½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

It's blooming cold down here on the plain too M' Dear...:)

That is even earlier than last year is it not?

The bulk of the snow in this area last year didn't arrive till the end of January, although there were a few flurries mid December.

[QUOTE=Penny]We had the first snowfall last night and today. It is very cold and more is expected tonight. Force, across the valley from us had a few inches. Seems too early to be seeing cars driving round with snow on their roof!![/QUOTE]

Hi Penny - any idea what the conditions are like between Pedaso/Amandola (mainly SS 433)? We need to get to Santa Vittoria in Matenano next weekend, but not if it means battling through snow/ice! Grateful for any weather updates you can offer from local sources.:)

Lovely and Sunny with beautiful blue skies in Puglia .....but.......Freezing !!!!
Can't wait for Christmas when the sons bring my winter clothes !!!:rolleyes: ....was being very optimistic wasn't I.....thinking I wouldn't need them to Jan/Feb :cool:
Still watching the news we look like we are in the middle of a heat wave compared to most areas !!!...Is this normal :confused:

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]The bulk of the snow in this area last year didn't arrive till the end of January, although there were a few flurries mid December.[/QUOTE]

Same as over here on the west coast then.
Very cold today but with brilliant blue skies.
Perfect winter weather.

Could be worse, Bristol, freezing and foggy, no sun, work tomorrow.
Stribs

LOL I wish we'd had snow already...

We've had a lovely sunny week but oh so cold, too! One morning (8 am) last week it was -7 Celsius outside! Windscreen was frozen solid! Brrr.....

Warmer today... 0 degrees.... :D

...just signed in and weather report on my Yahoo homepage said 100% chance of snow in ALL areas of UK ...and we thought we had problems in Italy !!!!:D

[QUOTE=alex and lyn]...just signed in and weather report on my Yahoo homepage said 100% chance of snow in ALL areas of UK ...and we thought we had problems in Italy !!!!:D[/QUOTE]

Yippeeee.... travel chaos guaranteed!!! :D

Apparently from Thursday onwards .... best have a lie in on Friday morning instead of rushing out to get to work on time... it won't happen! ;)

S

Heck, since Saturday, it has thunderstormed, rained hailed and this morning it snowed a bit, but the rain washed it away and its blooming cold and I will be getting another load of wood in I think...:eek:

Poetica,

we are due for a lot of snow between now and Thursday (if you can believe the weather reports - always a bit hit & miss) along with the Bora wind which was very destructive last winter. The protezione civile have issued an alert so they think something will happen. There is snow here in Montefalcone and it is flippin' freezing!

If you want to send me an email before you leave I can give you an update as I can see Santa Vittoria out of my window :-)

Penny

Can you post some pics?

You could become the Val d'Aso webcam:D

Hope we don't lose any more roof tiles:(

Dave

funnily enough when you live here and you get a very hot day in summer they all say its unusual... a cold day in winter and the same applies....

now believe it or not it is generally always quite warm here in summer and always quite cold here in winter...and whenever the white stuff arrives everyone tries to recall the last time they saw it...despite denials by everyone that seems to live here that this sort of thing is rare.... i remember snow every winter here for god knows how long and hot days in summer... and in between loads of rain....

if you want to be warm in winter... in europe at least best to go to austria and switzerland ...their houses always feel warm as toast .... ... if you want to go bankrupt...buy a house here and try to get it warm.... joke.... just be prepared local folklore will tell you that its never cold...but for those of you in their first year here dont be fooled by someone telling you its rare... make plans for next year to improve heating systems and insulation... double glazing etc.... there is always a couple of months at least of the year where you will need it...in almost every area of italy and sometimes up to four to six months... and with the costs of it all having risen a lot again this year you will have a surprise with the bills...talking to a neighbour today he reckons to spend around e300 per month for heating and hot water...normal house normal family size... and i can confirm we also spend about that per month... then you add in around e 400 per winter for wood for the fire...

your winter bills arrive at around e2000 per year... and thats for well built well insulated houses

Gosh thats quite expensive and I thought Blighty was dear. I did hear that ½ûÂþÌìÌà electricity is expensive.

I first realised the cost of heating when we hired an apartment to house hunt [successfully]

It was late September, and the nights got chilly - so we asked the 'manager' to put the heating on - people in the other 2 apartments that made up the house had also asked for it to be turned on. We each had to agree to pay an extra 10 Euros a day for the heating.

At the time I thought this was a bit of a rip-off - but then noticed lots of apartment brochures stated the need for a winter heating supplement.

When we got our gas bills at the house we bought, I calculated it was about £50 a week in winter for heating.

An ½ûÂþÌìÌà friend said that wasn't too bad - he pays about £250 a month in Winter. His gas company bills monthly in winter and two-monthly in summer.

elaine...we do not use nor our neighbours electricity for heating.... if we did you could most probably triple the price i suggested as more or less normal...we use town gas or as you might know it mains gas.... it is the chepest method of heating.... my point is to those that think of lovely remote properties where this option is often not available... that they have to calculate this as more or less a base price and if you use fuel oil or even propane/tank gas it will be even more costly... and electricity ...well forget about it...

as regards regions of italy and snow and therefore cold... calabria had the coldest place last night at minus 14.c the salerno regia calabria motorway is blocked and cut off as usual.... people stuck... marche , abruzzo molise and puglia... all had snow and cold.... molise suffering the worst..... and all of the north remains sub zero... minus the snow... and by north i mean all areas above rome....

