"A fresh amber warning for snow has come into force in the South West, with yellow snow and ice warnings also in place for other parts of the UK into Thursday."
I spotted this sentence on the BBC News website this very evening. Good heavens! Yellow snow! You know what that means don't you? Why can't people simply wait to use a lavatory? (French: pissoir).
The snow that fell upon Sheffield last weekend is still around. Although temperatures have occasionally threatened to bump up above zero, there has not been enough warmth to herald a proper thaw.
Consequently, on the back roads, our pavements (American: sidewalks) are now treacherous. It is not too bad when you are walking on a flat section but on a hill like our street, it is all too easy to slip and potentially fall.
As I said to an old friend I encountered yesterday outside the neighbourhood pharmacy, one fall on an icy pavement can change someone's life forever. Broken hip, cracked ribs, skull fracture - it is all too easily done.
Clint, my faithful Hyundai, has remained parked up on our little driveway since Saturday night. I have had no reason to get him out. Yesterday afternoon, I watched two vehicles skidding like crazy on the bottom section of our road - unable to gain traction on the ice.
I remember one morning thirty years ago, when I drove gingerly down that same section of road on my way to work. In the blink of an eye, the car did a 180° pirouette and I found myself facing up the hill instead of down it. Miraculously, I didn't hit any other vehicles triggering all the insurance rigmarole that that would have caused.
This morning, I woke to a lovely sunrise breaking hopefully and rosily over Brincliffe Edge, silhouetting the stand of trees that run along the ridge. I would like to be out there walking with my camera but at present it is prudent to cower indoors waiting for a thaw to come and unfreeze these dangerous paths. Roll on springtime!
The days are lengthening, minute by minute.
ReplyDeleteYour feet can go from under you before you know it. My wife went flat on her back and hurt her collar bone bad enough to need an X-ray. All was OK although it still hurts after 6 weeks. Lecture from the nurse. Why were you out? Did you need to be out? Do you realise you could have broken it and never been able to write again?
Oh dear! You need her to be injury-free to assist you. I hope she has learnt a valuable lesson.
DeleteThere is a slight chance of snow this weekend in Camden and I am here for it. We haven't had a decent snow day since 2014!!!
ReplyDeleteBetter get your sled out Bob (English: sledge)!
DeleteI don't care about cold, I don't care about snow, but ice is truly frightening for all the reasons you mention.
ReplyDeleteIt helps a lot if people wear boots or shoes with proper grip - but even then you might end up on your arse (American: ass).
DeleteSo what did the BBC mean with their yellow snow alert? Like you, I thought yellow snow only had one meaning. I'm guessing something to do with the "amber" alert?
ReplyDeleteWe're under a winter storm warning with ice as the most likely precipitation. Ugh.
There are three winter warning levels: yellow, amber and red but I guess that nobody had considered the common meaning of "yellow snow". Isn't it what they call a faux-pas?
DeleteOne has to be patient when it comes to weather and safety. There is more good time to walk in the hills.
ReplyDeleteEverything is melting here, but below freezing at night, so lots of ice. I wear my ice cleats but I don't like ice.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to teach Jack not to eat snow, because of dog pee and poop. He's one of those kids who has to learn everything the hard way.
Yes. It's good to teach children not to go for yellow snow even though it might be unusually flavoursome.
DeleteThey are asking for people to donate warm clothing to homeless charities in Cork city. Are there soup kitchens and homeless charities in Sheffield YP?
ReplyDeleteWe certainly have food banks for the poor and needy. The demand has grown in recent years.
DeleteThere are a couple of highways in my state that are prone to ice over, known as black ice, but generally we remain ice free, which wasn't always the case. Nothing to do with global warming, of course. Take care. You don't want to do yer 'ip.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah - nothing to do with global warming according to Professor Trump - the expert climatologist.
DeleteYes, please stay safe until the snow and ice melt away. We'd like to still be reading your posts many years from now.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should wrap myself in cotton wool.
