Here we have the first real flood report of the year after collecting just over a weeks worth of data; and what a week it has been.
Although the levels remain slightly below average, they are greater than either the last flood year, or the year we had the latest Spring over the period. Looking at each 11th December over the last nine years, the water levels today are higher than six of those; just looking at the average can be a little deceptive.
On Wednesday, the spring on Spring Lane (aka Back Lane), by Till Cottage, showed a bit of activity and by Thursday morning, the water had spread down the dry river bed into what used to be known as Water Lane and is shown on Google maps as Dryden Street – just to the west of Church Cottage and above the bridge.
By Friday morning, it had gone under the bridge on Water Lane and was heading down across the meadow. However, temperatures had plummeted and the river was frozen.
By Saturday, the water had crept further down towards Berwick St James and risen a little.
This morning, the river has risen a bit more and snow (yes, you idle lay-abeds may have missed it!) has settled on top of the ice. The frozen river could prove problematic later on if we do not have a thaw before we have significant rain or snow. We will be keeping a closer eye on the temperatures than normal. We are expecting bitterly cold frosts overnight throughout the week and maybe a few more snow flurries. The cold weather is likely to continue in the run-up to Christmas with the weather here becoming increasingly unsettled with a chance of rain or even (fingers crossed kids) snow. The weather may warm slightly into the early New Year, but the risk of rain and snow will continue.