Absolutely not DRY in the Northeast (and elsewhere)

[ouryve]

How are people doing? Apparently parts of Northumberland are set to get over a month's rainfall, today.

Lots of roads closed in Co Durham. I don't intend to set foot outside, again, until I pick DS2 up from school.

It's pretty grim here (in Newcastle), but in an unpleasant doing the school run way rather than a problem.

Weather warning was issued by the metoffice for heavy rain but it was quite late last night (not a great help when you're suddenly affected by it the next morning.)

Yep - I got an update at about 11:30, bringing the warning area further south earlier than originally predicted.

At least my Sainsbrys order has made it on time, though.

It's rather wet and I notice nWater are having to fix the drains again in our village again but so far have managed to avoid flooding. Some of our friends don't seem to be so lucky.

Lanchester and Ryton look pretty horrific. Lanchester's completely cut off (though it doesn't seem to stop the press getting in!)

This kids had a crap start to the day :(
www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14181922.Dramatic_pictures_from_inside_stricken_bus___30_children_rescued_from_floodwater___13_photos___UPDATED/

On my way home today in Co. Durham, the fields are now so sodden the water is overflowing onto the roads.

I dread to think how bad it will be if it rains all week, which is what the BBC weather app is saying! :(

That's what our village gets like. We're 500' above sea level with no rivers nearby, but I've had to walk through ankle deep water in heavy storms, before, due to run off from waterlogged fields.

Hopefully my waterproofs have properly dried out (inside and out - I was sweating) from this morning, as this latest cloud looks like a dark one and I need to go out in it.

Part of DH's route home from work is flooded, so that should be fun.

Well arrived for pick up and DSs school has a new lake on the field and its attracted ducks! More rain is the last thing we need. Our village is up from the river but the fields and gardens are completely saturated and as they are clay they don't drain particukarly well to start off with.

It was heavier than this morning walking down to the school but, while I was waiting for DS2 to come out, it started coming down as stair rods. DS2 has been a coat refuser for 2 years solid, now (ASD). We can wrap lots of silly woolly things around him to keep him warm when it snows, but short of trying to shelter him a bit with a brolly, there's naff all we can do, in this weather. His second jumper took the brunt of it (mostly where he rubbed against my massive properly waterproof coat!) but he's sitting in a damp jumper and soaking wet trousers which he refuses to change out of.

And my once waterproof goretex boots are now waterlogged. I had to do a heck of a lot of wading :(

He's in year 5. Only 5 more terms of this damned walk!

Driving from Gateshead to Newcastle was scary but doable. Better than last night, when we all went 20 miles an hour in some parts, because we had no visibility in the storm.

Nervously watching the little stream nearby. I wonder if school is open tomorrow. Some roads are closed around it due to flooding...

Why do we not make it onto the national news?! Even with both the the Tyne and Wear bursting its banks? Are less attractive, or deserving or are there no interesting photos available? Surely Durham is pretty. They could decamp the news crews there and provide wall-to-wall coverage?

I think the difference there is that most of the flooding has been temporary - there's been none of the scenes where whole streets end up with water up to the tops of front doors. It's also the 3rd or 4th time the wear has overflowed in the centre of Durham. Most of the newer buildings on the riverside are built with that in mind - it's mostly car parking etc. The difference between today and the past couple of times has been that it's a weekday, so offices have had to be evacuated before they get cut off.

Morpeth's closed its flood gates, again. Fingers crossed for them.

Fingers crossed for all of us.