Penellype's Weather Channel 2

[1Bee]

I haven't been on here for ages, but it's been SO COLD lately I wanted to check up and see what you were saying, Penellype!

It's actually drying out here - I think I missed the one day a year our soil is perfect for digging... ;-) But we had a frost on (I think) Friday and the air temperature is just brutal.

Plus Storm Jocelyn took out half my greenhouse which I still haven't fixed, so safe places for plants are in short supply!

Hope you all have a good growing season, in spite of the weather.

[Nicos]

1Bee lovely to see you
Sorry to hear about your greenhouse. Very frustrating.
We too had a light frost last night.
I think I may need to buy more fleece!

[Penellype]

Things should start to warm up a bit now, although nothing to write home about.

Sorry to hear about your greenhouse 1Bee.

Limited time here due to dealing with workmen following a water leak.

[Containergardener]

Certainly been warmer for a change

[Bren In Pots]

Its been t-shirt weather here

[Containergardener]

I've been in my shorts

[Penellype]

Very warm here too - enjoy it while it lasts as its back to cooler and wetter Sunday/Monday depending on where you live. The rain arrives from the south west.

[Penellype]

Wonderful show of the Northern Lights last night, and more expected tonight. Well worth having a look, even if you live in the south and have lots of light pollution! In York, seen through security lights, street lamps and car headlights, half the sky was lit up with faint stripes, and after I drove a mile or so out of the light I could see faint green and pink colours in the mix, stretching from east to west and overhead. It lasted hours. Unfortunately my phone camera wouldn't pick it up and all my attempts just came out black, but there are some fabulous photos online, albeit much brighter colours than seen with the naked eye due to long exposures.

[Nicos]

We couldn’t see anything here when we looked even though we had a clear sky..think maybe we looked too early.

Have a look at this link - apparently there’s a chance of more this evening!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/a...inute-forecast

[Nicos]

We had 26C yesterday and this afternoon is forecast to be hotter- then rain apparently for the next week.
Any updates on how long it might last please Pen?
I’ve abandoned all domestics to crack on and enjoy being out in the sunshine today

[Penellype]

We couldn’t see anything here when we looked even though we had a clear sky..think maybe we looked too early.

Have a look at this link - apparently there’s a chance of more this evening!

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/a...inute-forecast

I went out several times and was about to go to bed at 11pm when I decided to have one more try. I looked north and saw nothing, sighed and looked upwards to have a glance at the stars, and was irritated to see a veil of "cloud" over the sky above my head. Then I realized it wasn't cloud at all. I expected more colour and also for it to be in the north rather than overhead, and I could very easily have missed it through looking in the wrong place, even though it was very spectacular.

[Penellype]

We had 26C yesterday and this afternoon is forecast to be hotter- then rain apparently for the next week.
Any updates on how long it might last please Pen?
I’ve abandoned all domestics to crack on and enjoy being out in the sunshine today

Yes, the weather is due to break from the south west, with probable thunderstorms (there is a yellow warning for most of the west of the UK). Most of the models keep it wet and around or slightly above average temperatures for the next week or so, with the possibility of a change to higher pressure maybe around or after next weekend, but that is very uncertain.

As for the aurora, the sun is extremely active at the moment and further solar flares are happening today. The main issue will be having a clear sky to see any aurora, but the current one, which has been on red alert since late yesterday afternoon, is the strongest since 2003.

[Andraste]

Several of the old guard at the plot were full of doom regarding my planting out of Gigantes beans on the weekend. None of them had grown these themselves but when I mentioned I'd been told to treat them the same as runners, they were adamant it was far too early to plant out & said they'd need fleecing.

I don't think we're going to be at risk of such low overnight temps or frost here now but am I being brazenly overconfident Penellype?

[Penellype]

Several of the old guard at the plot were full of doom regarding my planting out of Gigantes beans on the weekend. None of them had grown these themselves but when I mentioned I'd been told to treat them the same as runners, they were adamant it was far too early to plant out & said they'd need fleecing.

I don't think we're going to be at risk of such low overnight temps or frost here now but am I being brazenly overconfident Penellype?

In theory there is still a risk of frost at this time of year, although that is fading rapidly now unless you are in a particularly frost-prone area. The general weather pattern for the next couple of weeks is not one that would be expected to produce frost (minimum temperatures here in York are forecast to be around 7-11 degrees). I have tomatoes, runner and french beans in my unheated greenhouse with the door open over night, and the french beans are getting too tall so they are likely to be planted out tomorrow. Unless there is a drastic change in the weather I think you would be very unlucky to lose them, although a chilly night might stop them growing for a day or 2. The weather is generally warmer than it used to be, and rules of thumb that used to be good guidance may not be so relevant now.

I'm not saying you should ignore the usual last frost dates, but in a spring as warm as this one has been, with no sign of a cold snap, I think we can say it is ok to plant out tender plants a week or so early. Sometimes keeping things in pots too long is as bad as risking the weather.

[Andraste]

Thanks Penellype

Like your frenchies, they'd filled their pots with roots & had reached the top of the blowaway (from the top shelf) & I've left the door open quite a few nights as well as in the day so my logic was the same. I reckon I can cope with a few days of lack of growth if we do have a chilly night & hopefully a cold snap won't hit us