Thursday, January 28, 2016

Water, water everywhere

Sitting here in the far north of Scotland, waiting for Storm Gertrude and its severe gales to arrive tomorrow, and with yet more heavy rain already falling, I’m starting to feel slightly punch-drunk with the weather that has been thrown at the north and west of the UK in the last couple of months.

It all began back in the middle of November with Storm Abigail. Quite who in the Met Office had the bright idea of giving our storms names I don’t know, but at the present rate we’ll be through the alphabet in no time! Abigail was closely followed by Barney, both bringing very high winds and considerable disruption, then at the end of November Storm Clodagh arrived, with more damaging gales and very heavy rain.

It was Clodagh, in particular, that transformed the normally placid babbling brook at the edge of our garden


into a still small, but quite scarily fast-flowing torrent, capable of sweeping along quite large sections of tree


and caused the River Severn locally to rise to its second highest recorded level.

After a breathing space lasting less than a week, Storm Desmond brought unprecedented amounts of rain to north-west England and south-west Scotland in one horrendous weekend, with 341mm (almost 13.5 inches) of rain falling in 24 hours over the Honister Pass in Cumbria. All over Cumbria and northern Lancashire rivers burst their banks and towns and villages were flooded, while tens of thousands of homes lost power, some for up to three days.

Flooded church on the shore of Derwentwater - Saturday December 5th 2015

After such an experience people could surely have been forgiven for thinking that the weather could only improve, but not a bit of it. The gales brought by Storm Eva on Christmas Eve were closely followed by intensely heavy rain on Boxing Day which led to swift, severe and record-breaking flooding in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. To bring the wettest December on record to an end we had Storm Frank just before New Year, bringing further severe flooding to many parts of Scotland.

So far, so horrible, but this isn’t a weather blog, and to sound a more personal note our Christmas visit to DD and her family gave me a glimpse of what it must be like to live in an area prone to flooding. They live near Selby in the wide, flat Vale of York, a couple of miles outside the village of Cawood on the River Ouse. Some degree of flooding after heavy rain is quite common, as we saw on our New Year visit three years agoHowever this time the Boxing Day cloudburst made the situation much more threatening.

The next day being Sunday we had gone to church in the village (the church being very close to the river) and as soon as the service ended and the congregation began to leave, a very youthful-looking soldier came in and told us that they were warning people to move their possessions off the floor in case the water overtopped the flood defences. Everyone in church rallied round and carpets were rolled up and lifted, the piano was somehow manoeuvred up the step into the chancel and a couple of pieces of  particularly old and valued furniture were lifted up on top of the pews out of harm’s way.


When everything that could be moved had been moved, we came out of church to be greeted by a scene of intense and well-organised activity.  Soldiers and local inhabitants were working together to move large numbers of sandbags across the churchyard to raise the level of the flood defences between the church and the river by half a metre from 7.9 to 8.4 metres. 

Here come the sandbags

Working together

As it turned out their strenuous efforts were well justified, as the water level peaked a couple of days later at 8.2 metres!

Water lapping the top of the flood defences and still rising


Cawood with the church at the right and water cascading over the defences into fields at the top left.

Cawood bridge going nowhere. It has only just reopened a month later after repairs.

All Saints' Church, Cawood, with its feet almost in the water

As DH and I travelled home to Wales the next day, our radio listening was regularly interrupted by traffic announcements about flooded roads and cancelled rail services, which brought home to us how very disruptive such extreme weather can be to the everyday life of a great many people.

And now it is happening yet again. In Orkney all the schools will be closed tomorrow because of the severe gales expected. There will inevitably be wind and water damage and almost certainly more flooding in places and to add to the mix we are now being warned to expect snow in Scotland on Saturday! Winter has arrived in force and we are hunkering down…


40 comments:

  1. Yikes! You've put together all those snippets of news I've heard over the last few (busy) months. So glad the church furnishings were saved but obviously there's a lot at stake here for people and animals all over. Take good care!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's been an unforgettable couple of months, Penny, though sadly not for good reasons. As I live in wet Wales and come from and know well the north of England, I felt the experience merited chronicling on the blog. We're again being battered by storm force winds, but thankfully with less rain than in previous storms. Roll on summer...

