Hi Caz. We have a  moderate westerly wind - a bit variable. I've had a look and a sniff but can't detect anything. Ranskill is about 30 miles away. BBC Link:

Ranskill tyre fire prompts warning to residents

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-62435319

Mind you that does not say much - we had a tyre fire in this village a few weeks back and I only noticed it when I was washing up and looked out the window - to see a plume of black smoke on the horizon.

There has been of an outbreak of arson locally. That event was kids playing silly idiots. See:

Grantham: More than 25 arson attacks in town in recent week

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-62339001

TikTok copycat crime?

Roger

 

Roger, are you getting smoke from a tyre fire in Ranskill over your way?  We’re just South west of it and can clearly see the thick black smoke blowing S/E and have a faint smell of rubber burning.  Brother says he has a clear view from Saxilby as well.  Thankfully we’ve had a few showers over the past couple of weeks, so we’re not tinder dry now!  

Ranskill fire

Roger, are you getting smoke from a tyre fire in Ranskill over your way?  We’re just South west of it and can clearly see the thick black smoke blowing S/E and have a faint smell of rubber burning.  Brother says he has a clear view from Saxilby as well.  Thankfully we’ve had a few showers over the past couple of weeks, so we’re not tinder dry now!  

Ranskill fire

Drove past this on the A1 very dramatic looking fire. You could see it miles away probably 20 miles at a guess.

This probably explains a substantial column of smoke I could see from the moors south of Drax, it is not that far south of Doncaster so given good visibility not that surprising. I thought it might be a crop fire.

 

Drove past this on the A1 very dramatic looking fire. You could see it miles away probably 20 miles at a guess.

Leeds-Liverpool canal closed at the locks because insufficient water available to fill them. 

The Times reports that Norway is drawing up contingency plans tor restrict the export of electricity to the UK this winter as many of their hydro-electric reservoirs are unusually low - unless, of course, it starts raining.

[also posted in UIA but repeated here for the benefit of those who have better things to do than visit that forum)

Same here FW - we did the Big Butterfly Count and only had 2 Small Whites and 2 Meadow Browns in the garden! But bats were going crackers last night from 21.25hrs - 2 echolocating at 55kHz - so they must have been eating something. You could hear it!

R.

We did the Big Butterfly Count too and were able to compare our results from the same location and date last year. Fewer butterflies but also very noticeable from the photos we took ,that what was a field margin and hedgerow bursting with wildflowers last year, is now a parched and almost lifeless place with only the deepest rooted plants having green leaves.

Has anybody else in the region had less than the claimed average of 5mm? Just 0.3mm here.

My total is over 5mm at 7.2mm but it is noticeable that most of that fell in two showers at the very beginning of July.

So after going back to a manual rain gauge at start of 2020 (electronic ones were unreliable/inaccurate and kept breaking):

Oh yes, the battle to keep rain gauges free of spiders, bird poop and biofilm is real!

The non-drought continues here with a quarter of the monthly average already in August following another wetter than average July 

If anyone in the south is wondering when the drought will come to an end then the answer is 3rd September as that's when I'll be coming down to London for a week. Probably end up with a ridiculously wet September on a par with 1976 and 1995 and no doubt we'll get it here as well despite having a summer nothing like 1976 or 1995 

 

Oh yes, the battle to keep rain gauges free of spiders, bird poop and biofilm is real!

I don't have a chance these days to collect rain gauge data, it's bloody evaporated before I get there... ;)

Source of River Thames dries out 'for first time' as drought continues in England

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/source-river-thames-dries-first-082455439.html

Bad, but not quite as dire as this article paints it. A more nuanced report at 

https://www.itv.com/news/london/2022-08-05/source-of-river-thames-moves-five-miles-downstream-for-first-time-in-history

According to Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Head, in 2011, the Thames rose 'just upstream of Ashton Keynes' which is actually the same as 'downstream of Somerford Keynes' which is quoted in the Yahoo article. But don't let that stand in the way of a good headline!

From what I have read in the past the “source” at Thames Head where the monument is situated is completely dry except in wet winters.

(The true source of the Thames should be considered the headwaters of the River Churn anyway, as it is considerably longer. I think the furthest upstream source should be the one that counts. I looked on detailed OS maps a few years ago and it’s in the grounds of some kind of school as far as I recall. In fact the National Star College where Harvey Price is a pupil!)

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/more-100-french-towns-without-145750323.html

More than 100 towns in France reliant on water deliveries by truck.

In Corsica this week and, quote, “we’re 24 days away from completely running out of water” (so no dive bombing in the swimming pool).

Is this England or some semi-arid scrubland?

 

In Corsica this week and, quote, “we’re 24 days away from completely running out of water” (so no dive bombing in the swimming pool).

If the water evaporates from a pool completely that will cause trouble for the lining. Did you know it can take weeks to fill a concrete pool?

You have to fill it in increments of around a 100mm/4inches or less a day? A vinyl liner pool can be filled as quickly as a hose will run, or if you're crafty, and there's a FH nearby, then depending on the pools dimensions, will less than half a day, (although not recommended because of the

iron content in the water will stain the liner... Some fun facts about swimming pools... :)

Is this England or some semi-arid scrubland?