A First, Sharp Taste of Winter

This was dawn across the Sound yesterday morning, after a beautifully clear night which brought the first, rather early frost of winter. It was followed by a fine morning with a chilly breeze, perfect weather for those jobs in the garden which need to be done before winter sets in.

But by late afternoon we had the first drizzle, carried by a rising wind which built up until, by 8pm, we had gusts of 80kph, force 9, bringing heavy rain which battered south-facing buildings. The electricity, after the two-hour outage earlier in the week, kept faltering but didn't fail, even though the wind remained strong. Overnight we had a total of some 28mm of rain, but by morning....

....it was clear that the rain had turned to snow across the hills of Morvern and Mull.

As the morning wore on, the wind swung into the southeast, bringing a heavy chop onto the south side of Ardnamurchan, though for some, whatever the weather, it's business as usual. This is the Gypsum Integrity coming up the Sound having loaded at Glensanda.