View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Thursday 14 October 2010

Hurricane update - 14 October

Former hurricane Paula has weakened to tropical storm status, and is headed east along the north coast of Cuba. The island state's capital Havana will see 3 to 6 inches of rain tomorrow, as well as tropical storm force winds (up to force 11 on the Beaufort scale). Paula is forecast to be pulled apart by hostile winds within 48 hours; its remnant will continue to move east, south of the Florida Keys.

Thursday 14 October

A quiet day on the weatherfront, although some high cloud is moving across now - getting on for 6pm.
I was up until 2 am this morning, watching the last of the 33 trapped miners being released from their stone prison in the Atacama desert. I was quite impressed by the efforts from the Chilean authorities to get these men out; else it would have been another footnote in the annals of mining fatalities across the year. A reaction from the Ukraine on the BBC News website stated that 3,600 miners had died in that country over 10 years; ten a day, if that information is reliable.

General Petreaus has visited UK prime minister David Cameron in London to discuss the death of aid worker Linda Norgrove. It appears that a dreadful mistake was made by one member of the American rescue team. The general had a furtive eye and uncomfortable demeanour as he walked up Downing Street. Linda's body is to be repatriated and a post-mortem will be conducted in the UK. Funeral arrangements will be made once that process is complete.