WEATHER

We now have just about a foot of snow around our casa here, and it's due to keep snowing for the next 36hrs !

  
 

V

Keep safe and warm!

Ha! I love these weather posts... All the more so this time as we were due to fly back to the UK Thursday when it's supposed to be at its worst! Last time we had so much snow we missed our flight due to it. However this time we have been very lucky (in some ways) as we have had to come back early, phew! Hope you are all well stoked up and not having to go out in it.

Glad you got back safe Steve, the biggest problem we have at the moment is our electricity has been on and off all day, I guess 20 times in total, currently been on for one hour..............fingers crossed !

Candles are at the ready as is the wine !

V

Am I right in thinking the heavy snow is to the east of the Apennines, particularly in the Le Marche area?

Vicino wrote:Glad you got back safe Steve, the biggest problem we have at the moment is our electricity has been on and off all day, I guess 20 times in total, currently been on for one hour..............fingers crossed !Candles are at the ready as is the wine !V

Well at least you can keep the wine cold if needed. I do think ENEL do well where we live as the remoteness must make it very difficult. From what I've heard from Abruzzo, last count by one guy was half a metre of snow and still coming down. A number of them have had the electric off for hours, but they are quite high up and remote. Most are used to it and have supplies and back-up generators. Hope the wine supplies last Vicino...   However I guess it does not need to last too long as it's supposed to improve Thursday... I wont mention the weather here  

I've been looking at the pictures and there is an awful lot of snow for so early in the winter. Hope everyone's electricity stays on and I can honestly say after 8 Marchigiani winters I am happy to be in a balmier climate

Still coming down here, reckon nearly a metre deep now:affraid:. Setter keeps coming in looking like a snowball!! Power on and off quite often, but luckily at the moment only in short bursts, as UPS on computer keeps bleeping. Fire laid ready in case of a longer power cut, but luckily the floors stay warm for a long time.
Candles ready, mobile phones all charged up, back-up food supplies, wine and spare gas bottle for cooking.
Is supposed to start clearing a bit tomorrow, so fingers crossed. Snow plough has not gone down today, but went by yesterday.
Stay safe and warm all who are experiencing this weather.

Nice to know you are well prepared Geo. Shame we are missing all the "fun". Does look like things will start to pick up from tomorrow.

Reports from Abruzzo indicating 4 foot of snow in places... 

We've had a bit of snow in the mountains around Bagni Di Lucca and more forecast this week, glad I've just had the new Winter tyres fitted to the cars and a set of chains as well, looks like we'll need them this year.....

Well, having been around here for 6 yrs, it is the first time that we have been cut off by snow and electricity for two days, we have had 6 days forced at home through snow (nearly 2 yrs ago) but we did then at least keep our electricity.

Do you think Enel will send an apology for the break in service ?


Do you think they will refund our service charge for two days ? ( € 10 !)


I think a €2/300 generator is starting to look attractive !


V

Poor you.  What an awful experience.  

Hopefully you had a stufa to keep you warm (and heat the water) and a plentiful supply of wood and candles.

I'm sure an experience like that makes you think about things like a generator and alternatives for heating and water (trouble is most need electric also). A number in Abruzzo have used theirs in the last few days.. Lots on quality of generators, so we would have to research it well. Glad you came through it ok... Looks like the weather is quite a bit better now?

The weather has improved dramatically. I think two dark evenings (albeit with two burning stufas on the go), with no 'leccy' and no knowledge of just when I can next have a hot shower ((!!) as the gas boiler needs the electric), I'm off shopping very soon !

The comune in general are very good, but this time it was a short(ish) large snowfall, so I guess lots of people were hit.

The track we live down is strewn with seriously large oak branches blocking the way (when does a 'branch' become a 'bough'  by the way ?), they are being removed now so all will be fine very soon.

I was amazed how our stock of batteries dwindled so quickly, also, once the rechargeable items ran out, we had nothing to recharge them on !

Glad we had the wood stufas as a heat source !

Roll on the next one !!

V

I did mean to say before that a number of people living in Abruzzo have said that the nature of the recent snow, early in the year, with trees (esp oak) bringing many branches and subsequently power lines, ENEL for the 1st time have not been able to cope...

Well..................

I have to say.............that was the snowiest, wettest week that Ihave experience by a LLOOOONNNNNGGGGG way for the six years that I have enjoyed life here !! DEEP snow, no electricity, heavy heavy rain.............

roll on tomorrow..............sunshine !!!!  now that we have electricity and the internet, it seems almost like normal !!

V  

Glorious for the last few days ?!!

It's like summer

V

Thats great V, and it looks very nice for quite a while - enjoy! Over 100mph winds in UK with driving rain, just seen neighbours roof shed most of the ridge tiles and 5-6 of the normal tiles blown from one side to the other like a pack of cards... 20,000 without electric in Scotland...

stevegwmonkseaton wrote:Thats great V, and it looks very nice for quite a while - enjoy! Over 100mph winds in UK with driving rain, just seen neighbours roof shed most of the ridge tiles and 5-6 of the normal tiles blown from one side to the other like a pack of cards... 20,000 without electric in Scotland...

What's left of our road-Abruzzo

I do think a lot of information/warnings for people coming along in later years and reading this post could have been lost in our other posts and tribulations over the consequences of the bad weather. So we had Vincino here without electricity for 48 hours, friends of ours in Abruzzo have  just had their water reinstated after it being off for 3 days, another had half the hill behind them appear almost in their their back garden. Another couple were not so lucky when the road outside their house disappeared so they can't get the car out of their house. So people really do need to think when buying "what would you do if.... "

Steve,

As always a really useful interesting post ! We love the seasons but look before you leap !

I STRONGLY urge people to rent first (we rented December to June), we saw the very heavy snows of 5/6 years ago, we still bought here, but since then,!!!!!!!

Wow...........never will you hear truer statements than the following:

When it rains............it RAINS !!
When it snows..........it SNOWS !!
When it is windy........it's WINDY !!
When it is hot............it's HOT !!!

V

Ah yes V I missed the heat, which although not as hot as some places we've been, living in it for weeks or months on end is a very different prospect and can be too much for some. Hence another to look for when buying, which way does the house face, are there places to sit out of the sun in summer. Another I missed is the thunderstorms which can be a danger with fork lightning causing damage. A friend of ours lost her laptop, TV and washing machine and electrics this year when her house was struck.

Although to be fair, I've had my PC blown up in the UK due to lightening strikes. I had a surge protector but not on the phone line.
We were also without electricity for 5 days and suffered frequent powercuts in the UK. Plus when it snowed we could not get out of the village and there was the risk of flooding from the stream.
I think it's more country-living rather than uniquely Italian although I heartily agree with Vicino:

"Wow...........never will you hear truer statements than the following:

When it rains............it RAINS !!
When it snows..........it SNOWS !!
When it is windy........it's WINDY !!
When it is hot............it's HOT !!!"

PS - we lived near Stansted airport so hardly the wilds of Scotland!

Yes I totally agree with Admin, our problem is we had not lived in much of a rural setting in the UK. Although we were on the North East coast for some years and close enough for a lot more thunder storms than our family had just 5 miles inland, we were never cut off. Can't imagine being without electric for 5 days! The 48 hours for "V" was enough to make us again think of a generator. Anyone with one care to start a new thread on the "pros and cons" of them?

It was quite jolly in some ways. The pub opened by candle light and the whole village decamped there in the evenings while they cooked food on the open fire. They still had one hand-drawn pump so that was OK and it was winter so the barrels were cold. Mind you so were we!