looks like drought and possibly an extra dry summer to follow, as is the way with English weather patterns, bit like 1948, time will tell !!!!

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Its not always the biggest and the bestest, its them that make the least mistakes.

It's difficult to put a figure on it Kremm. There have been a number of factors at play in recent weeks and it seems it's a combination of them all, and the duration which has been the problem.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25637142

A record breaking Jet Stream has assisted in creating some massive ocean swells across the North Atlantic ( 30m/100 ft + waves mid ocean, which in itself is not that unusual at this time of year ).

Unfortunately though the elements have conspired to drive these swells much closer to the UK than would normally be the case. Wave heights of 17-19m/ 55-62 ft have been reported and confirmed very close to the UK coast, particularly in the West/South West.

Throw in the added ingredients of frequent gale force winds, low pressure systems which raise the sea level, spring tides which raise sea levels even higher and the well above average rainfall** causing rivers which flow into the sea to back up and it's a wonder the flood defences have held up as well as they have to be honest.

**Above average rainfall

I'm still trying to collate some rainfall figures but just as an indication I have found the following:

Tonbridge ( Kent ) January 1st-6th.

56mm's ( 2.25 inches ) It doesn't sound too bad until you consider that is 322% of the average rainfall for that period, in an area that is already flooded.

St Germans ( Cornwall ) January 1st-6th.

97.5 mm's ( 4 inches ) 478% of the average rainfall for that period.

The St Germans weather station has recorded a total of 301 mm's ( 12 inches ) in the 27 days up to January 6th 2014.

Thanks as always for reading and posting, I really should get a life !!

Moley

Another spell of torrential rain overnight has probably added to the flooding issues already affecting the Thames and it's tributaries in our region.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-n ... ew-6481311

Areas most at risk now include Windsor, Datchet, Staines, Kingston, Egham, Runnymede. Hopefully the flooding should subside in the next few days. The outlook is still far from certain though.

Moley.

Fortunately I'm working from home today and tomorrow so not venturing out to Surrey.

Probably just as well because Runnymede is my Friday route home to avoid the M25 Friday car park

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Lets be careful out there !

Latest flood warnings:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/ho ... erm=thames

152 of them

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Lets be careful out there !

I'm sharing this blog because it's been posted by a respected and very knowledgeable member of a weather website I have been a member of for several years.

Although the actual photo's and reports are from his location, the explanation of what happened and why are relevant to all the regions of the UK which were affected by the recent storms. This blog only refers to the period January 3rd- 6th 2014, but the frequent Atlantic storms actually started mid to late December 2013 and affected a far wider area.

http://www.geologywales.co.uk/storms/winter14a.htm

Looking ahead, this weekend should see a spell of fairly settled weather in our region, albeit chillier than it has been recently.

Some forecasts were predicting snow as early as next Monday for London and The South East. I very much doubt it. It may become colder for a few days, but I stick by my earlier prediction that the Atlantic will be the main influence later next week and that is bad news for areas which are already flooded.

Moley

I worked from home Friday and glad I did.

Reports from the office was that one of the Surrey roads I use has a thin sheet of ice over it as flood water had frozen overnight. Also the A320 Chertsey road is closed due to flooding. That will put extra pressure on the M25 as the A320 is a good M25 alternative.

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Lets be careful out there !

***UPDATED THURSDAY JANUARY 16th 2014 @ 0200 Hrs***

Well here we are at the halfway point of the meterological Uk winter and the first half can be summed up as wet and mild in London and The South East.

It's a mixed blessing. The lack of freezing temperatures, snow and ice can be seen as a good thing, but the flooding in many areas is bad for some. Surrey has been particularly badly affected and areas around around the Thames are still flooded.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-n ... ew-6481311

The latest forecasts offer little in the way of a a respite because all the signs are that our weather will continue to be driven by The Atlantic Ocean and the Jet Stream for the foreseeable future.

The next few days are likely to see yet more rain in areas that really don't need it, and that rain could be heavy at times. I wouldn't rule out the occasional thunderstorm and torrential downpour at times either. Some locations in the South East have already reported more thunderstorms in the first 2 weeks of January than they have for the whole of 2013.

Moley.

Certainly seems never ending.

My neighbour had new double glazing fitted yesterday whilst it was chucking it down and a bit blowy. Instead of the regular boys they had amateurs in who took all day and all windows were initially out for quite a few hours whilst they messed about doing something.

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Lets be careful out there !