Thursday 2 December 2010

ICY FOG KEEPING PEOPLE IN BED


Can you see the ice covering Hammarby Sound? No? Neither can I! This morning at 10 AM the world was completely hidden by a shroud-like fog, dampening sound as well as sight. Looking out my window it felt like venturing, on a spaceship completely smothered by the milky void, far out into a surrealistic universe.

Of course, these strange conditions did not prevent me from my regular morning walk around the sound. This time the promenade felt like wading in a fog that only hesitantly gave way to let my shoes find save ground to tread on. My face was constantly bothered by small icy flakes and humid cold penetrated almost to the bones.

Whilst hastening my steps I pondered on the cause of such strange weather in early December. For some days now, unusually harsh cold air is hovering over Stockholm. Still, the air was clear until today and the sun shining, with barely a breeze disturbing the cool air. Last night, there must have been a breeze blowing towards us from the East. As brackish water farther out in shallow bays and sounds is freezing up, it is releasing humid warmth into the breeze above. This warmer air must have been met by freezing cold as the breeze approached the outer limits of the town, like Hammarby Sound. Towards the morning the breeze stopped and the air was getting completely still hereabouts. A myriad of icicle flakes must have formed in the air, kept suspended in this total stillness.

Just a few hours later, the sun managed to force its way through the shroud and conditions went back to normal. You do not believe that Hammarby Sound is already frozen? Well the picture below is proving it. It was taken yesterday at 8 AM. What a difference a day makes!


11 comments:

kari_lantto said...

Cancun is a warmer place!
Kari

Bruno Pichler said...

Dear Emil,
Thank you for your update. We are also having lots of snow and cold temperatures, minus 19.7 degrees in St. Michael.

Steffi, Christopher and myself are shovelling snow every other day and we have about 35 cms.

Peter Weiss said...

Hi Emil,
what a difference 2,410 km makes! I am here in Athens and the temperature during the day is around 22-24 degrees (plus). There is also fog, but it's more from pollution.

If it's too cold up there do come and visit me. I have a guest room and a nice terrace with a view.

Cheers to icy/foggy Stockholm
Peter

Per Wijkman said...

Dear Emil,
As you were taking your walk this morning, I boarded the train for Scania in a snow blizzard. My hopes for warmer climate were dashed as we headed south into the eye of the storm, which turned out to be in Ystad where the cat and I descended from the train. I had hoped to get off in Tomelilla - that center of the Swedish universe - from where I could take a taxi to Örum but the police had ordered all train traffic stoped in Ystad. Bus traffic had also been stopped. I phoned a taxi but was informed that taxis would not leave the city limits and told to take a helicopter to get to Örum. So the cat and I ensconced ourselves in the local hotel to wait for the storm to pass. At least this time, I thought, I could not blame the train company for the delays- that is until I heard the rumour that the train had been stopped in Ystad because the the switch thrower in Tomelilla had gone home early ....

Many thanks Emil for your wonderful blogs

Per

Anonymous said...

Dear Emil,
Thought you would escape from the Nordic winters and search for more "clement" weather. I suppose that up there drinking whisky helps? In Brussels we had also lots of snow this week but hope I can make it this afternoon to Oostende where I pass my weekends.

Best regards, have a good end of the year and beginning of the next and wish you peace on earth.

Anna Marie

Anonymous said...

Hej Emil och tack för vackra vinterbilder! I Bryssel är det också kallt och vitt med sedvanlig kaos i trafiken...

Med hälsning
Håkan

Ariane said...

Dear Emil, thanks for this update. Here in Brussels the streets and rooftops are covered in snow and we had a similar foggy morning today. Temperatures fell to -8°C this week...
All the best,
Ariane

Lena Hagman said...

Kära Emil,
Dina bilder är fantastiska att betrakta! Nu skulle man kunna ta så många magiska bilder i Stockholm om man bara hade din expertis och din utrustning!

Tidigt i går morse skulle jag till Riksdagen och hålla föredrag för riksdagsmän kl. 8. Gick från T-banan i Gamla stan genom de smala gränderna och tog en extra sväng förbi slottet. Det såg magiskt ut i det blå ljuset. Det pampiga slottet och riksdagshusen såg ut att ha frusit till is, täckta av ett lager av frost, i sällskap av den skarpa månskäran och en starkt gnistrande stjärna över taken.

Din gamla medarbetare och vän

kari_lantto said...

You should not complain:

Norway got over a hundred new records in November.

Cold, colder, coldest. Unless you remember back to the year 1919, November 2010 is definitely the “coldest.”

Anonymous said...

Lieber Emil!
Ein wirklich schöner und bemerkenswert abwechslungsreicher Ausblick, den Du mit Deiner Kamera gekonnt dokumentierst. Immer wieder überraschend und eine Freude das zu sehen und Deine Beschreibungen dazu.
Frohe und stimmungsvolle Weihnachten!
Herzliche Grüße,
Ingrid

Anonymous said...

Lieber Emil,
wir wünschen Dir zu den bevorstehenden Weihnachtsfeiertagen alles Gute. Vielen Dank noch für Deine Impressionen "Blick aus der Küche ins winterliche Stockholm". Wir hoffen auf ein Wiedersehen im Jahre 2011 in Österreich.
Außerdem wünschen wir Dir noch alles Gute und Gesundheit zum Jahreswechsel und für 2011.

Liebe Grüße aus Wien
Annemarie + Hansi