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One of my small hobbies is to record the rainfall in my garden, which I have been doing since 1996. It has been quite an interesting exercise to compare the rainfall for each year. It varies quite considerably, from 19.+ inches to over 32. with an average of about 25.50, but if I look at the records you can bet your bottom dollar that we will have a relatively dry Spring and the real rain will come the second the schools break up in late July and continue until the kids go back to school.
I appreciate that what we get here in the North East is not replicated throughout the country. Some have had more than the average and others much less. Of course the West gets more rain than we do as the Pennines force the clouds to dump their loads before they cross over to the East – otherwise we wouldn’t have the Lake District!!
I know the South and South East are struggling, what we do need is to have a Minister of Drought appointed as we did in the very hot year of 1976. As soon as the post was filled the heavens opened and didn’t stop, so that within a few weeks the reservoirs were overflowing again.