Our 2018 drought
We are all hoping that the dry spell last summer was a one off. However, the Oakham area is basically quite dry; the surrounding hills, although relatively small, do create a “rain shadow” effect. It is quite noticeable on returning from Leicester, say, that Tilton-on-the-Hill and even Braunston will be wet but coming down the hill into Oakham the rain peters out. Given that our prevailing winds are south westerly (i.e. coming over the hills) this is a fixed situation. Also, Rutland Water is a hindrance to rainfall. It is obviously flat, so will not produce uplift and, in summer, is generally cooler than surrounding fields so there is no thermal uplift either. You may have noticed that showers/storms tend to go either north or south of Oakham. Only rarely do they make us wet.
To move onto the detail of last summer (June, July and August) the figures speak for themselves. Rainfall in this area should be in the low twenties inches for the year, with rather more in winter than summer. 1.5 inches would be an average (normal!) month. May was a reasonably normal month ending on the 27th with over an inch! So ok so far……
June There were occasional drizzles and heavy dews but no rain until the 14th with 0.1 of an inch; winds often from the East, a relatively dry direction.
Summary: 0.14 inch Temp range: Low 45F High 80F
July Only spots of rain until 27 Jul when there was much lightning and 2 minutes of rain and 4 hundredths of an inch. The rest of July was unsettled with showery rain from storms and brief spells of rain. This amounted to nearly an inch - so almost a normal month’s supply but too late! Low 50F High 88F
August We began to get back in balance with an amazing almost 2 inches, but mostly in the second half of the month. Temp range: Low 42F High 85F
Allotment Reactions
To augment the dearth of rainfall for June/July we had to draw on our own resources and then rely on ‘Water Plus’ (an offshoot of Severn Trent) when we ran out. Over the period we used the equivalent of 74 of our water “cubes”- at about £1.60 a cubic metre.
In brief we might have expected 5-6 inches over the period. Instead we had just over 2.5 inches – BUT that mostly at the end of the 2 month stretch of drought. It was good for tomatoes (no blight, the first time for many years). It was good for sweetcorn (climate similar to Oklahoma). Poor for greens and a disaster for potatoes!
True Story
“So much for the Forecasters”
In 1956, on a Friday evening in August, the weather man at RAF North Luffenham was briefing aircrew for night flying. He outlined the likely weather thru’ to 0300 Saturday and assured the “chaps” that thunderstorms were still 60 miles to the west so no problems…..
The rest of his briefing was drowned by loud claps of thunder!
Exit aircrews for a full weekend!