Anyone see the pictures of Pitsford Reservoir on the BBC 6 o'clock news this
evening? Pretty dire with the water that low. The reporter said that it
should be at least 6 feet higher than it is. What he didn't mention was that
it is only that high because Anglian Water are pumping water from the River
Nene as fast as they are allowed to before the extraction licence runs out
at the end of the month. Current level = 65%, an increase of 25% a month
ago. No records are being broken around here though. 12.3mm yesterday,
82.5mm for the month.

Since the hose pipe ban in the area came into force on the 5th April, it has
rained for 18 days out of the 21. And a new record flashed up on Cumulus
this evening, since I started using it a couple of years ago. Longest wet
spell = 9 days.

I have to assume Pitsford Weather Station has a problem. It is showing
yesterday's rain as 0.01mm. Surely persistent rain like we had today can't
be THAT localised (3 miles). I'm showing 186mm for the year so far. Their
figure 157mm. A couple of weeks ago I was within a couple of millimetres of
them.

jim, Northampton