      Delete
  2. Oh Perpetua what a to do!! Incessant rain and flooding are quite soul destroying, but there is one tiny upside ... people pull together and a sense of community prevails.
    Stay dry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My mother would have out it in exactly the same way, Shirley. 'What a to do' was one of her favourite phrases. :) It has indeed been a chaotic and, for those flooded out of their homes, traumatic period, but as you point out, the upsurge of community spirit helps people to cope with it all.

      Delete
  3. Dear Perpetua - I am very impressed with your storm naming knowledge, I have already forgotten most of them.
    My heart goes out to those who have suffered water in their homes, many of them must be feeling very anxious again.
    For some reason we seem to have avoided much of the rain, and have had no snow either. Today I was walking around a local snowdrop garden in glorious sunshine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i think being either affected personally, or knowing people being affected in the areas further north has helped imprint the storm names on my mind, Rosemary, that and making notes for this post over a considerable period. Thankfully the current storm doesn't seem to be bringing quite so much rain with it, though the gales really are severe up here today.
      The map at the top of the post shows very clearly how different areas of the country were affected by the December storms and it looks like you had average, or even slightly below average rainfall that month. Enjoy your sunshine while it lasts. :)

      Delete
  4. Perpetua, thank you for giving us such a descriptive post about how badly England, Wales, and Scotland is being hit by these storms and the flooding they cause. I can't even imagine what it must be like to see one's home and land under water. I am so impressed by the community effort to do what could be done to protect property against damage from these storms. It is heartwarming to read that such communities still exist. I hope you get a break in the weather soon. The incessant rain and wind and flooding must be exasperating and depressing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has been an extraordinary couple of months, Sally, and I felt I wanted to record them, especially since the worst affected areas were places I have either lived or know well from frequent visits. I'm glad to say that community spirit is still alive and well in the UK, especially in villages and smaller towns where people tend to know each other. It has also been heartwarming to see so many people from unaffected areas making the effort to go and help out those less fortunate. Sadly the forecast got the coming weeks is for yet more unsettled weather for the north and west. Spring can't come soon enough for me...

      Delete
  5. Such a dreadful year - storms and floods in seemingly never ending sequence.
    I do wonder about those bulky army uniforms...did the designers ever try to work or fight in them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does seem extraordinary how frequent these storms have been since it was decided to give them names, Helen. Even the unnamed depressions between the big storms have brought a lot of rain.
      As far as the army uniforms are concerned, I'm guessing that these are bad weather gear and the bagginess is designed to enable them to move easily. They are probably lighter to wear than they appear and certainly the soldiers didn't seem to be incommoded by them from what I could see.

      Delete
  6. Thank you for explaining the terrible storms you have had over there. We see the odd snippet on our news but I hadn't realised quite how many storms you have endured.

    I hope you manage to stay warm and dry during the upcoming storm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the seventh named storm since the middle of November, Susan, and there have been lesser depressions in between. In the very wet winters of 2012/ and 2013/4 it was mainly the south and west of the UK that was worst affected, whereas this winter it is the north and west as the map clearly shows.
      At the moment the wind is very strong and we're having showers of rain, hail and sleet, but also the odd glimpse of the sun, but nothing to tempt me to leave the fireside. :)

      Delete
  7. Amazing pictures Perpetua, and an excellent way to convey the many storms and floods of the past few weeks. That was quite a terrifying rush of water in the stream below your garden - scary indeed! I haven't heard of Storm Gertrude yet, but I do hope she doesn't affect you, or anyone else, with more bad floods. Keep safe and dry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apart from the photos of our normally small stream and of Derwentwater, all the photos here are of DD's area of Yorkshire, Patricia. At different times the media have been full of images of flooded streets and houses in other places from north Wales to the north-east of Scotland.
      Gertrude is doing her worst as I type with a red (highest) severe weather warning for this afternoon for the Shetland Islands in the far north-east. Wind seems to be the worst danger this time, rather than rain, though having said that I can't see out of the window at the moment, thanks to a very heavy shower of sleet!

