[Ian Williams]

Well whilst we all moan about the cold etc, the one saving grace is after a wet start to the year i have not recorded any measurable rainfall since 22nd March, which was the end of that 2 day rain-fest event recording 73.8 mm over the two days.

So its 15 days and counting, I`m sure i read somewhere the UK considers 15 days without rain as a drought?

[Dave K]

About 28 hours ago

[Richie]

Last rainfall at this station was 0.2mm on March 30th.

Last significant rainfall was March 18th with 10.8mm.

No rainfall this month so far.

[jonathanwebb]

Last significant precipitation here was on 23 March. Light snow has fallen on several days since then (esp on 28 March and 4 April) but has not given as much as the 0.2mm to count.

An interesting point is that, while gardens are looking parched, walks in the surrounding country are still very muddy with alot of standing water.....despite the long dry spell plus drying winds with unusually low dew point and wet bulb temperatures.

I think the apparent paradox is because so little ground moisture is being taken up by plants, trees etc because of the low temperatures. Usually, at this time of year, the temperature is above the 'growing season' level of 6C for most of the time and alot of water is absorbed via transpiration as plants and trees burst into life. I suspect a spell of average April rainfall and average seasonal temperatures will dry the land out better then the recent conditions.

[Ian Williams]

Had a little light rain tonight, so thats the first recordable rainfall in 17 days

[Donki]

A light splattering here yesterday afternoon, was enough to take a tea break from gardening. Not enough to get a gauge reading.

Very localized as my wife works less than a mile away and they had none.

[Andy Mayhew]

Nothing recorded in my gauge since 23rd March - though there was some very light snow on 4th April

[Donki]

Light spittle here most of the morning, not enough to dampen the ground though.

[Halo]

No measureable rainfall since 22 March. Last time we had any rainfall was 16 March, any precipitation after that has been of snow etc.

[akkan]

Some rain today, not sure how much.
Enough to make the pavements and roads look wet, but not enough to stop fields being dusty.

Jon's comment above is interesting as here the only mud is near rivers and under trees on paths which get a lot of traffic but which the wind can't get at to dry out. Everything else has improved dramatically over the past week

[Les]

Had a little snow on the 2nd and 4th giving a grand total of 1.8mm so far this month.

[Mothman]

Just had first spattering this month. Had 0.7mm on 27th March. that's all since all the rain on 21/22 March.

[BUTTERFLY]

"I suspect a spell of average April rainfall and average seasonal temperatures will dry the land out better then the recent conditions".

In other words (and Yes, I do follow and do in fact agree with the reasoning here) if the ground dries up later, it is because of the rain!

Sounds like a good excuse for the Water Companies: "We have had to introduce Water Restrictions because of the increased Rainfall recently."

It's probably a good example of Positive Feedback, or Negative Feedback. Or Something.

This post has been edited by BUTTERFLY: 11 April 2013 - 06:28

[Pete Roberts]

It's just started raining here @ 09:50 BST (Runcorn)

Pete

[Richie]

Twelve days without any rainfall up to 1100 UTC.

Edit for typo.

This post has been edited by Richie: 11 April 2013 - 10:02

[BUTTERFLY]

The last rain here was two seconds ago - though today has had the first precipitation since about 26th March, which I think was snow (excluding a trace before 10 am this morning when it first started to rain). However there has only been about 3 mm so far, and this is far from adequate to refresh the grass beside my place of work, which has started to turn yellowish in the last few days, this all despite the constant cold weather for 2 or more weeks, with the temperature struggling to reach much above 6 deg. C., the threshold for grass growth. The ground here though tends to stay drier than other areas in the locality, even though the soil is not particularly light; in the 18+ years I have worked here, even in the wettest months or following the very wettest days, there has never been more than a very shallow and barely noticeable puddle.

Mild wet or showery weather would probably be welcomed by gardeners and farmers as providing the best conditions for plant growth; hill farmers are I am sure finding it particularly difficult as there would be virtually no grass growth and food stocks may be running low, or if not may be expensive. This is in addition to some sheep farmers in upland areas of Co. Down and Antrim, who are still finding dead sheep and lambs as snow melts following the late March blizzards; the last I heard over 3,000 dead animals had been found, but it seems likely there will be substantially more as I doubt if all the snow has melted.

[Tina]

It must be about 3 weeks since we had any (proper) rain..Had a bit of drizzly stuff today but we could really do with a good old downpour for a few days, there's been a spate of deliberate fires in our area which has had devastating effects on a Wildlife reserve in Workington, another at Cleator Moor and other acts in surrounding areas The one at Cleator Moor Police have questioned a 12 yr old boy with his parents present!...Obviously due to the lack of rain, wind and the sunny days we've been having has made the grassland like a tinderbox!..

http://www.newsandst...slecafe11033572