Ahhhh!!!  Terrifying!  The UK just deployed the country alert system - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:28:18 pm
content: Wow! My heart rate is 180.Sitting reading something and next thing my phone starts emitting this horrible claxon sounding exactly like those "nuclear attack alerts"The screen has auto lit and has a bit red caution mark on it and bunch of text..."Oh shit. They did it?"... no... it's a high wind warning.Terrifying for someone who lived through the 80s in the UK.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:30:40 pm
content: Quote from: paulca on January 23, 2025, 05:28:18 pmSo, they put the wind up you.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:32:07 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on January 23, 2025, 05:30:40 pmSeriously man for about 5 seconds I thought the balloon was up.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:32:20 pm
content: So turn them off.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:35:51 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on January 23, 2025, 05:32:20 pmHow? These are forced notifications are they not?EDIT: Google reveals they can be disabled. I'm not sure I want to. However. I do NOT think a bad weather warning is an appropriate use.The sound

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:39:22 pm
content: You can turn them off on iPhone. I'd imagine other phones have support too.Perhaps they need a "this is a danger" alert which is a lower tone (but still more prominent than a normal notification), compared to the "ahhh! the world is ending! grab your iodine tablets now!" alert.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:40:25 pm
content: My phone has a message from a news service saying ther is going to be an alert to millions of phones, but I haven't received the actual alert. Maybe its regional.A tone alert is so lame. They should have Vincent Price saying "Be afraid. Be very afraid.".

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:41:17 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on January 23, 2025, 05:39:22 pmYou'd think. It's the fact it uses the same type of tone blasts as the original "THIS IS NOT A TEST" crap when the balloon went up.Honestly, a text message would have been a lot nicer.Anyone younger than 40 wouldn't get it.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:43:18 pm
content: If they warn you about Trump being inaugurated, then I will worry.But I agree, so called emergency notifications are abused. Anyone who needs to be notified it is -10°F (-23°C) and dangerous probably won't benefit from the notice.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:43:43 pm
content: The warning is for this:https://www.windy.com/54.655/-5.703?2025012409,51.446,-5.065,6Windy.com Wind chart for Ireland around 9am if the link doesn't work.I see 128km/h winds. I like using km/h and not knots (Flying) or mph (normal) because when it's 3 digits I pay attention.Areas of the west coast with no land shelter are seeing over 100mph gusts.There will probably be fatalities tonight.EDIT: I'll modify this instead of adding...Fun little "mini-tornado"... storm isn't here yet.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mvpDDHbmeBI?feature=share

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:43:56 pm
content: Boring.This is my "incoming phone call" ringtone.https://youtu.be/gpwvJzcfL1w?t=52

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:44:21 pm
content: So arguably, the alert is justified, just not necessarily for the whole area it was sent to.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:44:43 pm
content: Quote from: paulca on January 23, 2025, 05:43:43 pmBut it is, of course, inappropriate to ensure people are warned of this hazard.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:47:06 pm
content: I remember nuclear alarm sirens being tested every day for a week or two when I was at school in London in the 1960s. Nobody had a meaningful suggestion for what we might do if these sirens went off for real. It seemed like it would have been kinder to have no notice at all. Maybe in central London you could head for the tube, but cellars and other underground places to shelter are extremely rare in the UK, and the WW2 shelters had all gone by the 1960s.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 05:55:21 pm
content: Bizarre on bizzare.A (mini)tornado just ripped through a village in Cornwall. LOL In January.Is this like when Trump got elected last that we seemed to instantly teleport into an episode black mirror? It's happening again isn't it?https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mvpDDHbmeBI

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:24:47 pm
content: Agree with him or not, he is doing a lot in a few days. He totally eviscerated affirmative action -- i.e., revoked President LBJ's Executive Order and several others) by whatever term it is called and defined what women/girls are with respect to Title IX inclusion in sports (i.e., trans females cannot participate in female sports).My comment about Trump was tongue in cheek. After all, I am not sure we want Canada, particularly the maritime provinces, as our 51st state.Back on topic, one problem with sirens and such is they may be misused or confused. We had a situation is a medium sized midwestern town (population 70,000) where civil defense sirens, such as were designed in the 50's for nuclear threats, were used for tornado warnings. Sounds OK, right? But what about floods? Some genius decided to use them for that and residents in a nursing home were taken to the basement when the local river flooded. Several drowned as a result.I have nothing against a warning if used judiciously. The nav system in my new car interrupts to warn me about a lake effect storm. One has to take an affirmative action to turn it off. The problem is it keeps repeating every few minutes and cannot be turned off for the duration of the drive. There's also a warning about distracted driving. Is that meant as a joke? The car manufacturer's safety crap is the biggest distraction I have.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:29:02 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on January 23, 2025, 06:24:47 pmOf course not. That should be Greenland.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:33:49 pm
content: Erik the Red (q.v.) was the greatest Norse real-estate developer of all time.(Beats Iceland as a subdivision name.)