      Delete
  8. It has been an awful winter for so many people. I almost feel guilty that we have been spared, both in France and the UK, so far anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't feel guilty but thankful, Jean. The chances are you'll get your turn sometime, so enjoy your quiet weather while you can. :)

      Delete
  9. Wonderfully illustrated as always Perpetua. Let's hope there is no further need for your graphic skills.
    It has been and still is the wettest year I can ever remember, but here in AYlesbury we are very fortunate in that we are fairly high above sea level and in addition have no major rivers really nearby.
    While I am sick of getting wet (and blown to bits) every time I step poutside, I thank God daily that the horrors of flooding suffered by so many other places in the UK have passed us by.
    One can't help wondering whether this is a sign of things to come if 'global warming' is not halted.
    Take great care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ray. I hope so too. Storm Gertrude duly arrived with extremely severe gales, but not as much rain as in past storms and last night we had a bit of snow. It certainly feels like proper winter today.
      I know what you mean about being tired of getting wet and blown about. I'm looking forward to being able to go out without being muffled to the eyebrows in hats, scarves and waterproofs.
      I think it's probably too soon to say whether this is a pattern brought on by global warming. After all between 2009 and 2012 we had three very cold and snowy winters. Only time will tell...

      Delete
  10. Thank you, some amazing photos and a real insight into the reality. Hope that Gerie is a bit kinder to you (how DO they choose these names??!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you appreciated it, Catriona. It's the first time I've had such an experience and thought it worth sharing. Gertie brought some fearsome gales, but not too much rain and overnight we had some wet snow. I think the Met Office asked the public to put forward names and compiled a list from the suggestions.

      Delete
  11. I'd just read the update on Storm Gertrude on the BBC News website, & then came here to read your blog post having been alerted to it by Bloglovin. As I read the BBC News report, I immediately thought of you in the far north of Scotland.

    Your photos & video illustrate so clearly, the amount of rain some parts of the UK have experienced these past few months. Yet I was struck by the map at the beginning of the post, which shows how unevenly the rainfall has been distributed. Even where you are now in Scotland, had less than the normal average rainfall in December. I fear Gertrude may make up for that! Please keep dry & warm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The amount of rain has been truly phenomenal, Ricky, with Capel Curig in Snowdonia topping the list of the wettest places in Britain. Between Nov 1st and Jan 16th it had 2 METRES of rain! I think the Met Office map is slightly misleading as it lumps everywhere with between 125% and 75% of the average in the white band and doesn't actually include the rainfall from Storm Frank on the 29/30th December which affected Scotland worse than anywhere else, as did the heavy rain early in January. I have a feeling nowhere north of the M62 is short of water, while the south has been unusually dry. Storm Gertrude was more notable for wind than rain and I don't think there has been more than surface flooding, thank goodness. Now the north of Scotland is having snow instead....

      Delete
  12. Such a scary winter, I do hope you've seen the last of the storms. We on the other hand have almost dry reservoirs when they should be full to the brim.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, so do I. Seven big ones in not much more than 2 months is quite enough. Your water situation sounds just as scary. Are you likely to get rain before the warm weather arrives?

      Delete
  13. Hari OM
    As I type, it has been a very wild twelve hours here in Argyll; kept getting woken up in the night with all the activity of nature. It continued up till about half an hour ago - now the wind is dropped, the rain stopped and the sun popped!!! ... eye of Gertrude??? (as to that naming; I guess UK was feeling left out by all the personal hurricanes the US and OZ were getting!) YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you survived the onslaught unscathed, Yam. I gather from the BBC that the west coast took a real battering before Gertrude headed north to hit Orkney and Shetland. We're somewhat sheltered from the worst of the westerlies by being down in the valley, but it was still very wild indeed, as I gather it is going to be again on Monday and Tuesday, especially in the far north-west! Better hunker down again...

