December 2015 - rainfall levels

[damianslaw]

Given the record rainfall event in Cumbria earlier in the month, would be good to know how people are doing on the rainfall front?

Could December 2015 not only end up the mildest on record, but locally the wettest and dullest? getting the triple whammy would be something special. That El Nino is doing strange things to us at the moment..

[4wd]

It's only (the usual) limited areas which have been unusually wet.
Here November and December will probably both be a little above average but the rest of the year has been dry.

[Terminal Moraine]

Not particularly wet here in December so far. There have been only 2 dry days but, apart from the 12th,  daily rainfall amounts have been quite modest.

The total up to 0900 today is 84.6 mm which is 10% above average for the first 21 days of December.

[The PIT]

At the moment heading towards average or below average the next few days will decide. So far 65.5mm 75% of average

[reef]

It has been a very dry month here so far with 30.2mm, 48% of the 1981-2010 average.

[Polar Maritime]

78.2mm here so far this Month up to now.

[damianslaw]

Interesting to note how localised the heavy rain has been here - anyone have any stats for Cumbria alone? We had more flooding again... from a few mms only. It feels like a different world here - a permanently wet one, what an awful spell we have had.

[cheese]

December rainfall stats for Cumbrian stations:

Shap 652mm, 302% of average

Spadeadam 200mm, 160% of average*

Keswick 454mm, 262% of average

Carlisle 191mm, 214% of average

*Some days have missing data so real figure is almost certainly higher.

 

Just to put things into perspective.. Shap has had more rain so far in December than we've had all year.

And, just for comparison's sake, Linton on Ouse (North Yorkshire) has 45mm so far which is 80% of the average. London Heathrow has 23mm which is just 42% of the average. Boulmer, Northumberland has 75mm, 35mm of which fell in one day.

[MP-R]

Incredible to think of the totals in Cumbria when yesterday afternoon, which I considered wet down here, only registered 11mm, which is also the wettest day of this month so far here.

[peborant]

Just north of the Forth Valley we have had 22/23 wet days in December with a total a little over 200mm thanks to yet more heavy showers last night. Not that it is set to change soon so the spell of wet days will still be growing.

[iand61]

180mm so far this month here and looking at the forecast for the next week or so, I'd be amazed if we didn't get well beyond 200mm.

 

[damianslaw]

20 hours ago, cheese said:

December rainfall stats for Cumbrian stations:

Shap 652mm, 302% of average

Spadeadam 200mm, 160% of average*

Keswick 454mm, 262% of average

Carlisle 191mm, 214% of average

*Some days have missing data so real figure is almost certainly higher.

 

Just to put things into perspective.. Shap has had more rain so far in December than we've had all year.

And, just for comparison's sake, Linton on Ouse (North Yorkshire) has 45mm so far which is 80% of the average. London Heathrow has 23mm which is just 42% of the average. Boulmer, Northumberland has 75mm, 35mm of which fell in one day.

Thanks for these statistics - confirming just how wet things have been here and how localised the heavy rainfall has been - a combination of exceptionally mild air holding more moisture, orographic effects caused by the local topography and the barrier that is the Pennines - squeezing out much of the moisture before it hits the east.

I can understand why some people decide to have a second home somewhere much drier.

 

The next few days will see further heavy rain - I wonder if we are about to see the wettest month on record following on from one of the wettest Novembers? Unprecedented stuff.. Our weather in recent years has got stuck in very wet ruts, winter 2013/2014 saw a 3 month period dominated by rain and wind with no let up, April 2012-August 2012 likewise.

If we get a hosepipe ban this summer there should be a major enquiry..

[cheese]

Some recent monthly totals:

Capel Curig 983mm

Shap 763mm

Keswick 527mm

Glasgow Bishopton 317mm

Redesdale 304mm

Valley 224mm

Rhyl 170mm

Crosby 155mm

Albermarle 149mm

Dishforth 127mm

Topclife 108mm

Linton-on-Ouse 106mm

The Vale of York stations now well above average. One of the driest parts of the country on average.

[reef]

We're still on just 54mm. Probably one of the driest places in the North I'd imagine.