Drought

[Noflora]

Where are you all? I hope Kitten and Gloria are ok, I miss them and the whole weather chat. It's been too dry for weeks in my garden but I waited for this week's chill to pass and planted out the tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines yesterday. Also the summer flowers, it feels instantly cheerier here.

Well the nearest rain gauge measured 1.8mm yesterday. Spread over 3 showers with a strong wind it only just wet my roof enough for a negligible amount into my rain butts. Back to watering today but at least I can leave the new bit of lawn for one day.

We haven't set foot out of the house due to the rain. Not just light rain showers, but torrential downpours.

It can stop raining here now please.

My butt filled about 1/3 in the past 2 days, but over a series of showers and a couple of short periods of drizzle. Back to windy and cold but dry today, but clouds disappearing in the past hour or so with some sunshine coming through.

Ginfordinner I am actually jealous of your rain !

We did have a couple of showers over the weekend, but again only really light. My butts are fed from the (very large) conservatory, so the rain runs off really well, and some did make it to the first butt (I have two in tandem), but only added an inch or two .

Yesterday 4mm and today 1mm. It's not enough but it's a start and I am relieved for the lawn at least.

It's started to rain here just after lunch, and we've actually totally refilled the butt (and syphoned off 40 l into a separate large bucket as extra). And the ground and pots will all have got a good drenching for a couple of days at least.

But it is cold - I've actually lit the fire downstairs as DD was so cold (13 degrees outside).

Could be some thundery downpours today and tomorrow for some areas.

Metoffice weather warning for thunderstorms for today.
Some thoughts from Netweather along with a convective forecast.

Yes, we finally got some heavy showers on Thursday too. It filled one but off the conservatory, but didn't make it to the run off for the second. My third butt at the front which runs off the roof, only got half full though.

Could still do with more. My penstemons, and buddleia have still not grown since being cut back, so still suffering from drought. I notice my lillies are not flowering much this year either. Here's hoping for another shower or two .

0.2mm yesterday which did not reach my waterbutts at all nor anything in pots, being spread over several drizzle showers. Back to watering today. I watch on the radar as heavy rain moves east and west of us and anything actually on a trajectory to hit us just fizzles out. It is an extraordinary season.

My corner of Manchester missed the showers over the weekend - I've had to water the plants Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and probably today too! So much for rainy Manchester

We had an excellent thunderstorm here (Leicester) between 9-10pm last night. Not a great photo but managed to get a picture of some lightning.

There could be quite a few places that see thunderstorms over the next few days.

And the metoffice have issued some weather warnings for thunderstorms and rain over the next few days.

We had a glorious thunderstorm which lasted about 50mins. 16.2mm fell. The waterbutts are full and the garden doesn't need watering. Today is a good day and the sun is shining again. I'm even ok about the battered flowers.

It's rumbling around here (Leicester), think we're about to get another storm - I'm watching the line of storms running from Peterborough to the Welsh border that are moving in a NW direction.

Plenty of lightning strikes showing up here.

Updated weather warnings for today and tomorrow.

It rained solidly here from 4:30am to 8:45 or so (it was raining when I properly moved at 8:15 but was dry when I looked out shortly before 9). Heavy, drenching rain, not just drizzly misty stuff. The empty laundry basket had been left outdoors by accident and not under anything to catch extra water, but the base was completely full of water (there's a solid base to about 2 inches high before the holes) - it was right up to those holes.

The water gauges on local rivers show significant rises today, but Irish Water issued info in reports yesterday that where there were 27 water sources in drought when they imposed a hosepipe ban a couple of weeks back, that the recent rainfall has not helped that number rising to 36 now, and 50 sources in danger of drought rising to 57 in the same period, around the country. I can't see where to find data specifically on their public data, only if they issue another press release, to see if the rain in the past 2 days has made a difference. Hosepipe ban is staying in force though.