Well that’s it. We’re officially in a drought.
Probably won’t last long with September approaching.

Yorkshire Water have this morning announced a hosepipe ban effective from August 26th

Thames Water could announce the date for its hosepipe ban as soon as today if a drought is declared in its area

Notice the grass and fields are turning browner here now , the temporary green of the last few weeks is very fragile.
Looking at all the satellite images of the UK drought we are right on the border between lush green and brown. This is partly down to land management as the arable land to the SE of Leeds will be full of prepared hay etc and the hills to the NW full of sheep and greener grass. Nevertheless the rolling hills to the NW are turning brown in places which is unusual.

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Notice the grass and fields are turning browner here now , the temporary green of the last few weeks is very fragile.
Looking at all the satellite images of the UK drought we are right on the border between lush green and brown. This is partly down to land management as the arable land to the SE of Leeds will be full of prepared hay etc and the hills to the NW full of sheep and greener grass. Nevertheless the rolling hills to the NW are turning brown in places which is unusual.

Yeah, starting to look rather brown again. 1.5mm here in August so far. 

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A drought has been declared in parts of South West, Southern and Central England and East of England

A drought has been declared in parts of South West, Southern and Central England and East of England

Just in time for the deluge to arrive. Perfect timing. 

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Just in time for the deluge to arrive. Perfect timing. 

It’s our version of a rain dance.

 

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It’s our version of a rain dance.

 

Yep, similar to when Dennis Howell was appointed Minister for Drought in 1976.

The single most successful MP ever - he literally made it rain the following day, for months on end.

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Grass and fields turning black here!  We have yet another major fire incident, four miles North and it’s dangerously close to properties. 12 fire engines this time.  Worryingly, it’s getting close to brother-in-law’s house and police have told him to evacuate but he’s refusing to.  

His property is at the end of a lane and he has a small woodland next to his house, with a field of uncut corn the other side of it.  The fire is only a couple of fields away.  Police are present on his lane and keeping an eye on things. Very concerning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-62525301.amp

 

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Just thought as well, bro-in-law keeps bees and his hives are at the bottom of his garden!  Hope they’re not affected.  

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A bit of a prediction here, which I’ll be happy to have proved wrong.

After well over a decade - arguably 20 years - of unusually méridional flow in the Northern Hemisphere, a negative AO and unusually high Greenland pressure, things seem to have flipped in the last 3-4 years.

If we are now moving into a phase of stronger zonal flow and positive AO, alongside the upward slope of the solar cycle with its apparent correlation to AO and SSTs, then it’s possible - given a couple of decades more global warming - that we could be heading into a period of several years of mild winters and dry hot summers.

A series of warm dry Augusts would be nice too.

2022 may just be the beginning.

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Grass and fields turning black here!  We have yet another major fire incident, four miles North and it’s dangerously close to properties. 12 fire engines this time.  Worryingly, it’s getting close to brother-in-law’s house and police have told him to evacuate but he’s refusing to.  

His property is at the end of a lane and he has a small woodland next to his house, with a field of uncut corn the other side of it.  The fire is only a couple of fields away.  Police are present on his lane and keeping an eye on things. Very concerning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-62525301.amp

 

 

Hope it goes OK for your brother-in-law and his property, Caz. 

If the fire brigade are already on the scene and have surveyed the situation, he (and his bees!) should be alright 

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Just thought as well, bro-in-law keeps bees and his hives are at the bottom of his garden!  Hope they’re not affected.  

As a beekeeper emeritus to another - I hope it all goes OK, Caz.

 Roger

 

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A bit of a prediction here, which I’ll be happy to have proved wrong.

 that we could be heading into a period of several years of mild winters and dry hot summers.



2022 may just be the beginning.

 

I do fear that I may never see settling snow again in London. Seems our climate is becoming more like Portugal and Portugal is becoming more like Northern Africa

At least we can grow Oranges and Olives now

 

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Hope it goes OK for your brother-in-law and his property, Caz. 

If the fire brigade are already on the scene and have surveyed the situation, he (and his bees!) should be alright 

Thanks Saint.   We’ve had so many fires this summer we’ve got used to seeing smoke but this has scared me.  There’s been a lot of burning straw flying and fire has started elsewhere with several fields burning. The local farm has suffered damage but thankfully fire crews got that under control and it’s now relatively safe.  They’re still at bro-in-laws but his woodland is the main concern and it’s only separated from the house by his drive.  As yet, it’s all OK with no sign of fire!

I just hope bro in law will be sensible because I know the property is his pride and joy. My father Father in law had the house built and ran his business from there and it’s where hubby and his brother were born and grew up.  So there are memories involved. 

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As a beekeeper emeritus to another - I hope it all goes OK, Caz.

 Roger

 

Hopefully the bees will be more sensible than my bro-in-law and will vacate their homes if fire threatens. 

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I do fear that I may never see settling snow again in London. Seems our climate is becoming more like Portugal and Portugal is becoming more like Northern Africa

At least we can grow Oranges and Olives now

We bought an Olive Tree 7 years ago IIRC. It's thriving

 

We bought an Olive Tree 7 years ago IIRC. It's thriving

My next-door neighbour planted a fig tree a few years ago, and it is doing very well, too.

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My next-door neighbour planted a fig tree a few years ago, and it is doing very well, too.

Fig and olive trees will have always been able to grow here with a bit of care as even in their native lands it gets cold and often snowy more especially for figs. There is a massive fig tree growing wild along the shoreline here, but unfortunately the figs always drop before ripening - probably needs some feed.