Southwest & Central Southern England Regional Discussion 18th December 2012>

[Andy Bown]

Salisbury Plain area an obvious current candidate of orographically enhanced rain.

[Bumpkin]

Its been piddling down here for a while now. I have a lot of driving about to do over the next couple of days and am not looking forward to it. We are lucky that our house isn't at risk, I feel so sorry for the people who are worrying about their homes.

[AWD]

Ahh, I think I've found our winter;

Don't worry, extremely unlikely to verify, but its the best winter snowfall charts we've had for the South West for a long time, so drool all you can before they are gone by 04:30 tomorrow morning.

Current conditions here: Heavy rain.

[Ice Day]

The radar's looking pretty bleak for you guys at the moment. Hope you all get through it unscathed! Best of luck to you

[Stoxs]

Ahh, I think I've found our winter;

Don't worry, extremely unlikely to verify, but its the best winter snowfall charts we've had for the South West for a long time, so drool all you can before they are gone by 04:30 tomorrow morning.

Current conditions here: Heavy rain.

And look at that first chart

The M4 corridoor doing its job again, holding all that snow south of it!

Hang on!

really need a few more runs first as you say it could well be gone tomorrow only to reapear a few days time, who knows.

Hope this rain dont keep driving in like it is otherwise it will be waders for xmas not sledges.

[TheLastMinute]

Twitter update from Fergie about 20 minutes ago...

Ian Fergusson â€@fergieweather

W COUNTRY After a temporary lull, more heavy rain will spread north again later tonight with further rain, some heavy, much of Thursday.

4 flood warnings currently in force across the south west including the River Wey between Upwey and Weymouth and the 3 warnings that have been in force for several of the Somerset moors since for around a month. Best of luck to all in vulnerable areas.

TLM

[pinkertonsurly]

Getting on for 9mm of rain since it started yesterday morning. Wouldn't be surprised to see 20+ by tomorrow morning. This adds to the 924mm so far this year. which must be one of the highest for some time despite Jan - March.

(Thanks www.winchesterweather.org.uk)

[kernowman]

Got very wet doing last minute Xmas shopping in Truro this evening, please someone tell me that Winter is not cancelled this season and I have to wait another 12 months. I know we got Jan and Feb to go but it's just looking like a mild wet winter to me now.

[katemart]

Getting on for 9mm of rain since it started yesterday morning. Wouldn't be surprised to see 20+ by tomorrow morning. This adds to the 924mm so far this year. which must be one of the highest for some time despite Jan - March.

(Thanks www.winchesterweather.org.uk)

1080mm for the year so far in Southampton (http://www.southamptonweather.co.uk) And as you remind me, we had drought conditions until April!

Edit: This time last year there had been 644 mm of rain.

Edited December 20, 2012 by katemart

[Dean E]

Quite a bit of flooding in the Havant area at the moment, especially towards Emsworth. Just had to go a long way home to avoid a road thats now a river...

And we are only half way through this...

Take care all,

SM

[jethro]

It's absolutely pouring with rain at the mo, so loud and heavy it woke me up! Grrrrrr.

[Evie]

Been awake the last hour and absolutely tipping down non stop in Exeter.

[jethro]

Just had a look at the radar, we've got loads more rain to come yet; it's going to be a mess out there in the morning. It must be awful to be facing more flooding so soon after the last lot, especially so close to Christmas.

[Andy Bown]

Seems much of Wiltshire and Banes have something of a drizzly/sporadic rain lull at the moment but the radar shows worse to come through the day.

I've just emptied 23mm from my gauge which has fallen since 24 hours ago an am expecting similar during the day.

[Dorsetbred]

26.3mm so far from this and still some more to come

[snowdog]

Rainfall 32.4mm in the last 24hrs here and rain all day today by the looks of it!

[khodds]

Not had that much in comparison here. Only 16mm since I emptied rain guage 24hrs ago

[Coast]

Six villages in Cornwall have been hit by flooding after torrential rain.

