Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

If JimB or any of his WeatherQuest colleagues are reading this,
one or two rainfall stats would be interesting and useful, especially
now that there's nothing closer in the synoptic network than
Wattisham, Marham and the not-entirely-reliable Weybourne.

I've heard an unconfirmed 38mm at North Walsham, but
without any information about the period it was recorded in.
The pictures of flooding in Gt Yarmouth on News24 suggest
something appreciably in excess of that.

Philip

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

In message , Philip Eden
writes
If JimB or any of his WeatherQuest colleagues are reading this,
one or two rainfall stats would be interesting and useful, especially
now that there's nothing closer in the synoptic network than
Wattisham, Marham and the not-entirely-reliable Weybourne.

I've heard an unconfirmed 38mm at North Walsham, but
without any information about the period it was recorded in.
The pictures of flooding in Gt Yarmouth on News24 suggest
something appreciably in excess of that.

Philip

Philip,

If the rain here between 1115z and 1200z is anything to go by then I
should think there were probably some very high totals in parts of East
Anglia if the radar is anything to go by.

The radar shows that we had a very narrow but stationary belt of rain
over us, orientated NW/SE. The great mass of yellows and reds over East
Anglia looks much more impressive than what we had here.

A total of about 10 mm fell here. There was 3.3 mm between 1135z and
1140z according to the Davis VP (logs data at 5-minute intervals). The
maximum rate was 65 mm/hour. I assume that is based on the shortest time
between bucket tips.

Norman
(delete "thisbit" twice to e-mail)
--
Norman Lynagh Weather Consultancy
Chalfont St Giles 85m a.s.l.
England

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

"Norman Lynagh" wrote in
message ...

Philip,

If the rain here between 1115z and 1200z is anything to go by then I
should think there were probably some very high totals in parts of East
Anglia if the radar is anything to go by.

The radar shows that we had a very narrow but stationary belt of rain over
us, orientated NW/SE. The great mass of yellows and reds over East Anglia
looks much more impressive than what we had here.

A total of about 10 mm fell here. There was 3.3 mm between 1135z and 1140z
according to the Davis VP (logs data at 5-minute intervals). The maximum
rate was 65 mm/hour. I assume that is based on the shortest time between
bucket tips.


Certainly right here in the middle of Norfolk, it's been steady rain all day
after a rainy night, yet the water level in the stream at the end of the
garden is entirely normal. The stream can rise in level quite quickly in a
sustained downpur, but it also recedes quickly. No sign of anything which
gives me concern as yet.

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

We have been watching it through the day, and tentatively estimate that an
area from Gorleston through Yarmouth up to Walcott saw 50 to 60 mm up to
midday today, but without any reliable gauges to prove it. There has been
flooding in Yarmouth...with vehicles abandoned in floodwater up to five feet
deep in places, but this was due in part to a pumping station braking down,
and not necessarily the heavy rain.

Have a look at the following link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5378080.stm

Phil Garner
WeatherQuest.
"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...
If JimB or any of his WeatherQuest colleagues are reading this,
one or two rainfall stats would be interesting and useful, especially
now that there's nothing closer in the synoptic network than
Wattisham, Marham and the not-entirely-reliable Weybourne.

I've heard an unconfirmed 38mm at North Walsham, but
without any information about the period it was recorded in.
The pictures of flooding in Gt Yarmouth on News24 suggest
something appreciably in excess of that.

Philip

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

We have just had a reliable report of 69 mm at Stalham for todays rain (0500
to 1600), and would welcome any other reports.

Phil Garner
WeatherQuest.


"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...
If JimB or any of his WeatherQuest colleagues are reading this,
one or two rainfall stats would be interesting and useful, especially
now that there's nothing closer in the synoptic network than
Wattisham, Marham and the not-entirely-reliable Weybourne.

I've heard an unconfirmed 38mm at North Walsham, but
without any information about the period it was recorded in.
The pictures of flooding in Gt Yarmouth on News24 suggest
something appreciably in excess of that.

