Stormy Weather
The weather has been inclement since New Year’s Eve, but today it got even worse. Things are even more scary elsewhere in the UK; I heard from friends in Edinburgh that gusts of 102 mph have been recorded at the Royal Observatory, for example. I hope they’ve battened down the hatches. Here in Cardiff its pretty windy too, but the main problem has been heavy rain. There are flood alerts all across South Wales, including on the River Taff very close to my house as I write this. Since I’ve got a few things to do I think I’ll go and take a peek. The last time such a thing happened, the city’s flood defences held but the Taff did break its banks on Pontcanna Fields (which is actually meant to happen, to take the strain off the flood barriers nearer the city). Anyway I’ve got a few things to do so I think I’ll take a walk to the river and see how it looks. If I don’t come back please send a lifeboat.
In the meantime, here’s a piece of music to calm the storms, by the great Ella Fitzgerald accompanied by the equally great Joe Pass on guitar. ..
Well, back from a short trip down the Taff Embankment, here are a few pics of the scene…
The SWALEC Stadium is to the left, water level about 2m above the pitch right now, but protected by the embankment
The trees are usually above the water level, the nursery beyond is about 2m above current water level
I have seen the Taff higher than this, but only once!
White Water with Weeping Willow
The Millennium Stadium is just beyond the Bridge
In the Dark 
January 3, 2012 at 12:44 pm
They don’t make ’em like that any more!
January 3, 2012 at 2:01 pm
An easy front-page winter filler for the newspapers is the pitch at Worcester cricket ground flooded by the adjacent River Severn, which happens most years.
January 3, 2012 at 2:07 pm
The Taff is rattling along at a pretty good speed today, carrying along branches and the like, and emitting a curious growling sound as it goes. It’s also a most peculiar colour, a sort of bluey-brown because of the relection of the blue sky on water filled with mud. At least I hope it’s mud.
January 3, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Impressively windy here in Glasgow today, especially first thing in the morning. Looks like I’ll be here for a while as all the trains I’d been hoping to catch southwards have been cancelled.
January 3, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Very strange day here. Quite windy, with sporadic strong gusts, but periods of bright sunshine punctuated by thrashing downpours of rain and sleet.
January 3, 2012 at 5:51 pm
Mmm, in Glasgow that would qualify as a normal summer’s day.