December has arrived and with it, we have the first week of data from the Tilshead borehole as the winter recharge of our local aquifer gets underway. As you will have realised from several recent posts on the website, this process has begun very early and we are already two months ahead of the ‘normal’ schedule. The graph after one week looks like this:
This shows that the water level has almost reached its average peak value for winter in early December, a peak that is normally reached in late February. Over the last week, we have had relatively little rain, around 16mm according to Janet Abbot’s marvellous weather website here: http://winterbournestokeweather.co.uk/ Despite this, the water level has continued to rise. Indeed, the water level in the River Till at Dryden Street (the southern end of the village that is called Dryden Street on Google Maps) is now deeper than its normal summer peak. This is probably due to a combination of spring water and rainwater run-off, so that might fall if the dry weather continues.
The down-side is that we have more rain in the forecast, certainly over the next week. Showers are set to begin later today with some heavier rain overnight. The wet and windy theme is due to continue for the rest of the week and into next weekend. In the run-up to Christmas we can expect much more of the same, with lower temperatures. That said, the chance of a white Christmas here in the south is minimal. Heavy rain is a much more likely Christmas forecast with a drier spell starting off early in the New Year.