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:37:36 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on January 23, 2025, 05:43:18 pmI turned off all of the emergency alerts on my cell phone after they started sending out tornado watches (not warnings!) for locations that were nearly 200 miles away and amber alerts for areas that were nearly 300 miles away. The cell phone emergency alert system is being badly abused in the US IMO.I don't know if you've seen it but there are tens of thousands of complaints in California from people that were receiving constant cell phone warnings when the wild fires first started. One woman that they interviewed reported that she got over 40 warnings in less than an hour at around 2 AM. Also it's now been reported that for some reason, no warnings were send to the Altadena neighborhood (a historically Black neighborhood) until 3 hours after all of the other neighborhoods were notified.Nowthe California officials are saying that the High-Tech cell phone notification is a failure because people's phone batteries were dead or because they turn off their phones at night, etc and that they need to return to using low tech solutions such as neighborhood sirens, etc. The State of Florida realized the same thing about 15 years ago after they had several deadly tornadoes in the middle of the night and they have since installed warning sirens. The wild fires in Lahaina, Hawaii in 2023 should have been sufficient warning for the government of California that they needed to implement a better fire warning system but they ignored it.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 06:42:31 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on January 23, 2025, 06:24:47 pmI heard a similar story, that during the height of the Cold War one of the Chicago baseball teams, dunno whether the Cubs or White Sox (probly not the Cubs) won the World Series. Whereupon some genius decided it would be a good idea to set off the air-raid sirens all over town. Which led to quite a bit of panic, as you can imagine.I don't know if this story is apocryphal or not; maybe Tim Fox can confirm or debunk it.The other thing is I remember growing up with those sirens going off every week at 10 am on Tuesdays. Now wouldn't that be the time when the Russkis would launch their attack on us?

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:16:43 pm
content: Quote from: coppice on January 23, 2025, 06:29:02 pmHe wants is as a Summer golf course. Just think of the possibilities. Total full-time population is just about 50,000.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:21:54 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 23, 2025, 06:42:31 pmIn 1959, when the White Sox won the American League pennant, the Chicago Fire Commissioner unwisely sounded the air raid sirens.Now, the sirens are tested on the first Tuesday of the month at 10 AM.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:23:51 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on January 23, 2025, 07:21:54 pmNice of them to help America's enemies plan well ahead.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:25:24 pm
content: I assume NORAD watches for incoming at that time.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:26:01 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on January 23, 2025, 07:25:24 pmbut how could they warn anyone?

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:29:35 pm
content: They probably shoot without warning, since the invasion would be ungentlemanly.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:30:05 pm
content: "There I was, it was Tuesday, June 6. I was hanging wash on the line. The sirens went off at 10:00 as usual. I was hanging up the kids' jammies when all of a sudden there were these streaks across the sky, and then the most godawful bang and fireballs in the sky ..."

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:36:21 pm
content: Authorities just want to play with their new fancy systems. This phase goes over once they get bored to their new toys and get something else to play with.I remember some 15 years ago our national broadcasting company ruined all of their TV broadcasts for half an hour straight by beeping some SOS Morse code and large scrolling alarm text because someone hadspotted a bear in a forestnear some rural countryside town. Go figure. But that remained the only time this thing was ever used, AFAIK.Regarding winds, we have these definitions for a "storm":* International meteorological definition 24.5 m/s* Finnish official meteorological definition 21 m/s* Finnish yellow press definition 6 m/sBut something positive: Finnish meteorologists and journalists have stopped talking about "second-meters". That was how literallyeveryprofessional called meters per second for the whole 1990's and still in early 2000's. It used to seriously piss me off.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:36:30 pm
content: Did the warning tell you that small babies should be placed inside there special cocoons and not attempt to rescue friends, relatives, loved ones? Remember,do not panic,think only of yourself.

author: Fryguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:41:29 pm
content: I'm glad those stupid telephone alerts can never reach me - simply because my phone does not support this forced crap !I prefer to deal with the real situation when it actually hits . I won't waste any thought , time , money or energy on things which may be eventually on their way to wherever i may be at that moment .My phone is a phone - phone calls and text messages - that is all it can do , which is enough for me .And in case the big balloon goes up - where will everyone go ? Just step outside and put your shades on - there is nothing else to do .If they hit where you are - enjoy the show . If they hit somewhere else - enjoy the show .Good luck to everyone !

