Feest Isolation Days – 20 January 2021
Christophe has arrived! No, not a welcome guest who will use the spare bedroom…this is after all COVID times! A storm. The winds have been blowing through the night and the rain is following. When did the weather people start calling storms by name? As though they were friends and not nature whipping up a frenzy?
Well, it would seem storms have been named for Centuries! In the 1500’s they were named based on Saints. In October of 1526 a hurricane struck Puerto Rico on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi so it was named San Francisco.
Clement Wragge is the first meteorologist to name storms. Born in Staffordshire in 1852, Wragge moved to Australia where he became a meteorologist for the government. He originally used mythological figures of Greek and Rome for his storm naming. When the Australian government didn’t give him the job as director of a new weather bureau, he started naming storms in the southern hemisphere after Australian politicians.
In the States, storms were named after women until 1978 when men got a look in as well. In the UK, the first named storm was Abigail in 2014. The Met office asked people for lists of names for storms and since then, they have been named with both female and male names. Each year naming starts anew with A and carries on until they are no more. The UK has never got beyond the letter K in storms and that was Katie which hit on Easter Monday 2016.
A hurricane, a cyclone and a typhoon are all the same beast. The name implies where it was formed. Atlantic = Hurricane and North East Pacific, Typhoons = North-west Pacific, Cyclone = Everywhere else. In the UK Amber and Red warnings accompany names. It the storm is meant to hit 80 mph, with 70mm of rain in 24 hours, it’s a red warning. Apparently, we all take more notice of a storm if it has a name. Beware then UK, Christophe has arrived! However, he’s quite fickle. The sun is shining at the moment and the wind is calm. Christophe, you’re a tease!
Having listened to the weather people, I went for a walk yesterday as I thought the rest of the week was going to be a wet windy mess. I headed toward the University of Bristol and it was the perfect place to go. It was like a ghost town. The buildings are all shut and there is no one on the usually busy streets around the main campus. The daffodils however, outside Royal Fort were a sight to see! They are always some of the first of the year and a friend sends me a picture of them each year when we are in NZ. This year, it was my turn to send them to her, as she is locked down at home ….in Wales! These daffs are early and remind us that spring is coming!
While I was on my walk, my resident gardener was busy planting the last of the lilies in the garden. It was squelchy underfoot, but with Christophe’s promised rain, it is going to get even squelchier so he decided to plant. Our garden is full of plants beginning to show and the first snow drop is out!
Spring is really on the way. It will take its time getting here, but the promise that it is heading our way is encouraging.
Bit like the vaccine. It is indeed heading our way and is being jabbed into arms at an impressive rate. The government’s test and trace seems to be working well too. Hurrah! The NHS is still near breaking point and the staff are on their knees so like spring, we aren’t quite there yet. Keep up the good work. Lockdown is having an effect on the stats…they are dropping. Stay home and stay safe!
With love, Kathy x