Weather Bomb

Some interesting weather this week. On Monday we managed to get out in a brief spell of fine weather. In Shetland this is known as `Between the weather', as good weather is a rare thing here if you believe the weather forecasts.

In fact it was very cold, windy and frequent hail showers but the trip to Scatness was well worth it as i managed to get some storm photos, my best so far this winter. a large part of Scatness was covered in water which has been building up over the past few weeks.

The sea was pounding away at the cliffs with huge waves and plenty of spray, not the best for the camera. I used a telephoto to get the photos staying a safe distance from the edge. I have seen a few stupid people venture far too close to the edge to get the photo but all they are doing is putting their life in danger and getting drenched as well. Cameras don't work well when exposed salty sea spray so I tend to use a waterproof cover and a UV filter to protect the lens which works well.

The weather bomb has caused a few lightening strikes in Shetland with the power off around Toft and Mossbank, while strikes on street lighting in Cunningsburgh have also caused a few problems.The sea has also brought down the bank just near the old church at Mail, with two excavators already working to clear the beach.



The sea levels have been very high with the swell at around 45 feet, not a time to be on the sea and passing through Lerwick Wednesday morning produced higher numbers of fishing boats than normal taking shelter.

Magic seaweed produced these charts for Wednesday


The black hole approaching Shetland, which indicates major problems. These have been affecting western Scotland throughout the day

Hail showers, some very heavy affect Shetland throughout the week, some showers covering road and pavement like snow and not pleasant to walk out in with the wind throwing them at high speed.
The route of the storm shown below as seen on twitter



The weather as usual has seriously affect ferries, one of the ferries was due to bring our new car up fro Aberdeen so it will be a few days late.

Off course the weather is always big news if it affects southern England , especially London. In Shetland extreme weather is a regular feature not that it is covered in the national news.