Record Breaking Snow forecast in November

[Dancing Queen]

Apparently we can expect the worst winter weather we have had in decades starting as early as November.

We have had some pretty dire winter weather the last few years, I hope this is one the weather forecasters have got wrong

[david63]

Apparently we can expect the worst winter weather we have had in decades starting as early as November.

We have had some pretty dire winter weather the last few years, I hope this is one the weather forecasters have got wrong

... and the good news is?

[GillD46]

Oh great! Still, living right on the coast we don't often get a lot of snow - though we do get some fierce storms.

[Manoverboard]

Hang on, this has to be some sort of mistake cos I've still got a few windows ( inside surfaces ) to paint before the winter sets in.

No matter the logs are piled higher than high.

[jay-ell71]

Please Jo, no! We are trying to arrange for someone to install a new boiler.
We won't get it done before November is out.

Note to all members. sort out a new boiler in the summer months.

[Kendhni]

They seem to say that every year about this time ... not sure if it is come from the met office or just the media.
With the current trends in climate change it is however more likely we will see more rain in our summers and more snow in our winters ... however in a country such as ours that will depend on whereabouts you live.

[Delboy]

We are off to Scotland for 5 days in November, whilst I look forward hopefully to see some snow on the mountain tops, just hoping it's not too thick, to prevent us from going.

[Dancing Queen]

They seem to say that every year about this time ... not sure if it is come from the met office or just the media.
With the current trends in climate change it is however more likely we will see more rain in our summers and more snow in our winters ... however in a country such as ours that will depend on whereabouts you live.

I hope it's just the media I don't really mind snow and am quite happy to stay indoors, I'm just selfishly thinking about getting to Southampton in December

[Kendhni]

I am the sort that likes to hedge my bets .. because we usually need transfers I would usually start the holiday a day early and do the transfer the day before, spend a relaxed night in a hotel at the airport and check in nice and early. We actually have this down to a fine art where we can get up early, get checked in and go back to the hotel for breakfast and an hours R&R before attempting to go airside.

[Kendhni]

One thing I usually add about this time of year ... if it does turn cold, remember to check on elderly relatives and neighbours to ensure they have adequate heat.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Frankly the Media/Met Office's seasonal predictions have been so off the mark in recent times I ignore them all. Did they predict this summer? No they didn't. They said we were in for a decade of wet summers and then the sun came out and pretty much stayed out.

I was once told that if a weather forecast simply said "tomorrow will be the same as today" they'd be right two thirds of the time. That's better than these long range forecasts achieve.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Ken - we are the elderly relatives! But on the bright side, after our current supplier, SSE, won the race to hike prices we've just swapped to a different supplier, fixed deal until March 2015, and saved £225 a year, so I'm turning the thermostat up!

[Kendhni]

Definitely a very wise move M&T .. they have been talking about this price hike for a while now and it was bound to happen.

There is some belief (I have no idea whether or not it is founded) that following Milliband's speech about energy prices (and his appearance on Watchdog) that price rises will be expedited between now and the next election ... then they will be frozen for 18 months before seeing a very large hike again.

So the rule to everyone is shop around .. just make sure when comparing you are comparing your own energy usage profile. I have seen some people make terrible mistakes because they have just compared an 'average' consumption pattern which was very different to their own usage (and it cost them several hundred quid).

The golden rule though is to reduce your consumption .. that will generally save more than a price comparison site. I know we have discussed this before and it is sometimes hard to see where consumption can be reduced but there is always/usually something you can do.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The golden rule though is to reduce your consumption .. that will generally save more than a price comparison site. I know we have discussed this before and it is sometimes hard to see where consumption can be reduced but there is always/usually something you can do.

I'd love to know what Ken. We have successfully reduced consumption over the years but can't keep up with recent price rises. We have all our windows and doors double glazed and draught proofed, we have cavity wall insulation, we have more than the recommended amount of loft insulation (in one part of the roof space up to the rafters), we have a programmable thermostat which allows us to set different temperatures for different parts of the day (e.g. lower when we are active or out than when we are sitting), we wear jumpers in the house, we have modern efficient electrical appliances, we have a modern efficient boiler, we have low energy lights buls which we turn off when rooms are unoccupied, we turn everything down or off when we go away.

We could update our boiler again, but it would cost in excess of £2500 and save us less than 5% on our consumption (about half the recent price hike) and I resent the idea of throwing away something that was state of the art five years ago and a long way from its expiry date. We could change all the windows to triple glazed but we'd be dead before they paid for themselves. We could put solar panels on the roof and save on our annual bills, but again would never get back the capital cost in our lifetime (or at least the time we are likely to stay in this house). Or we could knock the house down and build a new one to the latest energy standards, but that's not quite economic either.

I honestly don't think there is anything left to do which is anywhere near close to cost effective.

