Daily Picture - 60

Great view of a squall approaching St Ouen's around lunch time today.  Surprisingly where we were standing there wasn't much rain but the winds did gust up to about 55 knots.  It has been a day of fast changing weather but optimistically as the weekend approaches things are looking like they will calm down and warm up.  Could even be an Ecrehous day on Saturday, fingers crossed.

Daily Picture - 54

Looking north along St Ouen's just before another shower hits.  Looking at the Aviation Weather section of the Jersey Met site they were forecasting that the larger cumulo-nimbus clouds would reach up to 25,000 feet.  No wonder that the showers were pretty lively during the day!

Jersey in the Snow Part 2

After a quick return home to warm up it was a surprise to see that the snow had turned to freezing rain.  Everything was coated in a layer of ice, including the windows of the house.  With unusual weather conditions like this, I always feel that it is important to get outside and make the most of it.  This time we walked west towards Corbiere, along the cliff path, before heading towards St Ouen's Bay.

The view from the conservatory window.  Freezing rain had coated everything in a layer of ice.

The beach close to the desalination plant.  In places on the cliff path crampons would probably have been a useful item of equipment.

 A small beach to the east of Corbiere.  Landing here in a kayak would have been an entertaining challenge!

 Gorse covered in a layer of ice.  Conditions like this poses significant problems for some of the wildlife of the area.

Corbiere looking slightly different to last Sunday, when we paddled around the outside of the lighthouse

 Petit Port, snow doesn't lie on the beach that often in Jersey.

Some of the hundreds of Lapwings which were flying over.  Probably driven south by harsher weather conditions further north.

St Ouens Bay with an unusual coating.  It was time to head into the warmth of La Pulente for lunch.

Jersey in the snow

The forecast snow arrived during the early hours of the morning, making travel problematic but raising the hopes of the island school children, for an extra day off school.  Road conditions were such that the school bus service was unable to operate and the runway remains closed at the airport.  Traffic misery for some but bliss for others.

An early morning walk over the cliffs revealed just how cold it was with a significant wind chill.  No kayaking in prospect today.

 It is a day for the kayaks to stay on the rack in the Garden.

The Corbiere road heading west.  Traffic was limited and schools were closed.

Looking across the gorse covered headland towards the weather radar.

The snow was being driven in by a south easterly which was blowing at 34 knots.  Coupled with the below freezing temperatures it was a bitterly cold daybreak.  It reminded me of Scottish mountains in winter rather than the most southerly cliffs in the British Isles.

It's hard to imagine that only 5 days earlier we had wandered through these rocks, some of us still wearing shorts for paddling.

Gorselands as it appears during the summer months.

It's cold in Ilulissat

As warmer weather creeps over Europe it has been interesting to monitor weather conditions off western Greenland where we are heading for sea kayaking this summer.  For the last two weeks at least it has been bitterly cold, most days the temperature has been well below -20°C, quite a bit colder than it should be in Ilulissat at this time of the year.  This should be having an impact on the quantity and depth of the sea ice.  Yesterdays -25°C equals the record low for the 14th March set in 1997.  In fact 5 daily low records have been set already this month.  Although temperatures are forecast to rise over the weekend they are also set to plunge again next week.

Although it is 4 months before we fly out I am beginning to think about the impact that these low temperatures and particularly the sea ice will have on our trip.  Clearly its not going to prevent our paddle taking place but it could well be more entertaining from the ice perspective, we will be watching the conditions closely over the next few months.

Large ice bergs provide a dramatic backdrop to any sea kayaking trip.

There are some great lunch spots!

 Paddling in front of the Eqi Glacier, we were several miles out from the ice cliffs when this picture was taken.  Scale can be deceptive.

 There is something memorable about sea kayaking in ice.  Route finding can be quite entertaining.

There is frequently plenty of wildlife to be seen, normally very different to that encountered in home waters.

 Although we were far enough north to have continuous daylight during our time in Greenland there were some spectacular sunsets.