Philip

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

From the radar accumulations - two main areas, one along the coast from
Lowestoft to Gt. Yarmouth, the other just north of Cambridge (dead on the
Greenwich Meridian). Both areas indicated ~32mm of rainfall.

Chris


"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...
If JimB or any of his WeatherQuest colleagues are reading this,
one or two rainfall stats would be interesting and useful, especially
now that there's nothing closer in the synoptic network than
Wattisham, Marham and the not-entirely-reliable Weybourne.

I've heard an unconfirmed 38mm at North Walsham, but
without any information about the period it was recorded in.
The pictures of flooding in Gt Yarmouth on News24 suggest
something appreciably in excess of that.

Philip

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

"Phil" wrote in message
...
We have just had a reliable report of 69 mm at Stalham for todays rain
(0500 to 1600), and would welcome any other reports.

Thanks Phil. I just tuned in to the local news on BBC East
via Sky and watched a harassed Anglian Water chappie ... you
had to feel sorry for him up to a point ... trying to blame
"unprecedented rates of rainfall" for the four flooding events
in Gt Yarmouth during the last six weeks. Of course, admitting
your own company's inefficiency or incompetence lays you
open to all sorts of financial claims, so these poor saps have
to be economical with the truth.

Maybe someone should give him the data for end of July
1971 for some salutary bedtime reading.

Philip

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

I was very disappointed by that report on BBC Look East.

I lived the first 22 years of my life in Great Yarmouth, but the only
floods then were a result of North Sea surges. Rainfall induced floods
did not occur. Full stop.

The report should have explained why a moderate - well certainly not
unprecedented - amount of rain causes such chaos today. Might it have
something to do with the ever increasing areas of concrete? (cynical
comment).

The report should have included maps to show the flooded areas of the
town, where the water came from. etc. After all 2 inches of rain
cannot cause two feet of floodwater unless there is some very poor
drainage.

Jack (now living on high ground in the west of East Anglia)

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

wrote:
I was very disappointed by that report on BBC Look East.

I lived the first 22 years of my life in Great Yarmouth, but the only
floods then were a result of North Sea surges. Rainfall induced floods
did not occur. Full stop.

The report should have explained why a moderate - well certainly not
unprecedented - amount of rain causes such chaos today. Might it have
something to do with the ever increasing areas of concrete? (cynical
comment).


Not cynical, just a bit of realism.

I could never understand the EA conclusion that Boscastle 2004 was a 1
in a 400 year event, when 203mm of rain was recorded in 1957 (virtually
identical to 2004), and photographs clearly show water levels just as
high in 1958.

They point to the particularly rapid rise of water in 2004, glossing
over the fact that the flood plain just above Boscastle has been turned
into a nice large tarmac car park to serve the NT museum that Boscastle
harbour has become. Much of the structural damage was caused by cars
swept into buildings.

Graham
Penzance

Heavy rain and floods in east Suffolk and east Norfolk
 

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

"Phil" wrote in message
...
We have just had a reliable report of 69 mm at Stalham for todays rain
(0500 to 1600), and would welcome any other reports.

Thanks Phil. I just tuned in to the local news on BBC East
via Sky and watched a harassed Anglian Water chappie ... you
had to feel sorry for him up to a point ... trying to blame
"unprecedented rates of rainfall" for the four flooding events
in Gt Yarmouth during the last six weeks. Of course, admitting
your own company's inefficiency or incompetence lays you
open to all sorts of financial claims, so these poor saps have
to be economical with the truth.

Maybe someone should give him the data for end of July
1971 for some salutary bedtime reading.


69 mm is a lot of rain but not exceptional by any means. What we have to
remember is that flooding has many causes and it is the flooding that causes the
problems not the rainfall. Many places in Britain (upland bogs) often get such
falls, but of course there are few problems as those areas can cope with it.

Will (Haytor, Devon 1017 feet asl)
--