[emjay45]

I was dreading a severe winter last year as I worried about getting to Southampton in January. We did in fact leave the island 2 days before our cruise to make sure we didn't miss the ship. We were away when the 'Big Snow' happened. We rarely have snow over here and because we are so close to the sea don't see much of it, when it does snow. Selfishly I was hoping for a White Christmas. but of course I do hope those of you going on a cruise before, and during the Christmas period arrive safely in Southampton.

[Keechy]

Ken - we are the elderly relatives! But on the bright side, after our current supplier, SSE, won the race to hike prices we've just swapped to a different supplier, fixed deal until March 2015, and saved £225 a year, so I'm turning the thermostat up!

Mand T, that's interesting that you've switched already the hike was only announced a couple of days ago. Is it really that quick and easy? As it's only a matter of time before all the suppliers fleece us, we are thinking of swapping but we don't know who to yet.

We are with British Gas and tied in until November so I can't swap just yet otherwise we'll have to cough up £20 per fuel. Last year when they added 7% (I think), my monthly payments went up by about 40%. I don't understand it but I'm in credit at the moment so I suppose it must have been correct.

[Mervyn and Trish]

It took about 10 minutes on the uswitch website. You just need to be armed with accurate information about your current supplier and tariff, your annual consumption, your address and your bank details for direct debit if you go ahead.

It will be a few days before the switch date is confirmed, at which point we will have to read the meters, so there are still some potential hurdles. But so far, so good, and we already have confirmation of what our new monthly payment will be - less than we are currently paying even before the SSE hike comes into effect.

[GillD46]

We found that our current supplier (Scottish Power) was able to "fix" our payments until 2017 for only an extra £69 per annum. On Uswitch, they came out best for us anyway.

[ChesterfieldJohn]

Frankly the Media/Met Office's seasonal predictions have been so off the mark in recent times I ignore them all. Did they predict this summer? No they didn't. They said we were in for a decade of wet summers and then the sun came out and pretty much stayed out.

I was once told that if a weather forecast simply said "tomorrow will be the same as today" they'd be right two thirds of the time. That's better than these long range forecasts achieve.

A couple of years ago they did this at Sheffield University and indeed got it right more often than the professionals.

John

[Mervyn and Trish]

We found that our current supplier (Scottish Power) was able to "fix" our payments until 2017 for only an extra £69 per annum. On Uswitch, they came out best for us anyway.

It's Scottish Power that Uswitch has directed us towards. Their deal seems very good. Once we're in I'll investigate the option of a 2017 fix, as the one we're joining is only until 2015 - though it may be of course that your deal is a loyalty thing for existing customers to hang on to them

[Manoverboard]

M&T ?

You are not even trying man ... invest in a set of thermals, plus a spare set in case of spillage, for your self and your good lady and you'll be quids in.

[Kendhni]

Ken - we are the elderly relatives! But on the bright side, after our current supplier, SSE, won the race to hike prices we've just swapped to a different supplier, fixed deal until March 2015, and saved £225 a year, so I'm turning the thermostat up!

Mand T, that's interesting that you've switched already the hike was only announced a couple of days ago. Is it really that quick and easy? As it's only a matter of time before all the suppliers fleece us, we are thinking of swapping but we don't know who to yet.

We are with British Gas and tied in until November so I can't swap just yet otherwise we'll have to cough up £20 per fuel. Last year when they added 7% (I think), my monthly payments went up by about 40%. I don't understand it but I'm in credit at the moment so I suppose it must have been correct.

Keechy, do not be scared or worried about switching it is very easy to do these days. As per my earlier note though, make sure you compare YOUR consumption and not the average ... the two can give very different answers. Most customers will not see vast amounts of savings (despite what comparison sites may say) but there are deals out there. There is some useful information here.

BTW it is similar for bank accounts as well ... for years people have worried that it is complex, but when I had to switch my account (about 15 years ago) it was dead easy ... in fact I was surprised how easy it was .. and it has got even easier since.

[Gill W]

We are with SSE and are thinking of switching. We got a letter from them yesterday which gave full details of our consumption for the year, so that'll be helpful when we check out the uswitch site.

Yesterday we had wind coming in from the east, and heavy rain from the afternoon into the night. If that had been in the really cold weather that would have been snow, I think we'd have deep snow by now, to rival the snow we had in 1987' when we were genuinely snowed in.

[Kendhni]

I'd love to know what Ken.

Unfortunately without a detailed understanding of circumstances and usage it is almost impossible to answer.
Have you got one of those energy monitoring devices? Some utility companies give them out free (or for the asking) ... I believe they can be very addictive

[GillD46]

We found that our current supplier (Scottish Power) was able to "fix" our payments until 2017 for only an extra £69 per annum. On Uswitch, they came out best for us anyway.

It's Scottish Power that Uswitch has directed us towards. Their deal seems very good. Once we're in I'll investigate the option of a 2017 fix, as the one we're joining is only until 2015 - though it may be of course that your deal is a loyalty thing for existing customers to hang on to them

I think it may be because I couldn't find it anywhere on-line. Whatever, we were delighted