When you do not know what to talk about anymore , you usually continue ” with the weather” . In a time where not a lot of things are happening in our soaring world, I do so too.
BUT … when even meteorologists find this weather unique and “love” the extremes, it’s interesting to look at what’s happening.
With a longer than normal winter, even continuing in spring, here in most parts of Europe, we are all ABSOLUTELY “fed up “with it.
The UK struggles with heavy snow on March 23!!!! Belgium today and Hungary was even worse a few days ago; it’s colder than cold and … hotter than hot down under for the time of the year.
Is the weather “losing the plot”?
My friends in Australia say, that it is there ” just as it was in the past, pretty normal, though the media want you to think different”.
It is not the first time that we have around 0 °C this late in the season, but the easterly up to 8 bft. wind makes it feel as minus 15 and for sure we are not used to that in spring. Last year we had 22 °C PLUS!!!!!!! OK too high for the time of the year, but more preferable than this! Yesterday and today we have here in Holland nice sunny conditions, but it is freezing cold. Warnings for up to minus 15 with the wind chill factor in the N and E from Holland as said, are unusual for this time of the year, when around 11/12 PLUS, is the average temperature. The weather is called already anti-spring-weather!
Our famous KEUKENHOF, a colourful flower feast for the eyes, when tulips are flowering and our biggest tourist attraction in spring, has been open since March 21, but the tulips are NOT. Did you know that about 7 MILLION tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are about to flower soon, but should have been flowering already now?
Next Thursday it seems the temperature will go up to about 6 plus, meaning flowers should really grow quickly then—but still two to three weeks too late!
Have a look at www.keukenhof.nl when you are interested.
For now we are “rushing” to the coldest ever month of March!
These tulips, Weinheim tulips, are not photographed in Holland!
picture courtesy Vanessa
Yesterday they showed on TV, frozen sea water on the borders of the Waddenzee up north, also on March 23!!!! “Frozen sea water on the borders of the WADDENZEE”!!!!!!!!!
Even more weird, the tough easterly wind annoyed and stopped ferries temporarely yesterday and this morning to go to the islands up North, as the water level was too low, due to this wind. Very unique, certainly for this time of the year.
Just today Jelmer [designer for DG and once a student on my JWGC team] published a picture of better times on FB, when the islands up north were in sunny conditions and you could even fly over them. Have a look:
It can be like this; look at the blue skies and nice cu’s, as well!!!
To complain about minus 15, is of course “not done” , when you hear your friends have started spring with MINUS 30 in Canada.But … they are more used to it!
Edmonton had snow and icy road conditions and about 300 people got involved and hurt in a chain collision, some even badly hurt. A miracle, only injuries, when you see the pictures. My friends in Australia suffer from the other extreme—heat. In my second home town,Tocumwal, they had a very hot summer with long spells of 35 plus days. March has seen an Australian record of “above 30 degrees” for 13 days in a row, whilst the temperatures in Toc. have been in the mid to high 30’s over the same period.
To be honest I found while living there, autumn the best season of the year.
One of my friends from Tocumwal wrote me that this is as it was, “It has been a summer of old, a normal summer that we used to have. It is just that the media like to tell us otherwise.”
I do agree with my friend!
AFTER so much heat, you know that terrible thunderstorms can occur with heavy rain, wind and hail. Also that happened and in the neighbourhood of Tocumwal, Benalla and Corowa, in Yarrawonga, they had wind up to 250 km/h due to passing tornadoes, causing a lot of damage. Never heard of that whilst living there for over 10 years and spending a total of 25 summers there. Though I have seen once a funnel cloud passing the airfield and we had several times “down-bursts” as well. Pretty scary!
That weather also passed by at Narromine, but with less wind.
One of my friends put a picture from TV from the Storm Chasers on FB and I share it with you as Victoria normally is not used to tornadoes.
AND … just received a link to these tornadoes as well from Vanessa!
The weather is the weather, we take it as it comes, we have to, BUT I look, optimistic as I am, ahead to a nice summer with long, good and safe x-country flights for all of you, produced by thermals, wave, ridge or on the “hang”.
That started already last Friday with a good March conditions wave flight by Baudouin Litt, [LS8] from Mid Atlantic Soaring Association; 990 km. in not even the best circumstances; as he said it was too cloudy and he had rather a limited area to “play'” in and he was too slow in the beginning.
The Italian squad is practising in the Italian Alps, the German squad in France [Aubenasson] and our Dutch two-times WGC winner Baer Selen enjoys himself in the mountains of Vinon, with a few club members from Venlo.
In Japan Takeshi tried a 750 FAI triangle, but the wave he hoped to have was on other mountains and not in the area he flew over. But still 522 km yesterday in a Discus BT is not bad!!!
Only 14 days before the containers from Corowa arrive in Rotterdam. The pilots, from all over Europe, waiting for their gliders did not miss a lot!
The first big competition this year is in Nitra [Slovakia] and starts on March 30 till April 6, with as it looks now 123 participants from 17 countries in four classes.
Hope the weather will be perfect then, for an unforgettable competition under the supervision of CD Vladimir Foltin.
On the grid in Nitra and finishers, as seen by Elfro.
Loved the Formula 1 race in Malaysia this morning. Interesting that none of the three winners was really happy as they were more or less ordered to drive the way the team wanted them to drive. Let the best win, not the one who they want to win, for strategic team-reasons/team orders; otherwise fans are losing interest!!!!!
Interesting though to see and hear the discord, between the four top drivers.
CU next week, trying to inform you about Nitra from home, with help from some friends over there, as well as I can.
For all the other news you can read the Sunday blog at www.soaring.eu
Ritz
