I’m reading some scary things involving high water and really high waves. What’s happening in your area?
London today was extremely windy and extremely wet. The rain stopped around 4pm and the wind has calmed down a bit, but it’s been a good day to stay inside.
In isolation, this weekend’s storm, Dennis, wasn’t as bad as last weekend’s storm, Ciara. However, Ciara had an aftermath including saturated ground conditions, damaged trees, and stressed flood defences. A boxing analogy would be a right-handed fighter delivering a right-left combination. The stronger punch isn’t as devastating as the second punch.
Lots of flooding:
Yeah, I’ve seen the articles and looked at the pictures. :eek: That’s why I started this thread-- to see if any Dopers were personally affected.
I think we got off lightly compared to others, which is not unusual as Atlantic storms often track north-east, leaving our south-eastern corner on the fringes of the nasties.
London is on the dryer side of the country, and bad weather barrelling in from the Atlantic has usually weakened a bit by the time it reaches us. The really high winds and heavy rain have hit further north and west.
You get a better idea if you see the animated weather maps:
Wet and windy. So far it’s cost us a fence - blown down in its entirely, a couple of thousand dollars to replace, I guess.
Here are a couple of websites - environmental agency flood warning map and The Month So Far… - a weather summary website. We’re south of London, so we have some red warnings (flooded/expected) and a lot of amber (warning). I’m going out on the bike (very cautiously) to investigate shortly - will report back. Rainfall summary on The Month So Far suggests that just past the half way point in the month we have had not quite double the average total for February - so, raining at 3-4 times the average rate after 4 or 5 wet to very wet months (you can scroll back through the months on this site). Safe to say that the aquifers are full, and a hosepipe ban this summer would be a surprise.
j
I’m in the South West, which suffered quite a blast, although the worst of it was just over the border in South Wales.
My wheelie bin has blown over, but I’m afraid that’s about as dramatic as it’s been for me. Just a very wet, very windy weekend, with a very miserable house-bound dog.
It’s dry and bright today, but still fairly windy. There’s warning of train disruptions (flooded or blocked lines - my wife needs to get a train to London and is watching the reports closely) but that’s about all for us.
Spoke too soon, it’s just starting raining again.
Very glad I live on a steep street, as a diversion of the river Avon is at the end of my road (200 yards away).
I’m about 80 miles further south west than SanVito and the weather here was pretty grotty. Water everywhere flooding the roads, with torrential rain and high winds. I saw a few fences blown over but no serious damage anywhere. I did chicken out of driving through a flood at one point on Saturday. Two cars in front of me made it through OK, but I didn’t see the point in risking it and opted for a 4-5 mile detour.
Although we are sticking out into the worst of the approaching storm, we have the high ground of Dartmoor immediately to our west, which shelters us quite well.
Thanks for those eyewitness reports. Don’t ever drive through high water in an ordinary car. Not worth the risk.
In which Trep doesn’t (quite) get wet.
TLDR: some pretty bad flooding, but we’ve had much worse.
Directionwise, at about 7 o’clock from central London, and at about 20 miles, you come to the village of Brockham. It’s on the River Mole; the Bridge there floods. My task today was to cycle out there assessing the state of the Mole and its tributaries, after the recent storms.
I set off to Lamb’s Green - it has two crossings of the Mole near where it rises - nothing to report, guys. Then, sticking where I could to the high ground, I made my way out to Brockham, crossing a few tributaries on the way. Again, nothing much to report; Partridge Lane, north from Rusper, can be like riding along a stream bed on bad days - it was wet but OK. Thence through Strood Green and out to Brockham.
I should say my initial plan was just to retrace my steps to get home; but the bridge at Brockham (google maps link) was fine - it looked like it had been flooded, barely, but the water was now a couple of feet below the bridge. I got cocky. Ooops.
If I cross the Mole there, I can cross back a couple of miles upstream at Betchworth - seemed like a plan. Well, it was a plan, right up to the point when I got to within 100 yards of the bridge. Uh-oh. A tractor went past me and over the bridge - about two feet deep. Shit. retraced steps - how about Wonham Lane? This time there was about 50 yards of flooding alongside the river, in the middle of which someone with a Range Rover was trying to tow out a trapped Land Rover with what looked like a ridiculously feeble piece of…cord? As I turned the bike round I heard a Toink! and aggrieved shouting. Good luck, guys.
OK - A25? That’s a nasty road to cycle on, but I was running out of choices. Heading off that way, on a lane I haven’t cycled on years, I came across Sandy Lane - Of Course! - that takes me back to Wonham Lane past the flooded stretch. Let’s do it. The only problem there is Wonham Mill, which floods like a bastard, but the water rises and falls really quickly - maybe it’s back down again by now?
Things were getting anxious - the weather was starting to close in again, and a succession of blocked roads had diverted and delayed me. Back on Wonham Lane, I see a car driving towards me - so it’s passable? Hmm - if so, why are they waving at me? Another 30 yards of flooding, this time about two feet deep, judging from the submerged state of an abandoned car in the middle of it. But wait - the old mill building has been converted into flats, which have entry at first floor level and a long balcony for access, with steps up at either end* which exactly spans the flood*. Yeah, it’s impolite and technically trespassing, but things were getting awkward. I opted for dry.
And that was pretty much the end of the adventure. I cycled past much flooded stuff, but without another blocked road. In total, three flooded roads, two sunken vehicles and one failing rescue effort. Back in the day, I used to work on one side of the Mole and live on the other - I’ve seen worse flooding and made longer detours, but not on a bike. The rain started again withing five minutes of me getting home. Where’s that thread for small victories?
j
PS: just along the road from Wonham Mill, a couple of days ago.
I’m in the East Midlands (between Leicester and Peterborough.)
Nothing to worry about here, although we have had:
- a brief power cut 2 days ago
- really strong winds last evening
My Wife and I live on top of the continental divide. Literally 1/4 mile away. Flooding not problem. But man I feel for you guys. Nothing can be done about water. Snow, I can deal with.
Whoa! Thanks for that detailed blow-by-blow. And for the picture links. I love the image of a Range Rover trying to rescue a Land Rover.
Around here (South Texas) if it rains for a few hours, the weather department will issue flash flood warnings, and like clockwork, some doofus will drive around a barrier into water that doesn’t look all that high and either get stranded, necessitating a helicopter/rowboat rescue, or sometimes swept away and drowned.