In article l.net,
Dave Liquorice writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2018 21:04:33 +0000, bert wrote:

Stories about disasters and diseases sell newspapers, so we can
understand the press would talk up bad weather. But the BBC? As
a public service broadcaster it shouldn't be exaggerating the
impact of cold weather, even if it does improve audience numbers.

I suppose it depends where you live. In Alston where the roads
have
been blocked by snow for five days or so things got pretty
serious.
Hence the pix of chinook helecopters air lifting supppies.

I know the Alston/Nenthead area. Funny how it never used to be blocked
for more than a couple of days back in the 50s/60s Even Killhope would
be open.

I think there might be a hint of rose tint in there somewhere. B-)
And back then people would would far more prepared in terms of fuel
and food supplies. On the air drops and moutain rescue deliveries
before, great but they dropped the stuff to be taken to the village
halls for "distrubution". By the time of the air drops the villages
were not cut off, but lots of individual places around still were and
therefore couldn't, by definition, get to the village hall... They
should have dropped, literally, stuff at or near those places that
showed occupancy. Not many people would (could!) ignore a chinnock
hovering at 25' over a field next to their house. When it landed at
Garrigill, a mile and half away I heard the distinctive whop whop
whop indoors.

The big problem was that we got a heck of a lot of snow in one dollop
from the 28th Feb to 2nd of March. There was more lying snow in
either 2009/10 or 2010/11 but that arrived in much more manageble
foot or so at a time, that Land Rovers can cope with. Land Rovers get
stopped at around 18" to 2' lying snow, that's what most of the roads
where covered by early on the 1st with drifts of 4' to 5' and it got
worse from there on.

The Brampton Road, the lowest and the one they try to keep open and
open first for emergency access became 4WD only, maybe passable with
care on the afternooon of the second. Hexham Road was snow covered,
PWC, single track with passing places between the two Ninebanks
turnings late afternoon on the 3rd, Killhope that day as well I think
but Killhope didn't really cop it. Hartside was the problem that took
a good four or five days it did open briefly but got closed again
when a drift collapsed back across. The Nenthead back road was a
couple of days after Hartside.

Spent a fair bit of Sunday (11th) helping to clear a couple of
neighbours tracks, one had 50 yd long 5' deep drift and several other
drifts up to a couple of feet deep and similar length. We've had a
thaw and rain since the 1st/2nd so what we were tackling was only
about 50% of the orginal...

https://www.facebook.com/dave.liquor...7892575329033/

That tractor had just freed itself from being stuck and visibilty had
improved.

Just hover a Chinook over it, that should shift it.:-)
--
bert