Cool but not cold

by sandra
(newcastle, NSW, Australia)

I have experienced cold, but not the true, bone-deep, cold of a Canadian winter. I lived on a boat in London for a year, and although people always say "that sounds really great", it was only great some of the time.

In summer it was warm, but not too bad. Being right on the water meant that any breeze cooled the air . In winter, the paucity of insulation really kicked in. When the thermometer dropped below freezing, two doonas and a sleeping bag was barely enough!

It was at times like that that I could have used some weather reports similar to those described in the article - if I knew ahead of time how cold the night was going to be, I could turn up the heater in preparation. One night it snowed and the water on the pier formed black ice - I almost fell in the Thames when I stepped on it!

I like your article, it explains the technical terms pretty well, but the writing seems a little stilted. Is English your first language?

I would be interested to hear how the information provided by weather stations is used by air-controllers - how do they interpret the information so as to be able to give advisories to aircraft? Or are pilots alwasy given the information directly? Are generalised warnings issued by control towers if there are specific hazards in their area?

Barry's Response - That would be a chilly place to spend the winter for sure. Come to Canada for the real experience. Thanks, Sandra.

Search this site for more information now.