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:43:00 pm
content: In the US, there is a unique audio code used on radio and TV broadcasts to introduce warnings for dangerous weather and other emergencies.I have a NAB test CD that includes it, but it’s illegal to sound it except for emergency.There was a prosecution when it was played as a sound effect for a stage play in a theater.(Orson Welles is dead.)In my part of the US, tornado warnings are very important and current meteorological technology is good at their predictions.

author: Fryguy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:48:50 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on January 23, 2025, 07:43:00 pmSo far , so good - but it still needs a working radio or tv somewhere next to you . . . no guarantee you take notice .

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 07:49:18 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on January 23, 2025, 07:43:00 pmI think I know that sound but am not sure. Is it that 15-second or so sequence that goes something like (attempt at sound painting here) "BLAAAAAATTT ..... BLAAAAATTT ... BLAAAAATTT ..... BLAT ... BLAT ... BLAT"?The "BLAT"s are a really raspy sound.It's what I hear when there's a test of the "emergency alert system", whatever the hell that is.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 08:00:36 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 23, 2025, 07:30:05 pm....and another SpaceX Starship had been lost....

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 08:04:22 pm
content: Recent California wildfires, they had incorrect, many hours delayed, and repeating (cellphone) Emergency Alerts."The faulty messages that bombarded residents’ phones multiple times Thursday and Friday — including in the middle of the night — stoked confusion and panic across the vast county of 10 million."source"Genasys, a vendor operating the software for the county’s emergency alert messaging system, is also testing to determine how a notification was accidentally sent to 10 million residents..."sourceOne software bug is some cell towers had lost power yet had buffered the emergency alert, and when power was restored they sent them out but very late.Pro software developmentI wonder if in the UK it will be written by Fujitsu and on par with Horizon...

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 08:23:37 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on January 23, 2025, 08:04:22 pmIf it's done by an "IT Consultancy"* most likely.* see "Leech"

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 08:24:48 pm
content: On the sub topic of the weather...It's the first time I have switched my DIY off grid solar system to "Forget the sun, fully charge the batteries please." UPS mode. It won't power the house, but I could get it to power the heating, the internet and the office.... for a good while on 5kWh... especially if it is sunny.

author: harerod
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 08:43:10 pm
content: I have been a student of English for four decades, but this idiom was new to me:https://www.grammar-monster.com/sayings_proverbs/balloon_has_gone_up.htm

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:06:22 pm
content: Quote from: jpanhalt on January 23, 2025, 05:43:18 pmIt's actually the same winter storm you've just had in the US. As the cold air left America, it passed over the relatively warm waters of the subtropical Atlantic and the polar air clashed with warm air, causing an acceleration of the jet stream, which produced a deep area of low pressure.It's not going to be anywhere near that cold, 4°C in Glasgow, 10°C in London, since the cold has mixed with warm air and been warmed up by the ocean. It's the potential ?100mph gusts in Ireland and Western Scotland which are the problem.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:21:17 pm
content: It was wicked cold air that passed Canada now. It's that it drops temps so fast and there is the wind, that makes it harsh.This is a neat (supercomputer?) model of the jetstream:https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/500hPa/overlay=temp/orthographic=-49.68,27.03,424/loc=-38.341,41.341sometimes I use 700hPa.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 09:55:23 pm
content: Quote from: harerod on January 23, 2025, 08:43:10 pmI've been a native speaker for 7, and I never once heard that phrase until now.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:00:54 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 23, 2025, 09:55:23 pmWhich means you are around 10 years old...https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/native-speakerNative speakernounuk /ˌneɪ.tɪv ˈspiː.kər/ us /ˌneɪ.t̬ɪv ˈspiː.kɚ/someone who has spoken a particular language since they were a baby, rather than having learned it as a child or adult

