Storm Darragh

I hope everyone stays safe tonight ❤️

We are only in a yellow zone and I’m amazed at how intense the wind is. We are on the top of a hill so not much shelter although the stables are build in a square around the house so the horses are in the safest place possible.

We’ve lost our beautiful old apple tree. I’m very sad for it but I know we are lucky in comparison to others, and I’m so sorry to hear about all the damage that everyone else is receiving.
 
It’s so rough! We have lots of weird banging coming from the roof 😬
I only have little wooden stables. Mr P has parked a grain trailer in front of my yard to try and break the wind. We just went and moved the lorry to try and position it to protect the stables as well.
Horses were very stressy earlier but quiet now 🤞
I’m terrified of the stables taking off.
Poor chickens, their roof has been threatening to go and when I came in from doing the horses I asked me p if we would be able to pick up the coop between us and put it inside the grain store or something but it’s just too heavy.
I think we will be lucky to escape undamaged this time. 😫
 
We've lost more things from the house and garden, despite all being lashed down... Big clear up needed when the wind drops. Nearly lost the bee hives despite them being strapped down too, but thankfully sorted that before it became major. Field shelter poly tunnel seems ok, had to bash some fence posts down a bit, but that was all. Some windbreak netting loose, but saved before it vanished. I'm glad of husband having a cable tie and ratchet strap obsession now, his over zealous application of them has saved field stuff from a lot of damage. Horses have been out throughout, with 0g rugs on, and some fresh grazing by a hedge to shelter them. It's meant to be our grass yard/vehicle approach where they aren't meant to be, but I am glad to have sacrificed it to keep them safe.
In '87 I hadn't long been born, my mum lifted me out of my cot due to me crying and just managed to avoid the sheeting from the barn roof that came through the bedroom window and smashed the cot! I think that's why I have an innate fear of wind now!
 
We are only in the yellow zone but the wind when we did the animals at 4ish this evening was horrendous. Pretty sure we will have lost our windbreak netting round the barn by morning. It was raining too and bitterly cold. The ponies paddock had no shelter from the direction of the wind at all so we had to let them into the big field with the sheep which has got shelter. Had to turn back on the way home as a tree was blocking the road and was dodging fallen bits of trees most of the way home. Very glad to be home safe. Feel very sorry for those of you living in the teeth of it.
 
Still windy here but dropping speed. Managed to lunge in the school just before dark where earlier it was blowing horizontal rain at you with huge gusts. Two wired younger ponies, rest pretty chilled about it all but grateful to be back in their stables tonight!
 
Not just our fence posts but most of our neighbours too.

Trees down by the yard too, and one of the liveries had been on the way home and had stopped to talk to a shaken motorbiker whose bike had been in collision with a falling tree.
 

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Currently both roads out the village blocked by fallen trees, horses might have to be self sufficient for a few hours in the morning.

There were sea readings for the Cornish coast being given out earlier and a 67 foot high swell was recorded on the North coast! Not normally the religious sort but that did make me pray for anyone out on the sea today.
 
I remember’87 as I was a teenager. I guess the media made out it was worse because it hit the south!!! I live in a different part of the country now. Tonight seems much worse than last night. Competition horses are in their stables and retirees are out. Stables are brick so I reckon they’ll be fine but the wind is really howling now and we are only in a yellow area.
 
It was averaging F9 with F10 gusts off the coast where I am (down south) and while it's not been at all pleasant, we've definitely had worse (including being in the path of 87!) Sea state was err choppy.

Hope those of you with damage can get sorted quickly :)
 
We’ve got a very big, old barn that seems to withstand the weather. Shut the horses in but left the paddock out the back open in case they really want to leave, they haven’t yet but they’re reluctant to eat the haynets near the doors. It was completely still and calm this morning in the eye of the storm, I managed to bring all hay down etc in preparation.

By this afternoon the barn was flooded, spent an hour sweeping it out and clearing the drains and I’m sure it’ll be worse in the morning but at least the horses have shelter in there. Horses very rattled. So grateful to have cameras it’s such a worry. Roads to the yard were almost impassable with flood water so I have no idea what they’ll be like in the morning.
 
Yellow area here, I fetched mine in this morning because they weren’t behaving normally and had obviously had an unsettled night, they’ll stay in until tomorrow morning for some respite. Last night the wind wasn’t too bad but it had got up by this morning and I think has got worse during today. No obvious damage on the yard or buildings so fingers crossed. Fields are looking very wet.

Drove down into the village earlier and had a scary moment when the wind took even my big old heavy truck, so dread to think how bad it is in the amber and red areas.

So sorry to see some of you have had some serious damage.
 
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It’s still blowy here but not too nasty. Just as well because the ponies begged me to bring them in. One is missing a shoe, that will be fun tomorrow 🙄
They’ve had a good tea and extra large hay nets.
 
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I am old and remember 1987's storm very well. The top wind speed recorded that night was 115mph at Shoreham. Being earlier in the year, and all the trees being in full leaf still, the destruction was immense.
At the time I lived near Bushy Park in London, and I think they lost something like half their trees in one night.
 
I was late teens in 1987 and so slept straight through it but my dad was a BT engineer and was called out. I went to work as usual, the offices were based in old stables within a walled garden and four Hugh mature beeches came down across the drive and it was ages before we all got home.
 
At home in bed with hot water bottle. We had our yard Xmas meal out and enjoyed it. It was windy and cold on the yard but at least not heavy rain.

Yard manager said it was very windy at turnout but horses sensible so no point keeping them in and they don't want to be skipping them out all day and topping up hay which they would need to do if kept in. Normally staff all leave at weekends at 9.30 and nobody back till 3pm but yard manager lives on site. Nobody waiting at catch in to come in but everyone was well rugged before turnout and there is plenty of grass so should be comfortable.

Do people feel this is climate change and that we will have to adapt the way we keep horses over winter or just that storms sometimes happen some years in the same way that sometimes we have cold winters with snow or very hot summers etc.
 
No electric for 18 hours now, 99mph wind recorded on next hill. Roof of my field shelter trying to go awol. Even been up a step ladder out in that in deep mud putting concrete paving slabs on the roof to hold it down. Still flapping up and down though! So many trees down, more down than left standing now .2 of my trees down and taken next doors powerlines out .
 
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