10429 First snow of 2008

:eeeek::eeeek::eeeek:

I am sorry Alan, its al my fault, we have visitors from England and they were finding it a little too hot.:laughs:

The weather forecast is for it to stay pretty cool for the next few days and there is likely to be more snow on the mountains.

I think it was in 2006 that they actually had some snowfall in the mountains in June. We watched some pretty spectacular avalanches when it warmed up again

Same here in the Central Alps (Valtellina) yesterday... a [I]sprinkling[/I] of snow already above the 1800m line - and it's COLD. It's still there this morning too!

Earliest snow here 'til now (recent years) was in 2005 and that was mid October. Last year nothing 'til mid November.

The signs are all here for a bad winter - early snow, bushes heavily weighed down with berries ready for the poor old birds... Just hope the snow 'window' is shorter here, where I am, than in 2005/6 when first 'light' snow arrived mid October, then the 'real McCoy' arrived (up to 5ft deep) in mid-late November and didn't clear 'til mid March 2006! [I]And I'm only at 400m! [/I]

Temperatures here today mid-morning were under 15c. Local baker has said it will be cold tomorrow and quite likely more snow on the mountains. We are also at 400M

Yes we are in the Notaresco area of Teramo, and like you we were very surprised to see the snow on the peaks this morning not so sure our friends arriving tomorow will be quite as pleased as we were to see it - it has certainly cooled down very quickly and my OH is already wanting to get the fire lit now we have had the wood delivered.:smile:

[quote=AllanMason;97063]The weather here on the eastern slopes of the Abruzzo Apennines yesterday was overcast and cool with a high of 13° or so. It started to rain steadily at around 2 pm and that continued until at least 10 pm.

We woke up this morning to 11°, scattered clouds and the sun shining on the snow-capped peaks of the Gran Sasso (they're at about 2,500 meters and I suppose the snow comes down a couple hundred meters).

Looking through my photos for the last two years, I'm certain that the first snow in 2006 fell on the peaks on 1 November. I'm less certain of the exact date last year, but there was snow on the mountains at the beginning of November.

Take from that what you will. As for us, we're thinking that we're glad we've got a good supply of firewood for the winter.[/quote]

I was thinking last night that it felt damp in the house for the first time since May but actually found today's "low" of 20 rather refreshing after the long hot summer of 30+ degrees. The torrential rain over the weekend here must have a negative effect on the grape harvest, which hasn't started here yet as sangiovese is always late. How's that going elsewhere, are people picking? V

ps: Nielo's comments that his visitors from the UK are finding it rather too hot reminds me of the British couple staying at an agriturismo in our village this week. Everyone else at the market this morning was wearing jumpers, jackets, a couple of locals even in brown padded jackets (yep, already) but the Brit from the agriturismo comes striding through in shorts, tee shirts and sandals. Honestly, I felt frozen just looking at him and the Tuscans???

The BBC had a very long range weather report on the radio today, and it suggested that the UK would have a winter (all the way through until March - how can they know!) with temperatures at or above seasonal norms. The forecast for continental Europe however is for it to be a very cold winter. This accords with Carole and her heavily laden shrubs! And I do so hate fitting the snowchains.....

[quote=phyllis;97121]...my OH is already wanting to get the fire lit now we have had the wood delivered.[/quote]
Don't know if you've been through a wood-warmed winter here or elsewhere, but personally I find the whole business of hauling in wood, lighting fires, tending them and cleaning out ashes all pretty irksome after about a week. It's fine if you don't [B]have[/B] to do it and just light a fire of an evening because it looks nice, but it does get rapidly boring if you're using it for totally utilitarian reasons.

For me, it's rather like the olive harvest: something I look forward to, but which I get heartily sick of very quickly just because it's all so bloody tedious and repetitive.

Al

Sometimes wish I could get rid of the 50+ quintale of wood I have here, as have not really touched it for 3 years!!!!