calabria also had the warmest place or was it sicily... but it was something like plus 10 c... these are all night time temps...

this posting is not to score points of regions or whatever... but just to sort of help some people realise that italy is cold in the winter ... and there might be some sense in what most italians do.... get modern apartments /villas with efficient thermal and heating facilities...they have lived here a lot longer than most of us... if not head for village houses or at least those with mains gas close by.... and if planning from new... try and get a mixed heating system ie independant of electrics.. because when you et snow you get electric cuts... and that means no heting and no hot water if you havent prepared...

apart from all that... i love the snow... the mountains look great and its one of the best times to get out walking... a bit of adversity helps to make you feel alive... the dogs love it too..... and you come back to your cosy...all be it costly nice warm house... after hot summers it all feels different but welcoming and best of all are white christmases... almost guranteed

Not much to see I'm afraid

[QUOTE=Penny]Not much to see I'm afraid[/QUOTE]

Wow look at the snow!!!!!! Haven't seen such quantities of the wintry white stuff since about 2000 - in Aberdeenshire!

Enjoy!!! ;)

Stephanie

[QUOTE=Penny]Not much to see I'm afraid[/QUOTE]

Is that your new Panda 4x4 in the photograph? - I do like it in that colour.

Not a 4x4 I'm afraid (wish it was!). They weren't out when we bought it last year. You can just see our 4x4 poking out of the bottom rightof the picture. We could not do without it. That and the Grillo are the best things we've bought for Italy!

John thanks for your realistic posting on heating houses here in the winter! Many people do not seem to realise that Italy does have seasons. We are on tanked gas as in a rural location, think our costs were about as you quoted last year. We had the tank filled up in the summer when prices were low, so will expect to be horrified when it needs filling again. We lived in a draughty famhouse in the UK so we are used to wrapping up in our fleeces!! Anyway do not mind really how cold it gets as long as we see some blue skies and sunshine as well.

[QUOTE=Penny]Not much to see I'm afraid[/QUOTE]

When and where is this. Don't tell me this is today..

It is this morning out of our apartment window in Montefalcone Appennino

Penny

Thanks for the picture. The depth of snow on your little car shows enough.:)

Dave

[QUOTE=Wol]It is this morning out of our apartment window in Montefalcone Appennino[/QUOTE]

I thought it didn't snow till Jan-feb. I'm in Montreal and we don't even have snow on the ground. There must be something wrong with the weather patterns.

sirocco due to start blowing tomorrow.... so snow should all be gone by the weekend... at least at lower levels

Hi All, could someone please advise - i was interested in viewing the picture that Penny posted of the snow recently (was in foggia area this weekend and experienced a couple of centimeters which disappeared by morning). Hower, i get a popup that tells me i do not have permision to view the photo - i remember this appening before :mad: - do i have to have an additional subscription to be able to view peoples pictures?
:confused: Steve

Steve

I think you need to go to your Control Panel then Edit Options and make sure Show Images is ticked in Thread Display Options then Save Changes (It Worked for Me).

Dave

I'm also in Montreal and we've definately got snow on the ground now - snowing as I write. I had hoped it wouldn't be so early in Marche.

Who said it snowed in Le Marche? As long as it doesn't snow in Puglia.

[QUOTE=Penny]Poetica,

we are due for a lot of snow between now and Thursday (if you can believe the weather reports - always a bit hit & miss) along with the Bora wind which was very destructive last winter. The protezione civile have issued an alert so they think something will happen. There is snow here in Montefalcone and it is flippin' freezing!

If you want to send me an email before you leave I can give you an update as I can see Santa Vittoria out of my window :-)[/QUOTE]

Penny - thanks for the response. We have decided not to risk delays, diversions and dangerous driving conditions and are following the advice to Brits for the coming (very cold forecast) weekend in the UK ... stay at home!! Might have some pictures to match yours!

Snowed here overnight. Has settled but only a very thin layer in my part of Dublin and the Park. Would imagine it was much heavier out where DerekL lives.

Even got a covering down here in South Gloucestershire this morning, nice blue skies now
Stribs

[quote=YNot]Steve

I think you need to go to your Control Panel then Edit Options and make sure Show Images is ticked in Thread Display Options then Save Changes (It Worked for Me).

Dave[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestion Dave but i already have this ticked and it still cannot view the picture. The message i get says that i may not have certain privilages or am i trying to alter someones post. If anyone has any other suggestions i would be grateful
Steve

[QUOTE=Frank]Who said it snowed in Le Marche? As long as it doesn't snow in Puglia.[/QUOTE]
The original post is from Le Marche, and I also live in Le Marche and mentioned the snow:) but, it is a gorgeous day today, although the mountains seem to have had another fall of snow overnight. It can't snow in Puglia, apparently the toxic fumes disolve the snow on its way down ;) :)

Whahey!! One day late but finally the snow has arrived in Edinburgh!! Nice big fluffy snowflakes from earlier this morning have now sadly turned into slushy wet ones!! It all started just after I'd arrived to work... very handy timing!! :D

Stephanie

No snow in Finland and this years first plane load of thousands ofBrits arrived yesterday to Polar circle in Finnish Lapland to see snow and Babbo Natale but no white stuff around.

[quote=Sano]Snowed here overnight. Has settled but only a very thin layer in my part of Dublin and the Park. Would imagine it was much heavier out where DerekL lives.[/quote]

Correct Sano! Took me 2 hours to get into Dublin! :(
By the time I got to Dublin, no snow!