This is the first bulletin for the 2021-2022 flood season. So far, despite what has seemed like a lot of rain over the autumn, water levels in the River Till are only a fraction above the 8-year average for the time of year and they currently stand a shade over 82 metres above ordnance datum (AOD). To put that into context, at the same time in early December last year, the water level was more than 90 metres AOD. Springs in the south of the village, along Spring (or Back) Lane kept flowing throughout the year and the Till was “in water” along Water Lane near Church Cottage.
With Storm Barra, the second named storm of the season, barreling in from the Atlantic, there is a lot of rain in the forecast over the next week or so. Water levels will rise steadily, but probably very slowly. In the run-up to Christmas, we may see a dry, cold spell followed by increasingly wet weather. The Christmas period itself looks set to be warmer than average and becoming increasingly settled between Christmas and New Year. A White Christmas seems rather unlikely!