Cut off low

I learnt a new meteorological phrase today - the 'cut off low'. That is when a low pressure area becomes detached from it place in the eastward flow of the jet stream. One of these cut off lows crossed the Alps at the weekend and has been banging around in the space between the Balkans and the Apennines and slowly moving south bringing fierce winds and torrential rains and snow on higher ground.

I'm surprised how long the low pressure area has survived - perhaps as it moves south into warmer air the temperature differential between it and the surrounding air keeps giving it more energy. Devastating rains were being predicted for Athens and eastern Greece recently.

My root canal yesterday feels a bit like a cut off low of the spirits and of my well being. Strong cramps this morning and generally feeling under the weather.  The wind continues to blast away outside.


I didn't realise there is a load of fairly whacky stuff on the internet about the danger of root canal treatment and having essentially dead teeth in one's mouth as a source of toxic bacteria.

The sun did shine today, leaves were swept and a bit of tidying done. This was the last of the sun shining into our rather large and hard-to-heat all-in-one room in the apartment.

Oh, and nearly all the photos I took went missing. I used some free software called RePicVid to scan the memory card. Most of them were there. I think not ejected the card reader correctly may have caused the problem. A hassle and worry for the future.