Chloe

I posted this to Facebook this morning in the expectation that I would get more in the can by the end of the day. But I didn't.

A little earlier than expected high-pressure system "Chloe" arrived over Germany and is due to give us three days of sunshine. High-pressure systems this year are female in Germany and thus Chloe is only the third one since 1st January. The lows being male are already at letter "R" with Rainer sitting halfway between Aberdeen and, I suspect, some uninhabited part of Norway.

Although it seemed to snow so much yesterday, it didn't add more than perhaps 5-10cm but certainly made the trees look pretty again.

I have mentioned over the last few days that the snow that fell 3 weeks ago is simply not melting. If you look at the roof on the top left you will see it is hanging out well over 30cm from the drainage and the depth of the snow is a good 20cm.

The roof faces due south and is a simple clear plastic but with a very shallow fall. You can just make out icicles hanging off the bottom of the snow.

And surprisingly today, despite the sun, the snow remained on the PV and there were few avalanches from the main tiled roof.

The sun also means cold nights at around -10°C but Thursday is expected to bring rain and the end of the current freeze.

My first cat in Sussex was called Chloe, born 1977 somewhere in Oxfordshire, I think and rescued on the drive home from the honeymoon.