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Drought - Summer - 2018?


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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
2 minutes ago, J10 said:

Locally 10mm of rain in June and 28mm of rain in May, with no rain at all in the past 10 days, before that we had coastal drizzle enough to classify as rain (so no classified drought) but overall a very dry couple of months.

However so far this year rainfall only slightly below normal (around 400mm) due to Jan, March and April being much wetter than normal.

1.8mm of rain here in June, ridiculously dry. I genuinely haven't seen rain since I got back from the US nearly 3 weeks ago.

Edited by Nick L
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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
1 minute ago, J10 said:

Is that record breaking?

No idea. I'm just using a local personal station. I live in a top floor flat so have nowhere to install my own.

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Posted
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl
  • Location: Windermere 120m asl

Last time a hosepipe ban was announce here in 2011 I think on the back of the April or was it March 2012 not sure, the rains came. Yes turning into a notably dry period here, doesn't look like we will see any rain for another 7-8 days at least, which would mean a run of 17 dry days - not often this happens in the Lake District. I remember the dry spell of Late July - August 95 very well, I think we managed about 30 days on the trot with no rain, so still some way to go. 

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notably very wet periods.... 

 

Edited by damianslaw
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Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds
5 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Last time a hosepipe ban was announce here in 2011 I think on the back of the April or was it March 2012 not sure, the rains came. Yes turning into a notably dry period here, doesn't look like we will see any rain for another 7-8 days at least, which would mean a run of 17 dry days - not often this happens in the Lake District. I remember the dry spell of Late July - August 95 very well, I think we managed about 30 days on the trot with no rain, so still some way to go. 

Lengthy dry periods have a habit of being followed by notably very wet periods.... 

 

We've had countless lengthy wet periods in recent years. Now is the time for a lengthy dry period.

There was a hosepipe ban in parts of England in 2011 but that summer was also dry, even if it wasn't particularly warm. 2010 and 2011 were both very dry years.

Edited by cheese
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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
16 minutes ago, cheese said:

We've had countless lengthy wet periods in recent years. Now is the time for a lengthy dry period.

There was a hosepipe ban in parts of England in 2011 but that summer was also dry, even if it wasn't particularly warm. 2010 and 2011 were both very dry years.

Wasn't the hosepipe ban in 2012? I was in 2nd year of uni when it happened so I'm sure it was April 2012. It then peed it down for weeks.

Edit: There may have been one in 2011, but my weather memory is shocking.

Edited by Nick L
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Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds
14 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Wasn't the hosepipe ban in 2012? I was in 2nd year of uni when it happened so I'm sure it was April 2012. It then peed it down for weeks.

Edit: There may have been one in 2011, but my weather memory is shocking.

Actually looks like there was no hosepipe ban in 2011 - there was only drought conditions leading to the hosepipe ban in 2012. My bad.

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Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent
1 hour ago, Nick L said:

Yep. There's a different between a drought and a water shortage. We're in drought, but far from having a problem with water shortages. It's when you get a dry summer sandwiched between dry winters that you have to worry.

There sure is lot a difference, its all down to resource management and investment in the system. I have been out of the water industry for 10yrs now but did work through the 1990, 95, and 2003 summers at Thames water. If anyone is actually interested I can tell you what actually happens in these situations and how they are managed. I won't bore you with the many stories, but I was at the sharp end.

London they say has 100 days of stored supplies in its storage reservoirs to the west and North East London, with around 10% of its daily supply coming from ground water mainly in Kent. The problem with having a theoretical 100 day supply (@200,000 ml) is you have to get it out of the reservoir, treat it and then supply it. Anything less than 75% full starts to give real issues.

As I say I can only speak for London, but if anyone does want to know anything I am happy to answer.         

         

Edited by HighPressure
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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
1 minute ago, HighPressure said:

There sure is lot a difference, its all down to resource management and investment in the system. I have been out of the water industry for 10yrs now but did work through the 1990, 95, and 2003 summers at Thames water. If anyone is actually interested I can tell you what actually happens in these situations and how they are managed. I won't bore you with the many stories, but I was at the sharp end.

London they say has 100 days of stored supplies it its storage reservoirs to the west and North East London, with around 10% of its daily supply coming from ground water mainly in Kent. The problem with having a theoretical 100 day supply (@200,000 ml) is you have to get it out of the reservoir, treat it and then supply it. Anything less than 75% full starts to give real issues.

As I say I can only speak for London, but if anyone does want to know anything I am happy to answer.         

         

As much as 75%? Wow. Interesting insight though.

