>IMPORTANT NOTICE: From March 9-21, 2011, I shall be on holiday in New Jersey, USA and therefore won’t be blogging, I hope to post some during my holiday, updating on what I’m doing, where I’m visiting and what’s the weather like but the usual posts will resume on March 21, 2011.

TODAY’S TOP WEATHER STORIES
On Weather & Climate Through the Eyes of Mark Vogan

A Wild Weather Pattern For the Lower 48 this week!

TODAY’S WEATHER ACROSS THE UK & EUROPE
By Mark Vogan

Western Europe looking fine and mild whilst it remains cold and snowy across eastern Europe, stormy in south!

The UK and much of France and down into Spain is enjoying some fairly mild weather for the time of year with sunshine and highs reaching 10C in London and upwards of 14 to 15C in Paris as high pressure remains dominant. That high is pumping warmth out of the sub-tropical Atlantic and as it pushes the jet northwards over the west, it unfortunately means a drop in the jet further east. Indeed the dominance of unseasonably cold weather remains the unbroken story across eastern and particularly northeastern Europe from Stockholm into Helsinki, Moscow and southwards to Kiev and Bucharest as that trough keeps getting maintained as the ridhe pumps the jet north and allows that mild, warm weather into western Europe.

TODAY’S WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA
From AccuWeather

Snowstorm to Pummel Denver, Omaha, Minneapolis
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

Distructive Tornadoes Rip Across Louisiana
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

Severe Storms to Strike Southern Plains Again
By Meghan Evans, Meteorologist

Storm Blasting Northeast With Heavy Snow, Flooding
By Bill Deger, Meteorologist

WEATHER TALK
By Mark Vogan

I’ve achieved more in the last 24 months than I’ve done in 28 years, I can honestly say, I’ve never been more ready for a holiday!

As you’ll have noticed, my wife and I are all set to head across the pond to New Jersey on Wednesday (March 9th) for a much anticipated 10-day vacation and I can’t wait. We are fortunate to have very dear friends in which we are staying with.

It’s been a rollercoaster past 2 years with buying a house and moving in, back in May 2009. Before that, I passed my car driving test in July 2007 after spending 6 years not really bothering and moving on. Before I got married to my wife Karen, I was one of those people that didn’t really have much ambition and hope for achievements. After passing my car driving test in 2007, I believed I had a talent there that could be further developed and therefore I then went on to train and pass my heavy goods class 2 (rigid) back in April 2009 at the wonderful training school of CTTS in Bathgate, West Lothian.

Thanks to achieving that license and paying around £1,000 in October 2009 I started work driving class two trucks for Grahams Dairies at the Port Dundas depot in Glasgow which was better money and it was the beginning of my new career in driving. The money spent was well worth it.

In achiving my class 2, this only gave me more determination in furthering my driving ability and to the highest level one can achieve. That was by going for the top of the food chain. In May 2010 I went back to CTTS and through their outstanding expertise and training, they helped me pass my class 1 heavy goods (Articulated/big rig) test/license. In only a short 3 months following my test pass, I got a job at JBT Distribution in Bathgate, a steep learning curve and this was driving the class 1 and transporting anything from general goods to fridge freezers, timber, meat, fish etc regularly from Aberdeen and Inverness back and forth to Bathgate. Unfortunately, through difficult working hours, conditions and poor treatment, I left JBT in November 2011 and returned to Grahams Dairies in Glasgow and I can safely say I enjoy my run from Port Dundas, Glasgow down to Dumfries, Stranraer and across all areas of Dumfries and Galloway.
 

As you’ll have gathered from reading this, it’s been a pretty busy past few years in which I’ve gained and achieved more in the last 24 months than I’ve done in my whole life and I can honestly say that I never been more ready for a holiday.

When I return, I look forward to resuming my blog posts and anticipate an exciting spring and summer of 2011 ahead!

If your interested in getting your Heavy Goods License feel free to contact me with any questions or contact CTTS directly by emailing enquiries@cttstraining.co.uk or by phoning 01506 633100.

I can garentee that CTTS would provide you with the very best training and you would be driving clean, well maintained, full-sized and the very best of trucks that help you into the industry!

WHAT’S REACHING TODAY’S BLOGS?

Heavy Snow and Severe Storms this Afternoon into Tonight. WILD!
Henry Margusity, AccuWeather

THE EXTREMES OF THE DAY

TODAY’S US EXTREMES
COURTESY OF ACCUWEATHER

HIGH: 89 degrees at El Centro, TX
LOW: -11 degrees at Grayling, MI

TODAY’S EXTREMES HERE AT MY HOUSE

HIGH: 43 degrees
LOW: 36 degrees

Thanks for reading.
-Mark