Freuchie & Fife Severe Weather

Saturday 15th January

Ross Robertson — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:24:43 +0000

Flooding possible due to high snow melt, saturated ground and high rainfall. Currently river levels here at Freuchie Mill are lapping at the top of the culvert so fingers crossed we don’t get any more rain!

(As you can probably tell, I’ve not been able to update this site as often as I’d like so keep an eye on Windy Wilson’s page and the other links below)

For more regularly updated information on the weather, snow forecast and local road states in and around Perthshire and Fife, take a look at Windy Wilson’s weather updates – On Facebook and Twitter

Update 0250 Sunday 16th – River level beyond top of the culvert and half way up the diversion pipe. Not good.

Saturday 8th January

Ross Robertson — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:07:24 +0000

Fife and Freuchie are currently getting dumped on with several inches of snow lying so far. More is forecast for Saturday evening.

Remember to check traffic news before you set out and be careful.

Friday 17th December + onwards – Second Cold Snap

Ross Robertson — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:35:28 +0000

From Friday onwards temps aren’t forecast to get above freezing for the next week or so. Also from Saturday Fife is forecast to have a fair amount of snow dumped on us.

So keep an eye on the forecasts and travel news that are available via the links at the bottom of this page.

Update 0000 Saturday 18th December - Forecasts are now predicting no snowfall for Fife today (sat). On Sunday there is to be some snowfall from about mid-afternoon but looking like nothing too bad. Unless the wind changes to a mostly North Easterly direction, Fife is set to escape the worst of the snowfall. However temperatures aren’t to rise above freezing for at least a week and right now, it’s -9c here at Freuchie. The forecasts predict that todays maximum will be -3c.

Update 1215 Sunday 19th December – Today the winds have changed to a North Easterly bringing with them snow showers. We’ve had an inch or so, so far with more set for this afternoon. Fife Council have again all but run out of grit (as reported in the daily rags and online) so expect the council-gritted roads to be treacherous. The A92 and M90 are gritted by Bear so these should be okay.

Friday 10th December

Ross Robertson — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:21:49 +0000

With temperatures now consistently above freezing and to remain so until next week, the accumulated snow is rapidly melting. This could lead to flooding problems so keep an eye on river levels.

From Thursday its looking like it will turn colder again, with temps struggling to get above freezing if at all and more snow forecast.

Late Nov / Early Dec cold snap

Ross Robertson — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:05:45 +0000

It looks like Fife has had a fair dumping of snow overnight and more snow showers are forecast throughout the day. As of time of original posting, 5am, several roads around Perth and Stirling including the main A9 are closed so it looks like roads may be tricky as the day goes on. Hopefully the gritters and ploughs will make an appearance today.

Early warning for next weekend
Early forecasts are predicting more snow and temperatures to plummet to -15c in Fife. One to keep an eye on.

Update 0830 Tuesday 30th November – The forecast for today and tomorrow is fairly frequent snow showers coming in from the east with temps hovering around or below freezing.

On the whole, most main roads in Fife have been well gritted and ploughed. As soon as you head over into Perth & Kinross its clear to see that they aren’t using any grit and just ploughing. The A912 from Gateside to Bridge of Earn is fine, slushy but driveable as far as the border at Balvaird Castle. Then it changes to rutted hard packed snow. Between the Bein and Baiglie Inns there have been several trees down and several more are leaning over the road, ready to snap under the weight of the snow. In Bridge of Earn itself cars and lorries were getting stuck trying to negotiate the railway overbridge.

The same goes for the A913. Up to Newburgh the roads are perfectly driveable. Beyond Newburgh, the road conditions get worse with hard packed snow due from lack of grit.

After Sunday’s closure with 8 hour jams, the M90 is down to a single lane each way between Kinross and Perth and will get tricky fast if there is any more significant snowfall. It doesn’t help that Traffic Scotland’s cameras for Glenfarg and the Friarton Bridge are down (and have been for months). Going south, currently Traffic Scotland have a hazard alert that between Kinross and Halbeath conditions are treacherous because of the snow.

If you are driving anywhere today or in the next few days, take care and remember to check the latest travel news. Links are at the bottom of this page.

Update 2000 Tuesday 30th November - It seems that tonight roads across Fife aren’t being gritted at all. I drove from Freuchie to Anstruther via Leven and back via St Andrews and there were no gritters to be seen nor any evidence of gritting having taken place tonight. Inland away from the coast, the roads are very icy and treacherous. The forecast is for more frequent snow showers with temperatures around -3c, falling lower under clear skies. It’s currently -5c here at Freuchie and snowing. Wednesday is more of the same.

Update 2100 Thursday 2nd December – It’s currently -10c and still dropping. This means grit and salt on the roads stop working and we are into burst pipe territory.

Late November / Early December Cold Snap

Ross Robertson — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 05:35:55 +0000

Its the first real cold snap of this winter and although so far no significant snowfall has been forecast for the Freuchie area, temperatures are to hover around freezing for the next few days. There was a reasonable snow shower tonight which made roads tricky and even though it was forecast for several days in advance, gritters or any evidence of gritting was nowhere to be seen. (certainly between Freuchie and Perth anyway on the M90/A912/A92).
I’ll update this site if and when there is any significant snowfall predicted or if temperatures are forecast to get below -5c for any length of time.

Sunday 7th – Monday 8th November

Ross Robertson — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:59:42 +0000

Heavy rain overnight with the possibility of heavy snow over higher ground. Also quite windy. Should pose no flooding problem but if you have to go out in it, be careful.

Friday 22nd – Saturday 23rd October

Ross Robertson — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:50:03 +0000

Possible prelonged heavy rain from about 8pm Friday through to 2pm Saturday, peaking around 1am Sat according to latest forecasts. Also quite windy for a time, getting up to 25-30mph around dawn on Saturday morning.

Friday 1st October

Ross Robertson — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 02:48:20 +0000

A heads up for Friday 1st October. Due to the heavy rain on Wednesday, watercourses are near full and the ground is saturated. If there is any heavy rain on Friday, and a band of rain is forecast to pass over Fife, then flooding may be an issue. Hopefully burns and rivers will go down somewhat between now and Friday but its definitely something to keep tabs on.

Now is the time to check over any flood defences and sandbags if you think you may need them. Just in case.

Wednesday 29th September

Ross Robertson — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:29:58 +0000

Heavy rain forecast for Wednesday. Downpours of 10mm in a couple of hours currently forecast for between 2pm and 4pm. One to keep an eye on.

Update 0415 Wed: Its fairly bucketing now. I think its going to be a day of downpours and heavy showers with the main bulk of the rain looking to hit towards the pm.

Update 0815 Wed: Bucketing again now. Updated forecasts now show the bulk of the rain is starting to hit now and will continue till about 6pm or so.