Tag: storm

Today &Tomorrow

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It’s been a funny day. Due to my hard work on the public holiday yesterday, I found myself with a rare day off with a wife and some childcare.
We made the most of it, out for breakfast and shopping for a new car. I don’t want a new car particularly, but I do need a new car.

The current 6000mobile is getting on a bit and it’s starting to get to that point where it’s becoming false economy to keep it running. Additionally, it was bought in a previous era: living in the City Bowl and before the arrival of our kids. Things have changed and it’s suddenly small and impractical.
This car shoping is not something I enjoy either. It’s a lot of money and it’s being given to a salesman. I’ve spoken to a lot of them today and I’m frankly amazed at how many of them have first-hand knowledge of working for the company whose vehicle I am considering. What are the chances?
I’m not sure whether I should be impressed with their intimate knowledge or concerned about the evidently huge turnover of staff in the motor retail industry.

Tomorow will be more fun. No salesmen – just a desire to go out and look at the effects of the storm which arrived in the Cape earlier this evening.

Expect photos. 

Wave, Daddy

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Back from Agulhas and although, as I suspected, the stormy conditions last week led to some huge waves battering the Southern Tip. Sadly, while they those waves were doing their thing, I was sensibly sheltering from the rain, playing lego with the boy in front of a nice open fire.

When we eventually emerged, things had subsided a bit.

Still, there was the odd one which reminded you of the power of the ocean. But mainly, today was devoted to finding interesting shells and throwing big stones into the sea.

Perfect.

I’ll upload some more photos tomorrow.

Behold The Fetch

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If you are currently residing in Cape Town, you cannot have failed to notice the somewhat extreme meteorological conditions that are prevailing this morning. The rain – and there’s a lot of rain – is travelling horizontally past our windows, assisted in no small part by the ridiculously strong and blustery northwester. It’s dark, it’s grey – dark grey – and it’s cold. Cold, dark grey.

Winter. She is here.

But where did this remarkable weather come from, I hear you ask. Well, here’s your answer: :

This was the situation at midnight last night. Now, ten hours later, Cape Town (central, “helpfully” indicated by a tiny red dot) has slipped underneath that pointy line indicating a phat cold front, linked to those double-barrel low pressure centres. And that’s why we’re getting what we’re getting right now.

But, while windguru is predicting swells of up to 7 metres for the Cape coast this weekend (and that lengthy fetch shows you why), any avid surfers will probably be disappointed, as Spike from wavescape indicates:

Gather yer nuggets Wednesday as rising 12ft beasts smack thy chops stukkend. Dik SSW surf swells in glassy sea > light NW. Epic. FB 3′ early, 4-5′ in arvi. Cooks.Thursday neargale NW smelts 10′ mess, FB 4′ in stiff offshores. By lunch, strong SW thro. DIK RAIN drench from 8am. Friday heaving 5-10′ storm sea, ragged SW winds > S. Heavy squalls subside a bit. C-c-cold. FB ragged side going onshore. Saturday heaving 5-10′ storm junk in strong S > SSE. FB kak. Sunday lekker calm, leftover 3-5′ S swell. FB fun 3′.

Thanks for that, Spike. Lucid as ever. Consider my chops smacked stukkend.

The forecast for the weekend does suggest that things will calm down a little, although if you were expecting a hefty tan by Monday morning, you may be barking up the wrong country.

Me? I’ll be heading down to Cape Agulhas, where those mad swells will hopefully bring some mad photo opportunities.
And yes, I’ll be taking my thermals along with me…

Is summer finally coming?

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As proven by this weather forecast for Cape Town for the week ahead?

Things are looking up. It’s a good sign when even the cloudy days are warm. And I have it on good authority that we may be in for a 29°C scorcha!™ on Sunday. Bring forth my ceremonial braai tongs and slaughter that bloody sheep, Jennifer. Then make a salad.

Meanwhile, less good but far more spectacular weather for my parents in the Isle of Man as a particularly virulent area of low pressure rolled in across the Irish Sea:

This was taken by my Dad this morning in Port St Mary and has a distinctly Kalk Bay feel to it. A quick look at the latest weather report from the local airport suggests that the pressure is still falling there – not good news when you have a three-hour long boat crossing of that sea tomorrow like they do.

Bon voyage…

Strep & Storm

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It would appear that Streptococcus has swept through our house like a sweepy thing, leaving behind it a trail of doctor’s bills and expensive antibiotics. How can something so small cost so much?
I mean, I know I have obviously asked that same question about my son (and then my daughter), but this is a damn bacterium!

Based on the fact that this – however unpleasant – is merely an infection with a prokaryotic organism, I brought my laboratory experience into play. In the lab, we have three choices when we want to kill bacteria: extreme heat (132°C, no less), sodium hypochlorite (basically bleach) or alcohol. With that in mind, and not fancying the high pressure steam or the Domestos, I am attacking my vile respiratory tract invaders with a rather decent single malt. It’s like pouring vinegar on a paper cut as it goes past my red raw throat, but I’m pretending not to notice and only thinking of the obvious benefits.
I’m hopeful that it will also aid with a good night’s sleep as well, although other factors come into play on that one. Not least the latest work on my new study. Mindful of the storm front approaching Cape Town this evening, the builders, in their infinite wisdom, decided to try and cover their ongoing work with some large, ill-fitting sheets of plastic nailed across the hastily-installed roof trusses. And that’s why we now have 25m² of flapping heavy-duty plastic right outside our bedroom window.
Bliss.
I’m almost hopeful that it gets taken away by the Northwester early on, although I’m not sure what repercussions that would have on the building work completed so far. Right now, I couldn’t care less. I just want some sleep.

Tomorrow is another day, as they say. Let’s hope it’s a whole lot better than this one was.

P.S. If you see a huge black kite flying across the Southern Suburbs, please drop me an email so that we can come and collect it and any bits of my house which happen to still be attached. Thanks.