"plenty of wind"

[anteros_lmc]

We've been having a bit of weather up here, which has resulted in some rather hysterical news reports, however amongst the hyperbole I came across this masterpiece of Hebridean understatement on the BBC news website, from the Barra Lifeboat coxswain...

Speaking from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Donald MacLeod, coxswain of the island's lifeboat, said there was rain, hail and "plenty of wind".

He said the storm had "grown through the night", adding: "The swell conditions are pretty bad to the west - it's showing about 14m (45ft)."

Mr Macleod said this was "a lot deeper than we normally see" and was "definitely something to be wary of".

And here's what a 45 ft swell looks like in the Hebrides. These pictures of the Butt of Ness lighthouse at the northern tip of Lewis were taken earlier today. To give you some idea of the scale, that lighthouse is about 120 feet high and in the middle picture the waves are breaking right over it.



By Dell-icious-ness



By Chris Murray



By Angus Maclean

Comments

[vespican.livejournal.com]

A little breezy!

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Sporty!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I love Carol the weather girl on the BBC - typically Scottish and understated, she said that we were just having winter. :)

[katriona-s.livejournal.com]

Oh terrifying but beautiful photos!

[lemurling.livejournal.com]

You folks would die laughing at the hysteria out in CA over our incoming storm. I mean, it's going to blow a bit, and some trees might even come down if we're unlucky, but waves aren't going to be knocking cars off bridges or swamping Alcatraz or anything. Those pictures are pretty darn intimidating!

[amaraal.livejournal.com]

Funny fellows you have :)

[shepet.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's impressive!
*remembering anxiously the house with 'russian banister'* Hope he well protected?

[aletheiafelinea.livejournal.com]

Must be fun to be a resident lighthouse keeper. Yup, loads of fun. For one, you have really clean windows at home.

[kittycallum.livejournal.com]

Those are serious waves indeed! I always love walking on the beach in stormy weather, but those would probably deter me. ;) Weather reporters do enjoy drama, don't they -- I remember last year we had about three 'snowstorms of the century' which produced a foot or so of snow each.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

That's some impressive weather. I thought we had a bit of a breeze in Huddersfield, but nothing to compare with further north.