Cold Winds and Snow Flurries

It snowed here yesterday morning, nothing much, just flurries brought in on a sharp southeasterly wind.  It settled on the ground, if only briefly, and was enough to grey the nearer hills, but didn't prevent....

....Kilchoan Primary School children from walking along the road to the Community Centre for their PE lesson in the hall.  Some of the pupils were carrying tennis racquets, probably to work on their skills so that, like Andy Murray, they can spend their winters in the warmth of places like Australia.

Over on the north coast the snow was heavier and settled, but by this morning it had gone.  Only the higher hills, like these ones across Loch Sunart from Kilchoan, still had a blanket.  During the day the wind has been increasing, and we're forecast for a 'near gale' by this evening.

The temperatures overnight stayed near zero, cold enough for the icicles which have been building over the last few days to continue growing.

We've noticed that, over recent weeks, our weather has been dominated by cold southeasterly winds, to the exclusion of our more 'normal' wet, warm and sometimes very windy westerlies.  Forecasters are blaming the cold weather on.... a warming in the stratosphere, and are predicting it will continue.  Read more here.

Many thanks to Kilchoan Early Bird for the photo of the icicles.