Up to 40mm of rain affected properties in St Keverne, Gunwalloe, Gorran Haven, Mevagissey, Polbathic and Altarnun. Elsewhere, trains have been cancelled between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst in Hampshire, where a river close to a hotel has burst its banks. The Environment Agency has issued 50 flood alerts in the South West where communities are still clearing up from flood damage in recent weeks.

Devon and Cornwall were badly hit by severe weather at the end of November, flooding hundreds of properties, causing numerous landslips and widespread disruption to transport. However, forecasters believe the latest rain will ease later giving way to dry conditions.

In other flooding incidents:

• Fire crews were also called to a house near Torrington in Devon.
  
• Buses are replace trains between Fareham and Eastleigh, said South West Trains, with disruption expected to last for several hours.
  
• Fire crews have freed several motorists stuck in rising waters in Hampshire.
  
• Just before 01:00, 15 firefighters rescued two people who were inside a van, stranded in Purbrook Ford on Pigeon House Lane, Waterlooville.
  
• In Ryde on the Isle of Wight firefighters are pumping away water from the Esplanade.
  
• The Lymington River, at Brockenhurst has burst its banks
  
• The road and rail network is also disrupted by the floods in Hampshire.
  

Emergency services are urging people not to attempt to drive through flood water. "It is impossible for motorists to tell how deep water is or the condition of the ground beneath," Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue manager Alex Hanson said. "There is a significant risk to life if motorists become stranded. We recommend that people do not make non-essential journeys... if they live in areas prone to flooding."

Craig Woolhouse, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Our teams are out around the clock to minimise the risks and prepare for flooding, clearing drainage channels and ensuring that flood defences are working properly. "We urge people to keep up to date with the weather forecast and local news overnight and remain prepared for flooding in their area by signing up to receive free flood warnings and staying away from dangerous flood water.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...ngland-20786462

[mcweather]

Since it started raining at about 7am on 19th (weds) I have recorded 58mm so far here at Winfrith and it shows no sign of stopping

Edited December 20, 2012 by mcweather

[Mark Parsons]

16mm so far since it started raining yesterday so barely noteworthy yet!!

[Lyn-M]

22mm in the last 24 hours, but still more to come. The River Wriggle, a tributary of the Yeo, has already flooded and made several roads impassable. It is on Flood Watch, along with the upper Yeo from Sherborne to Yeovil.

[legritter]

nothing big here on west mendip ,but much more probably on s/east facing hills ,but looking at radar an area of heavier rain now moving n/ east towards bristol . looks like later on sat and sunday could be the crunch time for our area .EDIT ,rain now gone from light to moderate and darker than it was an hour ago .

[microclimate]

48mm here since it started raining on Weds. I'm between Bridport and Weymouth btw.

[Coast]

Hampshire roads and trains disrupted by floods

Firefighters rescued two people from a van stranded in Purbrook Ford, Waterlooville

Fire crews have freed several motorists and parts of the road and rail network have been disrupted by floods after heavy rain in Hampshire. Fire crews attended 20 incidents and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been "overwhelmed" with 999 calls. The River Lymington in Brockenhurst burst its banks with water reported to have risen to 3ft (1m). Elsewhere, firefighters are pumping out water from the Esplanade in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.

The water has also closed many roads and disrupted rail services, with no trains operating between Bournemouth and Brockenhurst. Buses have been bought in to replace trains between Fareham and Eastleigh. A spokeswoman for the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance said: "We apologise to our customers for the disruption to their services this morning which is due to flooding caused by heavy rain overnight. "We are working hard to restore services in these areas as quickly as possible."

Disruption was expected to last throughout the morning. Hampshire Fire and Rescue warned people not to drive through flood water. Station manager Mick Thompson said: "My advice is to not attempt to cross any ford, even 2ft of water is enough to lift a vehicle and carry it away."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-20794567

[124alex]

32mm of rain so far from wednesday