DeleteA Sumo Wrestler costume might be warmer and if you fell you would just roll.
DeleteBecause yellow is my favourite colour, the headline of this post captured my interest particularly - until I started to read and realised what the "yellow" meant in this case. Urgh!!
ReplyDeleteIcy pavements are dangerous indeed. People tend to be unreasonable and go out with inadequate footwear. Ask our blogging friend Monica for advice - she has strap-on grippers for her boots, I believe, and uses her walking poles for extra stability when she has to be out in such conditions.
Does Sheffield not make sure that roads are salted when it's icy, and are people not obliged to keep the pavement in front of their home swept and salted or sprinkled with grit? Here, if someone falls on a part of pavement that is your responsibility, you can expect hefty fines.
Even better (or at least more comfortable) than strap-on grippers is to invest in boots with permanently studded soles for really icy weather. (I did that a few years ago and don't regret it.) Walking poles are indeed helpful, too. (Sometimes, if I need one arm free to carry stuff, I just take one of them. That still helps, especially when crossing streets etc.) We've had "yellow warnings" here too over the last few days, with strong winds, and shifting between snow and rain, ice or slush - or all of that at once.
DeleteI like the German idea of making residents responsible for the paths in front of their homes. Perhaps sadly, that has never been expected here even though many householders in my area are quick to clear the snow.
DeleteWe have snow on our hills but down here just lethal patches of black ice. I haven't been outside for a few days but may need to venture out soon. Hopefully I shall remain upright.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to be able to wait for it to melt off, before having to venture out. Stay safe, breaking anything at our ages can start the slippery slope. We had about 8 inches of snow over the weekend. My car is parked outside, I brushed the snow off and let him run for 10-15 minutes yesterday. The street is well cleaned, I may venture out to the library this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMay I recommend "I Slipped on My Ass" by Jack Frost.
DeleteWe haven't had much snow, even though it's been widely forecast for the south of England. It loses its appeal very quickly, especially when it turns to slush and then freezes.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Virgin snow has many attractions but old snow can be just plain nasty.
DeleteIcy around here too so I have been staying home as much as I can. Can't wait for a few warm days, altho, it may be awhile. Stay safe, Neil.
ReplyDeleteI know that it can get terribly cold in the Chicago region.
DeleteAnd I don't know about you but the older I get, the more I fear falling. Of course, people of any age can and do fall but as you say- as we get older, a fall truly can change a life. As can a car wreck, of course.
ReplyDeleteI never used to use handrails or banisters but now I make a point of using them.
DeleteWe are having the same type of weather here in Virginia. It snowed on Sunday night and it is still around. Most of the schools are still closed too. I took Shirley for a walk yesterday in a park, and the trails were icy. And the whole time, I was worried that I might fall, remembering my fall from before Christmas. Luckily I finished the walk unscathed, but there were some close calls. And we are supposed to get more snow this Saturday. When I was in college, I was driving in a snowstorm and I lost control of my little Opel and I hit a bunch of guardrails. I was able to drive the car home and it got fixed. That memory always enforces in my brain to drive slowly when the weather is bad.
ReplyDeleteIn icy weather, the guidance should be - stay in if that's possible.
DeleteWalking on ice is no fun. I don't blame you for staying indoors. Maybe you need a treadmill? :)
ReplyDeleteYeah - a treadmill with countryside imagery on a wrap-around headset! I would never need to take actual rural walks ever again!
DeleteI cannot imagine you cowering indoors. You are such an outdoorsy kind of person. We had a bit of sleet here last night, but it didn't settle. I drove out to meet some choir friends for a pub supper, wondering if I'd get snowed-in at the pub, but managed to get home again safely!
ReplyDeleteLondon is subsidised to massively reduce the possibility of iciness. All public parks have giant fan heaters. That is what I heard anyway.
Delete"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow." It's a line from a song by Frank Zappa.
ReplyDeleteThat is good advice from Mr Zappa.
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