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:04:30 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on January 23, 2025, 10:00:54 pm7decades.But you knew that and were just shitposting.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:09:33 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 23, 2025, 09:55:23 pmThat's probably because you are not a native speaker of actual English, but something similar that goes by the same name. The reference is from one or other of the world wars, where balloons were used for a variety of observations and bomber deterrent purposes over London and some of the battlefields.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:22:39 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 23, 2025, 10:04:30 pmActually I didn't spot that; speedreading too fast.Apologies.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:32:27 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on January 23, 2025, 09:21:17 pmIt's caused by a misshapen stratospheric polar vortex, which resulted in blocking over the North Pacific, extending into Alaska and Canada and linking up with another block over the North Atlantic and Europe. This created a trough to the south and east, pushing the polar jet south and frigid air right down to the gulf coast.https://www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/unstoppable-2025-polar-vortex-powers-the-united-states-canada-cold-from-the-stratosphere-fa/Note by the maps, whilst most of the US freezes, parts of Alaska and Europe are much milder than usual. The weather balances itself out.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 10:44:23 pm
content: QuoteEnjoy!https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65726411

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2025, 11:17:21 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on January 23, 2025, 10:32:27 pmAmong the anomalies:1) Florida had more snow than Alaska.2) Hell apparently froze over and Trump was inaugurated Monday as #47.3) We have had almost record cold in my part of Ohio for over a week.4) Ryan Day (football coach) kept his job after losing 4 consecutive times to Michigan5) The Ohio State University won the National Championship in football (American) without first beating Michigan.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 06:07:36 am
content: Quote from: coppice on January 23, 2025, 10:09:33 pmSo American English ain't English, is that it?Wow. Just wow.Do you have trouble fitting your head through doorways, pray tell?

author: .RC.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 08:06:00 am
content: Pretty ordinary warning sound.Here is the Australian one

author: Njk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 09:38:48 am
content: Quote from: TimFox on January 23, 2025, 07:25:24 pmOld time ago, when I was involved in the sigint operations, one guy waked me up and asked to fix a broken wire in his headphones as he knew I could do that. I told him to wait for some time because I've to turn on the soldering iron and by the mean time I can bring him a cup of tea. But he said that he wants to get it fixed RIGHT NOW because they'd just launched a Trident missile and he have to watch the NORAD traffic and perhaps it's the last five minutes of my life. I had a spare phones but didn't told him because it belonged to the other guy who likely will be very upset with the substitution. He refused my proposal and ran away to seek help elsewhere. This is an old story but the motto remains: don't panic.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 11:27:59 am
content: So, while it's not over yet, the peak gusts have just past according to Windy.com and my weather station.It registered 78.1mph gusts and I know it's under reading because I calibrated it. Although the weather station is no longer straight.The 3 large wheelie bins I secured against the wall tightly have been tossed around the garden, my 12V 50W solar panel I use to keep a spare 12V lead acid happy with has been flipped and smashed even though it was held down by 4 large concrete blocks. Thankfully it didn't go through teh garage window behind it, but was thrown away from it onto the ground.There is something that looks like a smashed chimney pot in the neighbours driveway, but it could just be a plant pot.The most scary part was being woken up around 7am by the bed vibrating and moving with the gusts... literally the whole house was moving slightly. The "wooden" roof above my bedroom was making all kinda of noises. Creaks, thumps, clicks, rattles. Interior doors pulling and pushing against their latches. Only bit of the house without a ton of 1 inch thick interlocking concrete roof tiles is the bedroom. I sleep in the one place in the house most likely to have it's roof removed.The head conversation amounted to... "You should get up and check things out.", "It's not wet, it's not cold, I don't feel any wind, the roof is fine for another hour at least" and went back to sleep.I will have to get the drone up when things calm down, just to check.On the plus side, it looks like most people took it seriously enough to remove projectiles from their gardens this time. Last time the street was literally covered in the contents of peoples bins and gardens. Someones wheelie bin lid was found under my car, but luckily no damage. This time the street appears debris free.Maybe the warning did do something positive.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 11:46:33 am
content: Where do you live?So far today where I am in Bedford, it's been quite windy, but nothing exceptional. On the positive side, the sun has come out for a change and it's now 10°C, which is higher than it's been for the last 10 days. I think I'll go out for a run at lunchtime.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 11:54:08 am
content: Well, I'm flying out from Heathrow tomorrow, so it'll be "interesting" to see if there are any disruptions there. So far it says my flight is still scheduled and running OK.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 11:56:16 am
content: Just east of Belfast. Highest point in the town, 400 yards from Belfast Lough shore.It's an odd storm. It is not our typical artic<>temporate zone mixing systems, the 3000mile across, takes a week to pass affairs with <60mph winds.This one is one of these weirdo winter hurricanes which don't quite make it to the Caribbean but turn north east and track our way.There are apparently 2 or 3 more already forming behind it. These things are only a few hundred miles across with a VERY tight eye. WHen I first looked at it on Windy.com it didn't look all that dangerous. The peak winds where 80mph out to sea. Unlikely to get that bad once it land falls. However as I hit "play" and watched the forecast play on, when it was just land falling ireland it suddenly surged to the south west corner of the eye to well over 100mph. Thats when I took it seriously. Our buildings are design for "100mph winds, 100 years".