      Delete
  14. Oh, Perpetua, it all sounds so terrible, and the flooding so awful. Do take care. So much damage. Our weather has gone crazy, that's for sure. Hunker down and stay safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The flooding has been very bad indeed in some places, Bonnie, this year in the north and west, in contrast with the severe flooding in the south a couple of winters ago. We really do seem to be getting some unusual weather patterns.

      Delete
  15. These weather patterns are so devastating, no matter their name. We have a penchant for naming hurricanes over here, Perpetua, and tend to remember the worst of them; Andrew, Katrina, etc. My heart and prayers go out to all those who have losses. I know how fierce water can be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are indeed, Penny. This naming of storms is new over here, with the list of names being published in October and the first named storm arriving in mid-November. There have been quite a few other smaller patterns which didn't even merit a name. The north and west of Britain is very soggy at present, even though thankfully the floods have receded.

      Delete
  16. The force of nature - so beautiful on a calm summer day when it's all about a cooling wind and scudding clouds - is frightening when it's about flood or earthquake (the latter experienced here between Christmas and New Year). I can only imagine the worry about such beautiful old places as the church. The farmers, who are used to worry about the weather must have been particularly stressed. I was mesmerized by your video clip - always am by water!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, gosh, earthquake! Even more frightening than flood, I think. I hope you had no damage. Thankfully the church was undamaged, but the same can't be said about houses and businesses in other places. The floodwaters have receded for the moment, but the ground is still saturated and heavy rain could still lead to more flooding. We are all longing for spring.

      Delete
  17. You really have had a very bad time with the floods in certain areas. I felt so sorry for many of the people, when watching on TV.. I cannot imagine, how i would feel.
    Great that the precious church items were put out of the way.
    happy weekend .. val xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Living whee we do we've been on the fringe of it all, Val, except for the visit to our daughter at Christmas. But I know many of the flooded areas well and really feel for those who have had so much damage and loss. The recent storms have had more wind and rather less rain.

      Delete
  18. Feel so sorry for the people up in the North. The floods look horrendous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankfully the floodwaters have receded for now, Molly, but as you know the ground is totally saturated, so more heavy rain could mean more flooding. What we need is spring.

      Delete
  19. We have, of course, been watching our regional television news broadcasts with sympathy and concern. The floods have caused devastation to our northern regions. Our daughter's in-laws live in the York area and we also know Selby from when our daughter lived in the area. It was the intensity of the waters as the rivers rose that must have been so frightening followed by the misery of clearing up and then further flooding. Seeing those collapsed bridges cutting off one part of a village from the other again made us realise what people are still having to deal with before temporary ones are put in place. I hope all is well with you up in Scotland tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As I write it's calm and slightly snowy up here, Linda, but it's the calm before yet another storm. Storm Henry is due to bring us extremely high winds and heavy rain overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
      The flooding in the Vale of York is rather different from that in the Pennine valley towns where the water rises quickly and devastatingly and recedes equally quickly. In the flat area around York and Selby the floodwaters spread much more widely and can be slow to disappear completely. As you say, there have been a lot of damaged and destroyed bridges, so the disruption goes on. It's not a winter that will be quickly forgotten.

      Delete
  20. My goodness. I can't even imagine this much rain. It's pretty shocking to me. I know that there can be so much damage and I hope your beautiful church was spared. I'm sure there were many people really suffering economic loss, but I hope no lives were lost as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it must be way outside your experience as a southern Californian, Debra. Your problem is that of too little rain. If only we could even things up a bit. The church was fine, thanks, but many homes and business in other places were badly damaged, but I only know of one death, though there were some narrow escapes. Thankfully things seem to have calmed down - at least for now.

      Delete

I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.