The idea of a log fire, looking at a log fire, the smell of a log fire (when you're outside) is absolutely wonderful - woodsmoke, IMHO, being one of the best smells around. But having to clean the grate in the morning is the absolute pits. As is having to go out on a very cold wet night to bring in extra wood from the store if you run out.
Tip if you're renovating: try and allocate somewhere dry and easy to access within the house to keep your wood, rather than outside.

i am not sure i would be that sure the summer heat has totally finished... what seems to me to have happened is that the storms we generally get in August... those sort of hail storms in the afternoon never arrived... and that this belt of weather blowing through now is what we generally get then...often with the consequence because of the mountains height... the corno grande that is of a dusting of snow...

i would say this will not be making up part of the winter snow cover for the mountain but will disappear sometime during this month... why we all feel so cold i guess is that up until Sunday morning we had temps of day +35 and nights +19... what has just happened to us is that we lost 15 degrees in a couple of hours and its hard for anyone to adapt to that ...

anyway.. today is warmer ...the weekend is supposed to be iffy and then we should get back to normal September weather... i have quite enjoyed the sensation of putting an extra cover on the bed this last couple of nights also a bit of rain has helped to clear the air... humidity last week was running at 60 % ... so it was pretty draining...

anyway that's my theory... will see what next week brings...

Very bloody cold here…13 degrees. Must admit to enjoying the chance again of snuggling up to Pilch under a fleecy blanket. Thought of how I wondered if I would ever feel cold again in the humid fug of July, then all of a sudden I’m donning me thermals and lighting me wood burning stove.
Visitors from France have been pooh-poohing “the heat of Italy” at our expense. We will never live it down after telling them how hot it was here in September and some of October. Looked in my diary for last year and at this time last year it was still in the 30’s. Of course they didn’t believe us… Oh well, must go, off to a BBQ & a pool party arranged way back in August, when, if you remember, we were ROASTING!!!!!..
Sprat

Can't disagree with most of what you say Adriatica - the summer storms, the light dusting of snow on the tops, a 15° temp drop from day to night... all the same up here too - until this year...
BUT this year it's the cold that is much lower than the norm at night and is then lower during the day too.

This morning here it is down to 5°C - and for mid September that IS cold! Yesterday it climbed to the dizzy height of.... 17°C!!!

This is NOT normal. All the farmers are worried here and the apple growers are only just beginning their harvest... It's usually warm for that chore, not cold like now . Many of the apples in the Valtellina are grown on the slopes like these:
[URL="http://www.lavinium.com/images/valtellina.jpg"][B]>Valtellina orchards<[/B][/URL]. Their grapes are all grown in the same way - up the sides of the valley. The growers are dreading early frosts now...

[quote=pilchard;97164]Very bloody cold here…13 degrees.[/quote]
:laughs:

You've gone totally native, you have! I bet the folks back where you came from would consider 13° balmy -- almost tropical -- after they summer they've just had!

Al

We often get weather 'blips' I seem to remember we used to get a few warn days in February in England and think spring was early, only to see all the daffodils disappear under a blanket of snow the next day!

I also seem to think that I have never been to the Montonico festa in Bisenti when it has been too cold to be in T shirts and that is in the beginning of October. Mind you my memories of those nights might be warmed by the glow of alcohol and good company.:laughs:

H Violetta

You're back!
We have a wood burning fireplace and only when necessary does my OH clean out the ashes. At night we cover the 'fire' with ash from around the side to dampen it and then put a fire screen around the area. Then in the morning you just open up the ash, put on a few smaller logs and within a few minutes the fire is up and blazing again.

Also if space and safely allows have the evening's logs by the fire so that they have dried out enough to give their best! Yes, we keep our wood outside but under a tarpaulin but like you suggest bring in enough for a week or so to the old pig sty/kennel under the external staircase.
Best wishes

We'll be driving through Switzerland next Wednesday, over the San Gotthard. Hoping to use the pass, not the tunnel.
Anyone know current conditions, or local forecasts?

God all this cold talk!

Off to the beach!

[quote=Neil T;97192]We'll be driving through Switzerland next Wednesday, over the San Gotthard. Hoping to use the pass, not the tunnel.
Anyone know current conditions, or local forecasts?[/quote]

One (or more) of these webcams should give you really up to date information. The 'tunnel' is there so you should find the ones nearest to the actual pass too...
[URL="http://www.the-webcam-network.com/Switzerland/San-Gottardo/2539186.html"][B]>the-webcam-network - San-Gottardo<[/B][/URL]

Arettina, to be honest, I don't clean out the grate every morning, I do exactly what you do but always feel bad about it, don't feel I'm being the nice tidy proper little Tuscan housewife I should be! But it makes sense from a practical point of you, doesn't it? Keeps up the heart of the fire, or something? And, yes, we also keep logs piled high on either side of our grate. Talking of which reminds me we need to have the chimney swept soon.

Hardly native Al...I originate from the frozen north.
S