recklessabandon

The Essex Lion has been located:

I think the METO are about to push it over the line officially.....

To see the hills in NW Durham white with water pouring down them was incredible, the skyscape was almost like armageddon, and eerily reminiscent of the skyscape in Keswick I had the experience of in November 2009.....and many of us will recall that event. I have never seen anything like it in the NE, the force of the water toward valley bottoms was immense, causing damage to roads and infrastructure, as well as to peoples homes.

I know what we saw today was remarkable, but for those who didn't experience it - be careful what you wish for - a lot of people have been badly affected personally, losing personal items and watching their houses ruined in a matter of moments....those who missed this event....trust me, on a human level, I am not sure you really missed out....

east coast main line closed until further notice north of Durham due to flooding, and, landslides near Berwick. sat at work looking at the trains parked on the viaduct....

Thunder and torrential rain in Durham now

crikey, rained almost non-stop in Consett area today. Sun came thoruhg for about 15-20 mins during late morning. thats it. grim.com

very pleasant afternoon in Co Durham...temps almost topped 20C but felt very warm in the sun (so long as you dodged the showers!)

Are there any records on the longest consecutive period of unbroken sunshine? just interested....the first few cumulus clouds in nearly 7 days are dotted about in the sky now (IMBY) and this strikes me as remarkable for the North-east...certainly cant remember unbroken sunshine for as many consecutive days as this, even in winter.

Livingston M 8 Motorway cameras show a lot of surface water so makes sense.....

Get in touch with your local amphibian group who will advise. Smooth newts are not afforded the same protection as GCNs so don't get too hung up on the legals... Ideally you it would be translocated into a local newt pond.

I have the same problem in the north-east with cracking due to drying of the clays. I work as a geotechnical engineer, and your'e correct, London Clay does generally recover to it's equilibrium state when recharged with moisture. However, not all clays recover in the same way, some will be altered once the process of desiccation has begun, and will not recover to a 'default' setting resulting in permanent settlement (or heave should you have a persistent deluge) I expect this to become a real problem this summer in the absence of any substantive recharge in soils moisture and groundwater levels....so watch this space. i would be particularly concerned about those properties constructed in the relatively wet summers of around 2006/2007 (think that's correct) where the desiccation will be seriously testing clay formations for the first time.....

Also we are rapidly reaching the point where under 'typical' conditions PET (Potential Evapo-transpiration) quickly starts to outstrip precipitation in the southern half of the UK. Once April is upon us the south will need serious persistent rainfall to even stabilise the groundwater levels, let alone reverse them.

that wind is gusting some, really blowing down off the hills....'good drying weather' as my mam would say....

The number of lying snow days in this part of the world is I think around 20 using Met Office mapping....this year we were at around 5.....so this has been a relatively snowless winter, of as equal, if not greater, significance has been the lack of snow depth even when snow has been lying. I don't have the data but I would be surprised if the seasonal total exceeded 15-20cm

In all of the years of political debate about the north/south divide and the associated 'haves' and 'have nots' successive political groups all missed the fact that it would one day come down to humanity's most basic requirement.....and suddenly the 'have nots' have it all....

Just been looking at the METO maps, even the difference between east and west County Durham is very marked, with East Durham being at around 60-70% of average for the last 6 months and west being 90% of average. When you consider those percentages in terms of actual rain falling the difference become even starker, given than 'average' for west Durham is around three times the 'average' for east Durham.....you end up with current ppn rates closer to 400mm/yr east Durham 1800mm/yr west Durham....

Critically I know that a number of farmers and agribusinesses are cutting back on their planting in the east midlands and east anglia now because they know they cannot sustain previous rates of agriculture on what are now very limited water supplies. This will have a direct impact on food costs later in the year it would be assumed and with no real escape in sight in the short term this is a concern. This disparity between east and west is quite remarkable, even in the north east the dry weather is notable with the condition of many trails through the moorland and peat 'bogs' relatively dry for the time of year, but becoming much wetter as you head westward. ...oh and for what its worth its not the lack of rainfall that is the long term problem...its that there are too many people in the same place....

First time in 4 years I have a gas bill in credit, surplus of firewood and still on the first can of car de-icer. Says it all really. so far one of the most snowless winters I can recall in a long time, at the moment snow days are on an anecdotal basis still behind 05-06 and 06-07 for NW Durham. Reminds me of the late 90s in terms of snowfall too (obv some very different synoptics however!). Still, it felt different to some of the 90s winters where weeks of southwesterlies dominated with occasional northerly topplers. Even the 'little ice age' had mild years, right.....?

BBC's update uses both patterns as the basis for their monthly update and offer both as a solution. Lots of uncertainty and not for the first time this winter. If anyone else sits on that fence it might just break under the weight....

rain mixed in here too, freezing on impact, but certainly rain mixed in.

dusting here now

Keep one eye on the cold front behind the current ppn....its catching up now....but will it catch in time to squeeze the warm sector out?

It is encouraging though, Coniston is only at 50m asl..... Back on our side of the hills it is snowing steadily now and wind whipping up

light snow here too