A report of the weather overnight 13th to 14th bit delayed as we have
only recently got power back after it being off for 30hrs with 6hrs
before that on very low volts...

Afternoon of the 13th wet snow started to fall, unusual for here we
normally get powder. The wind was only F6 to F7 and temp just above
freezing. Power failed at 1859, with an auto-recloser lockout, came
back at 2223. Got woken up at 0318 on the 14th by an SMS telling me
the broadband had failed, got very confused as some devices where
working but others were not. CFL lights worked but flourescent lights
wouldn't even attempt to strike. The cordless phone, PABX and ADSL
modem weren't happy but the network switch and server were fine, my
PC wouldn't boot. Fan heater had no fan. Eventually dug out a volt
meter and our supply was sitting at 140v... 60W incandescent bulb was
a dull orange. Switched off the power at the consumer units as a
safety measure.

Morning of the 14th reveals a white world and power out for pretty
much all of Alston Moor. Our power finally goes off off just after
0900. 4 to 5 inches of lying wet snow, Hartside closed other high
routes problematical, local roads passable with care. Both schools
closed due to the lack of power, the road snow conditions weren't bad
enough for that to close them.

The real damage was due to this snow being wet, sticky and freezing.
The ice build up on the overhead power lines in conjunction with the
wind had brought them down in many locations, snapped several poles
and pulled a few over. The ice build up on the lines was to a good 2"
in diameter. Speaking to the engineers out fixing the lines, they
indicated that the level of icing we had was quite severe.

Couple of pics to start the Winter 2011/12 set on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allsort...7628433408689/

--
Cheers Dave.
Nr Garrigill, Cumbria. 421m ASL.