From the Tropics of Positive Temperatures

Boy it feels warm!

And according to the BBC weather forecast it is dipping back to zero as I type. So of course it is not actually warm, but when Edinburgh was up to about 4C today it is comparatively warm. Of course it doesn't help that I am wearing exactly the same number of layers as I did when it was -10C or thereabouts heading to and from work. That is quite a differential in temperature from Friday to today.

Of course one thing this means is that the thaw is on. Walking past some of the ponds that were taking human weight earlier they are now cracking up and would not do so now. Of course there is still plenty of ice and snow around, because we have had an awful lot of it. This morning some of that had melted yesterday but frozen again overnight. So with temperatures dropping below zero again overnight be careful driving or walking again in the morning.

My next guess is how long the 5 foot pile of ploughed ice at the end of my street is going to last from now.

Tornados Spotted on the Forth

Well It appears that the Firth of Forth was a scene of interest yesterday.

No not because rampaging masses (or just Hoonitt) were able to skate across from Queensferry to his North Queensferry home and demand a secret ballot. Not there were two 600ft high water spouts spotted by the coastguard.

Meanwhile British Waterways Scotland has warned people to keep of the ice covered Union Canal. The canal which runs from Edinburgh to Falkirk via Broxburn and Linlithgow is currently very tempting seeming covered in ice and in some places there are footprints in the snow. However, it is dangerous to do so and although nobody has yet been reported to have fallen through the ice with changing weather conditions all the time the integrity of the ice cannot be guaranteed to hold up.

Tornado hits Torbay...

...no not Adrian "Biffer" Sanders return from conference this.