Edited by Nick L
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Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent
3 minutes ago, Nick L said:

As much as 75%? Wow. Interesting insight though.

Hampton the 2nd largest Works has 2 x 100" tunnels supplying it, they will lose head as the storage reservoirs drop in level, the input to the works struggles to keep pace, this causes the output to drop from the works, you then struggle to retrieve potable water reservoirs at night, often bursting mains in an effort to do so. You tend to get a knock on effect..     

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
11 hours ago, Nick L said:

But anyway, what is the official definition of a drought in this country? I could have sworn I saw that the Met Office definition is 2 weeks without rain? @johnholmes perhaps you could enlighten us?

Not sure these days Nick but I would think either 14 or 15 days still is seen as an official drought, not checked UK Met web site but it should be on there?

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Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m
9 hours ago, cheese said:

I haven't paid much attention to the trees actually but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out now that you've mentioned it. The leaves have taken on their dull green colour earlier than usual this year so it wouldn't surprise me.

Apparently beech trees are the worst affected and read somewhere they never fully recovered from 1976.In these parts 1995 was drier and both 1984 and 1989 must have been on par.I don't know how it actually affects them.

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Posted
  • Location: Aberfoyle 50m asl
  • Weather Preferences: any storms
  • Location: Aberfoyle 50m asl
8 hours ago, Mokidugway said:

Hosepipe ban would be irrelevant to me as of grid ,a wise investment on my part ,lol

And living at 8000m asl it must be nice and fresh up there. If this summer weather continues much longer your house could become a very busy place indeed

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

With no major change in the forecast the situation will only get worse. The issue with supply and demand will only get worse without investment. The issue has probably been hidden by the poor summers over the last 11 years or so.

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Posted
  • Location: The Deben Valley, Suffolk
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, Thunderstorms, very cold (inc. anticyclonic) weather
  • Location: The Deben Valley, Suffolk
22 hours ago, Ed Stone said:

I've always thought of a 'drought' as being a certain length of time without any measurable rainfall...if that is indeed the case, many parts of the country will be (if some aren't already?) in a drought by next weekend...?

The problem with 1976 wasn't that summer's drought per se, but that the prevailing dryness of preceding seasons had left reservoir-levels already dangerously low. We don't have that particular problem this year, but a continuation of current weather-patterns will nonetheless cause drought.

And, in any case, a pipeline can only carry/deliver so much water?

A drought is defined as 15 or more days with less than 0.2mm rain. It last rained here on 9th June. June as a whole only brought 7.2mm here, and that was all on 9th June!

Yet to record a rainless month in my 15 years of recording weather, but I wonder if July 18 May be it. 

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield

About face by GFS this evening with a chance of Thundery showers more widely later this week. Should paper over the cracks if they occur.

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
2 hours ago, The PIT said:

About face by GFS this evening with a chance of Thundery showers more widely later this week. Should paper over the cracks if they occur.

Whereas the latest EC has downgraded any precip chances. At what point does this dry spell turn from notable to a bit concerning?

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Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent

Its amazing what you can do online these days:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-drought-order-or-emergency-drought-order

This is what water companies do when they want to impose restrictions. This for Thames water will also allow them to abstract more water allowing rivers flows to decrease to their minimum which for Thames is measured at Teddington weir.   

 

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire

Just got into work and went to make a cuppa, our water pressure is really down.

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Posted
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
  • Weather Preferences: Any Extreme
  • Location: Sheffield South Yorkshire 160M Powering the Sheffield Shield
26 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Whereas the latest EC has downgraded any precip chances. At what point does this dry spell turn from notable to a bit concerning?

I would say it's concerning already clearly we can't even handle two dry warm months so what would happen if we had another 75,76.

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Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent
7 minutes ago, Nick L said:

Just got into work and went to make a cuppa, our water pressure is really down.

Peak Demand time, a summer evening outside the City..  

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Posted
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire
  • Weather Preferences: Winter: Cold & Snowy, Summer: Just not hot
  • Location: Cheddington, Buckinghamshire

Tonight's EC has most of England and Wales seeing virtually no rainfall for the entire run.

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Posted
  • Location: Derry, NW Ireland, 20 to 30m ASL
  • Location: Derry, NW Ireland, 20 to 30m ASL

Well its surprising that we are the first to have the hosepipe ban. Mainly because of the extra demand causing pressure on the systems with the leaky pipes becoming evident even if there isn't a lack of water with a massive lake in the middle of NI. While today was the coolest in a while (17C) and overcast still not a single drop of rain and heat will pick up again from tomorrow onwards.

Edited by parrotingfantasist
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