I am continually amazed by what seems to be a fact: most people simply can't tell the difference between 5mm, 15mm and 25mm of rain, to most people it's just rain. So, if it rains a bit they say it's wet. I conclude most people walk about in some sort of daze - barely aware of what is going on around them.

Last week our local forecaster used the term 'inclement' for an April day that was breezy, mild, cloudy and had a few spots of rain. Such appeals to ignorance don't help...

Roost weather custom rainfall  the custom rainfall option will plot hundreds of rainfall observation for this year.

Select the time period (the longer it is the more like his server will time out at least once) , don't select Scotland and wales (less searching for the server?) set data to 95%? and if the server can't cope keep trying - it usually gets there in the end. The data is fascinating - if you're not in a daze anyway....

Data For Recent Days

24 hour total up to 10 am BST (09:00 UTC) yesterday morning: 0.6 mm

Total since 10 am BST (09:00 UTC) yesterday morning: 2.8 mm (as at 6:30 am BST (05:30 UTC) this morning on Wednesday 15 April 2026)

Monthly Data

Total for this month so far: 34.6 mm (75.4% of 1991-2020 April average)

Number of rain days during this month: 9 (97.7% of 1991-2020 April average)

Number of dry days during this month: 2

This means that only at least another 11.4 mm of rain now needs to fall between now and the end of this month in order for this month to go down as being wetter than average in terms of the actual rainfall amounts.

In addition to that, this month will go down as being wetter than average in terms of the number of rain days if any more official rain days are recorded between now and the end of this month.

Seasonal Data

Total for this spring so far: 96.6 mm (65.0% of 1991-2020 spring average)

Number of rain days during this spring: 22 (72.7% of 1991-2020 spring average)

Number of dry days during this spring: 15

Annual Data

Total for this year so far: 208.8 mm (26.6% of 1991-2020 annual average)

Number of rain days during this year: 53 (38.6% of 1991-2020 annual average)

Number of dry days during this year: 27

Note

This data has been obtained from https://www.ogimet.com  in raw BUFR format, and then converted into a more readable form by my own python script.

Similar here, recorded only "trace" amount of rain (less than 0.2 mm) in past 24 hours here at my Folkestone harbour location. I'm holding back on putting down grass seed on my recently dug up lawn until I am seeing significant or regular rainfall in the near future - and there seems to be little of that from where I'm standing (or sitting).

Data For Recent Days

24 hour total up to 10 am BST (09:00 UTC) this morning: 2.4 mm

Total since 10 am BST (09:00 UTC) this morning: 0.0 mm (as at 5:30 pm BST (16:30 UTC) this afternoon on Thursday 16 April 2026)

Monthly Data

Total for this month so far: 37.0 mm (80.7% of 1991-2020 April average)

Number of rain days during this month: 10 (108.6% of 1991-2020 April average)

Number of dry days during this month: 3

This means that at least another 9.0 mm of rain still needs to fall between now and the end of this month in order for this month to go down as being wetter than average in terms of the actual rainfall amounts.

However, more official rain days have now been recorded during this month than the 1991-2020 April average and so regardless of what happens during the rest of this month, this month will now go down as being wetter than average in terms of the number of rain days.

Seasonal Data

Total for this spring so far: 99.0 mm (66.7% of 1991-2020 spring average)

Number of rain days during this spring: 23 (76.0% of 1991-2020 spring average)

Number of dry days during this spring: 16

Annual Data

Total for this year so far: 211.2 mm (26.9% of 1991-2020 annual average)

Number of rain days during this year: 54 (39.3% of 1991-2020 annual average)

Number of dry days during this year: 28

Note

This data has been obtained from https://www.ogimet.com  in raw BUFR format, and then converted into a more readable form by my own python script.

Without the Jan/Feb rainfall we'd now be in rationing land around here from what I've heard. No car washes, garden hose use and perhaps dare I say it, the introduction of stand pipes in favoured places. 

There lies my problem, being just down the road from Shoebury. Just had a seven drop shower. It looked quite intense on the radar but seemed to fizzle on the way down through the dry air. Looks like more opportunities but if I get a mm from them I will  be surprised.

Little wonder we want different things from the weather when you've had probably over a 100% of average rainfall and I've had 1% !

Still at least the BBC presenter acknowledged how dry it is here at last.

The radar here shows it all fizzling before it got here - not even any "evaporating on the way down" stuff. 2.5mm for the past month here.

Not really.

Here's the actual rainfall maps for the first 3 months of the year:

January (you and I got around the same amount)

February (similar picture)

March  (You're slightly drier, but not by that much)

The anomaly maps show that, compared to average, you and I are aboiut the same, if not here a little more down on average (as we would expect a little more rainfall).

The ground isnt wet, but it's far from dry and hard. 

Our reservoir levels , FWIW, are above average and all but Dee/Vyrnwy are 20-30 %-points higher than this time last year. 

A good bit of confirmational bias there Saint. 😊 For March (and the small amount of rain fell in the beginning of the month), like Retron I am in the dark brown area and you are in the white. The last two weeks of March and all of April show a different picture. Have you had 1% of average for April so far as Met Office have just announced for here? Even without the stats you say your ground is still soft whereas here it is rock hard, with dust everywhere here. I take your point that you may be below average but you seem to be disputing that we are in a drought situation.

Out of the 5 local aquifers shown on the EA website that feed the Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments, 2 are still above the top of their normal range and both areas are still under a groundwater flood alert.

I actually posted the March anomaly chart in error. Here's the actual:

I'm not disputing you're in a 'drought situation', mate. I was disputing your assertion that "you've had probably over a 100% of average rainfall"