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 12:22:18 pm
content: Ahh lucky you ...That is a breeze..When bura blows it gets interesting in my part of the country.It is seasonal wind, not always hurricane force but when it is, traffic stops, bridges are closed, parts of highways...It can cleanly blow away car from the bridge.Many parts of highways and bridges have special fences and wind deflectors to deal with it...But joking aside, strong winds are serious danger. Stay safe!

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 12:31:50 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 24, 2025, 06:07:36 amCorrect; that's why it has a different name, and why modern operating systems allow you to select which you are using. The two languages do have a lot in common, though - hence "divided by a common language".The even though they grate horribly, the differences in spelling and pronunciation are legion and not easily misunderstood.The same is true of most differences in the use of prepositions.But there are more significant differences...My mother was once thrown out of a shop for asking for a quarter of ham.If you "table a meeting" then one party or the other will beveryfrustrated.Here if you went into a restaurant in shirt and pants, you would be ejected before you reached a table. If you then asked where the bathroom is, you would be told in your hotel or at home.Here (until 1967) if you asked someone whether you could bum a fag, you would be guilty of inciting gross indecency.Differing usage of auxiliary verbs can cause misunderstandings.Etchttps://speechling.com/blog/8-differences-between-british-english-and-american-english/https://www.berlitz.com/blog/british-english-vs-american-english-spelling-pronunciation-wordsEtc.

author: paulca
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 12:34:52 pm
content: Indeed. The UK's weather is "mostly mild to moderate". The climate is "Oceanic Temperate", our "warmth" comes from the SW ocean currents.The reason people from the British Isles talk so much about their weather is because they get a LOT of it. Due to the nature of the oceans those nations on the oceans north eastern shores (UK and Alaska) get constantly hammered by oceanic artic/temporate mixing systems.They are "mild" on a total storm scale, but they happen dozens of times a year.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 12:43:11 pm
content: Quote from: paulca on January 24, 2025, 12:34:52 pmCf having climate, which is boring.

author: xvr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 05:18:05 pm
content: QuoteDublin - no any syrens, no alert messages, just falling roofs

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 05:26:41 pm
content: Quote from: xvr on January 24, 2025, 05:18:05 pmI assume this was one of the gently sloped roof sections we see in the background. I've often looked at roofs like that, and wondered how much lift you could get from a strong wind in the right direction.

author: Bryn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 05:55:50 pm
content: Thankfully, as someone who doesn't use a smartphone, I wasn't affected by it. Then again I knew about the storm coming anyway,especiallywith Scotland to be amongst the worst hit and I happen to be from there.I do remember when the alert was first tested out years ago, and not everyone was a fan of it and apparently still aren't

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 06:30:21 pm
content: Quote from: Bryn on January 24, 2025, 05:55:50 pmThey test the system here probably 6 times a year. Always the first Monday of a month at 12:00. Including the air raid sirens. After a few occasions you don't even look up from work.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 10:36:17 pm
content: The maximum recorded wind was 114mph, but there were almost certainly stronger gusts, as the storm damaged some of the instruments.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 10:39:24 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on January 24, 2025, 10:36:17 pmThe strong winds stopped very abruptly here.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2025, 09:55:38 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on January 24, 2025, 12:31:50 pmLook: I know all about the "two people's divided by a common language" thing, thank you very much.What you didn't address was the not-so-subtle jab by the person I was responding to to the effect that my English (American English) wasn't really English.i could just as easily (and wrongly) posit that the strange, non-rhotic, effete-sounding English that you Brits speak isn't really English. ThatmyEnglish is the only correct one. (Notwithstanding that our English was derived from yours, but that was a long time ago.)I mean, how culturally chauvinistic can you get?

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2025, 10:17:50 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on January 25, 2025, 09:55:38 pmAs culturally chauvinistic as Americans, of course. Frequently they don't realise their presumptions.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2025, 10:50:30 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on January 25, 2025, 10:17:50 pmI don't think either one of our cultures has a monopoly on that.