian anticyclone in Winter, and Winters such as 1947 or 1963, will rapidly become the norm. Probably worse. Western Europe already colder than us in Winter, will become even colder.  

    Given how quickly the European continent cools down in Autumn, it's likely we would see a rapid temperature plunge from about mid November onwards. 


  4. We should really be grateful at present that currently, our Summer weather resembles an old school wet, cool and unsettled British Summer. There is an extreme heatwave over Southern Europe with temperatures above 40 degrees. Not pleasant.

    On 6th July, the town of Adrar, Algeria recorded a minimum overnight temperature of 39.6 °C. The highest minimum temperature ever recorded in African climatic history. That's incredible. 

    We're not out of the woods yet. The very hottest (peak of the heat) of our hot spells tend to occur late July/early August. Hopefully we will avoid those extremes. Of course, being a relatively small  island surrounded by sea helps. For the same reason, many Portuguese travel to Madeira for respite from the heat - of course it's hot there as well, but not nearly as hot as the mainlad, despite being further South, as it is a very small island surrounded by sea, with the concomitant cooling effect. High lying suburban estates also help.  

    link


  5. On 7/10/2023 at 5:44 AM, blakeyboy said:

    https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forecasts/uk/convective

    This is always worth a read- often very complicated!!

    British weather, eh?

    I was a member of TORRO yeas ago.

    No-one would believe me when I said that only the US has more tornados than us....

     

     

    But of course ours are much weaker than theirs. Some barely register at all. I doubt if we've ever had an F3 - probably F2 maximum. 

    Possibly the strongest tornado to ever hit the UK, was the one which started in Buckinghamshire and travelled about 60 miles to somewhere in Cambridgeshire, on 21st May 1950. That caused a lot of damage with uprooted trees, sheds and greenhouses ruined, and cars overturned. Luckily it was a Sunday morning and there was nobody about when some scaffolding collapsed into the street. 

    22 hours ago, Peckris 2 said:

    Sadly, during a 5 minute scoot to the bus, it decided to absolutely pour down (12:45) and I got soaked. :( The only consolation is that in the other 3 segments of the journey, it didn't rain.

    You were just unlucky to cop for a shower at that specific time..


  6. 5 minutes ago, Peckris 2 said:

    No transport available to or from my therapy session tomorrow. The bus is a 5 minute scoot away so praying no heavy rain or thunder...

    You might get away with it depending on the time of your session. I think there will be some rain in your part of the world early on, but will clear by late morning (11ish). Probably much heavier over the Bristol Channel in South Wales. 

    Thunder unlikely as this is just ordinary, common or garden, frontal rain.


  7. I think my 1859 small date is (by pure default) one of the taller 9 with oval loop. When purchased, it wasn't even touted as a small date, just date only.

    I haven't got close up photographic equipment (must get), but here is the best I could do with an ordinary pic. Not sure it will be good enough to discern the difference.

      

    oval loop cropped.jpg

    • Like 4

  8. 1 hour ago, Kipster said:

    This looks far nicer in your pictures than it did on the Baldwins site. No idea how they image their coins, but I've never liked them.

    Thanks.

    Yes it's odd isn't it. Superior photography (such as the photos Noonan's provide) can be a real selling point and attract buyers. You'd think an organisation with Baldwin's experience would pay more attention to this. 

    The pic I've done is pretty much how the coin looks in hand. For example the colour is identical.


  9. On 7/7/2023 at 1:27 PM, 1949threepence said:

    A very interesting situation is developing - one which I thought I would type a few words of advance notification on.

    Currently very warm and increasingly humid air is coming up from the South. In such a situation, one would in any case expect heat thunderstorms to develop in the normal course of events - which they will, especially later today over France. What marks the current situation out as noteworthy and to be watched, are two things, a) the upper air is unusually cold, which will enable prodigious and extremely powerful thunderstorms to form, and secondly a trough of low pressure is approaching from the West. This will enhance any thundery activity as it passes. 

    What may happen is that the trough or front, is held up by friction at the surface, and becomes slow moving. This will intensify the thundery activity still further, and prolong it.

    However, the nature of thunderstorms is one of great unpredictability in extent, severity and positioning. So what I've said above is a potentiality, not a certainty. 

    Just be aware that if you do get a storm, it could be unusually severe. As ever, no idea at this stage whether lightning will be predominantly intercloud (sheet), or cloud to Earth (forked), or a mixture. This will vary from storm cell to storm cell.     

    Ultimately a damp squib !!! Such is the problem in forecasting thunderstorms. 

     


  10. Finally managed to get a decent grade 1856 OT. Obviously not the absolute apex, but orders of magnitude better than the one I've got. I'd say toned EF/NEF. No issues.

    This is lot 401 from the recent Baldwin's auction. Was chased all the way for it as well. 

    Baldwins refer to "intermittent lustre", but I can't see any lustre at all.

     

     

    rare OT 1856 obv cropped.jpg

     

    rare OT 1856 rev resize 2 cropped.jpg

    • Like 4

  11. 1 hour ago, Kipster said:

    Having just got back from London, I can safely say that I think there is a belting storm due. It was very, very close.

    Indeed so - and it will get more uncomfortable before temperatures start to fall back to nearer normal on Sunday. The humidity which precedes big storms, some find unbearable.

    Over much of England it won't get below 18 degrees tonight. In the big cities it's unlikely to get below 19 to 20 degrees - London possibly 21 degrees. Not a record, but still very "phew what a scorcher!" 


  12. A very interesting situation is developing - one which I thought I would type a few words of advance notification on.

    Currently very warm and increasingly humid air is coming up from the South. In such a situation, one would in any case expect heat thunderstorms to develop in the normal course of events - which they will, especially later today over France. What marks the current situation out as noteworthy and to be watched, are two things, a) the upper air is unusually cold, which will enable prodigious and extremely powerful thunderstorms to form, and secondly a trough of low pressure is approaching from the West. This will enhance any thundery activity as it passes. 

    What may happen is that the trough or front, is held up by friction at the surface, and becomes slow moving. This will intensify the thundery activity still further, and prolong it.

    However, the nature of thunderstorms is one of great unpredictability in extent, severity and positioning. So what I've said above is a potentiality, not a certainty. 

    Just be aware that if you do get a storm, it could be unusually severe. As ever, no idea at this stage whether lightning will be predominantly intercloud (sheet), or cloud to Earth (forked), or a mixture. This will vary from storm cell to storm cell.     


  13. 16 minutes ago, Peckris 2 said:

     

    The local Cote Brasserie only accepts card payments and have done ever since after the first lockdown. I'm hoping I enoy a good meal there and then their card machine breaks down! I don't carry cash ...

     

     

    I did once unexpectedly go to B&Q. I looked around, wondered where I was for several minutes, then went up to the counter and asked for a packet of frozen peas. And four candles...

    Don't you mean fork handles? 

    • Haha 2

  14. 39 minutes ago, secret santa said:

    Just checked my 1856 OT - detached clover is there but NOT the misaligned colon after DEF.

    In fact I'm not sure the detached clover is a reliable indicator as there are a number of other varieties and dates which also have it, including my 1860/59, several 1858's and going back, even my 1853 proof penny has a detached clover. 

    My 1856 OT does seem to have a misaligned colon.

    For me, the die flaw between the rim and C of VICTORIA seem totally unique to the 1858/6. 

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