"Dave Cornwell" wrote in message
...
Freddie wrote:
I'm now looking at next weekend as we have a break at Stratford-upon-
Avon, ans the charts are looking quite promising, although I must
remember I will no longer be in the deserts of the SE.

Keith (Southend)
http://www.southendweather.net
"Weather Home & Abroad"

I think you'll find the "deserts" extend further than the south-east.
Here in Shropshire there is a distinct rainfall deficit - under 270 mm
this year.

------------------
Wow! 268mm, that is low. Does that compare well with other local
stations?

Dave

It is lower than local stations - but that is mainly because my part of
Shropshire has genuinely had less rain than other parts. For example, North
Shropshire received far more from the showers in the NW'lies that we've had
on and off in the past three weeks (but that is normal, as the wind needs to
be veered N'ly for south Shropshire to be affected by Cheshire Gap showers).
I can think of other situations in the past few months where the area south
of Shrewsbury has missed out on the rain - purely by chance, or bad luck or
whatever you want to call it. Even making a casual observation of the
condition of meadows and people's lawns in the Shrewsbury area, you can see
that the south has had less rain than the north. There was another thread
on here about 6 weeks ago whereby my observations of the driest areas were
confirmed by others who had visited the local area.

If you look at the rainfall total maps on the Met Office site
(http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomacts/) you will notice the
persistence of a "dry blob" over Shropshire and the extreme West Midlands in
the past 2 or 3 months.

--
Freddie
Bayston Hill
Shropshire
102m AMSL
http://www.hosiene.co.uk/weather/cumulus/