IanM

That old Tour 3 magic is back! Great result for you all.

Nice work for first time, flapping in a storm night time SLR shots Jim. The two blurred shots look like a bit of shake as well as not quite in focus, how were they taken? (tripod, remote release, f stop, ISO, which lens etc?) The infinity focus and back off a smidge is variable depending on the lens, sometimes takes a bit of experimenting - it's worth doing some test shots in daylight when it's a bit calmer so see how much of a smidge you need. Ian

So Chilli Burgers and Milkshakes to help the gut recover

After a long day on the road, the tour visited the Big Texan yesterday, and plan to head north today, presumably with the windows down as the combined meal of around 4kg of steak and a few litres of beer will be making it's presence felt today... Dave will be keeping you posted here and on the stream.

We should get some highlight videos up soon too. I have the same problem with my son, sleep time and the most active storm period tend to overlap.

I missed the stream last night, sounds like it would have been one to watch?

Sods law, a couple of smaller regions within the restricted areas just had the orders lifted. I'll fetch my humble pie.

Can we be clear that environmental drought is not the same as a water company drought - hosepipe bans are caused by environmental drought with the added problem of mismanagement and leakage to contend with. so while the last few weeks rain has helped refill a lot of reservoirs and bumped river levels, the ground water stocks in the areas most affected by restrictions still remain low - pretty much every river is now at normal levels or above, and only 9 monitored ground water levels are in the same state. 42% of them are still rated as exceptionally low. that's the latest data I can find, from 11th May. currently I can't find any water restrictions that have been lifted, only that the threat of new orders has reduced. the latest published report is from 1st May and can be found here - http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Research/Weekly_WSR_WE_010512.pdf

Oh, it's a conspiracy? why didn't you just say so? It's all so much clearer now, those pesky illuminati secretly holding back water so only the wealthy can wash their Bentleys.

Not a big surprise, but this is environmental drought, related to river and stream levels, not water company drought orders that are the reason for hosepipe bans.

stop relying on month old commercial sites for your information - use the Environment Agency and you'll see that restrictions now cover more regions http://bit.ly/KeJIxf and everyone knows that the UK isn't totally under restrictions. I don't think anyone has claimed it is, the simple fact is that millions of people cannot use their hose because of water company declared shortages, and the environmental impact spreads even wider. Will the EA reduce the areas under environmental drought? Who knows, will the water companies currently using temporary restriction orders lift them? unlikely, the shortages will not be replenished by this period of torrential rain. Now drop it, it's a pointless argument, either you are wrong, or you are arguing a point that no one has stated.

The point is that we have an environmental drought for around 75% of England, and a water company declared drought for an area from central southern England to just south of Hull, with the exception of a tiny corner of Essex around Colchester. So your point still isn't a point...

Village, you live in a tiny corner of the UK with some of the best aquifer conditions in the country, along with an enormous reservoir that serves a very small population. There is a drought, the water tables are very low in many regions and you're starting to be a little boring with the same message repeated over and over, the plural of anedote isn't data, so stop using it to justify the fact that you are in a fortunate position. we get it, you can use a hose.

awesome start to the tour, and despite a few breaks in streaming it was addictive viewing last night. Poor Dave sharing a room post chillis, I'm assuming wings were ordered... Great pics, keep them coming

The stream is back up for now, it is a weak signal area - even with external antenna and signal amps, sorry for any breaks

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9192776/Why-hosepipes-arent-banned-in-the-driest-place-in-Britain.html This seems to answer the question of why you have no hosepipe ban - a large reservoir and naturally high aquifer levels for one of the smallest water suppliers in the country, who also happen to be in one of the areas with least rainfall in the UK, seems it's not what comes out of the sky that's allowed you to keep banging the same tune out on your drum for the last few posts...

Scones and hot white gravy..... I think they may have another name for it though?

I've decided on a hotel for the first night in Denver for those arriving a day early who want to stay in the same place - Baymont Inn and Suites Denver International Airport 2.5 stars 6805 N. Argonne Street, Denver, CO, 80249 United States It's got decent reviews, and has an airport shuttle too. Room costs are around £47 a night Ian

You could also use the free radar that we provide - http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=radar;sess=

And relax.... Take a couple of breaths and drop the back and forth please, before it gets out of hand. Thanks

change of heart, I'll leave this for now as a standalone thread. Please be gentle with it.

Further to Coast's comment, this is already in the general media discussion thread, so I'm going to merge them before this one takes on a life of its own...

This is going to be an incredibly dangerous day and night. The hatched risk area is almost three times the size of the UK, much as I love extreme weather, it is almost at the point where I hope the reality fails to live up to the potential. Raise a glass to a spectacular night of weather, that delivers on the plains, with good roads, and no people in the way.

For those looking for annual insurance, Sinclair will cover Storm Chasing, http://www.sinclairpremium.com using the advanced plan, the price is around £365 a year. Storm Chasing is a selectable option with no need to speak to the underwriters etc. I asked if they would do combined travel and storm insurance for short term deals, but unfortunately they won't do it.

The shotgun thunder that accompanied this was a 'loosener' from the 2am chase starting from Joplin 7th May Rotation....19th May Ian