February Fill-Dyke
- Thread starter bankrupt
- Start date
The winter bourne isn't running here yet. It normally rises in December. November had 103 mm rain which is more normal but the autumn has been very dry.
I'll have a look in the wells and bores over the next few days and report back.
Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
I think so too. The North Atlantic is showing signs of cooling at the surface, after about 20 years of warmer than average conditions, colder sea surface temperatures means higher atmospheric pressure systems will be more common over and near the UK, which means drier conditions in any season, plus colder winters and hotter summers.
http://www.reportingclimatescience.com/2016/05/10/atlantic-cooling/
- Location
- East yorks
- Location
- West Suffolk
Mother Nature does tend to even herself out over the coarse of a year. Trouble is the timing of it is not always at the best of times.
Definitely noticed that the weather over the past 10 years or so lumps itself together. It's either very wet for months or very dry.
ATM we are definitely in a dry spell, we've never seen the land so hard after sugar beet. We have had it very dry since June 2016's deluge.
Definitely noticed that the weather over the past 10 years or so lumps itself together. It's either very wet for months or very dry.
ATM we are definitely in a dry spell, we've never seen the land so hard after sugar beet. We have had it very dry since June 2016's deluge.
Colin
Member
- Location
- Perthshire
A lot drier than last winter and drier than it has been for a few winters now. Some ditches are still dry.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
the average rainfall here since 1980 is 645 mm the average of the last 5 year is 716 mm
the dryiest is 2011 at 430 the wettest is 2012 at 962
the most interesting fact is many years are more than 100mm above or 100mm below average
2016 was 30 mm above average
as for 2017 it is anyones guess
the dryiest is 2011 at 430 the wettest is 2012 at 962
the most interesting fact is many years are more than 100mm above or 100mm below average
2016 was 30 mm above average
as for 2017 it is anyones guess
Y Fan Wen
Member
- Location
- N W Snowdonia
In the winter of 75/6 I was driving all over the fields in an old Bedford CA van putting out sheep feed.
This winter even the quad is leaving ruts and I wouldn't put one wheel of the van (different one) off the tarmac.
Even thought it is statistically dry, it's still bloody wet here. Average for Lincoln is 577mm, and for Scampton just over 600mm. Summer 2016 wasnt especially hot, and October was a bit of a disaster. November low rain. December average. Has been high humidity all back end and not really drying weather. I can only imagine that you folk in the wet west are farming land that the water either permeates through, or on hills where it runs down. We are on clay at the bottom of a hill.
I general, rain and snow can sod off far away from here. Average is wet. Above average is very wet. 10% below average and you still wont have it dry enough to subsoil into stubbles.
I general, rain and snow can sod off far away from here. Average is wet. Above average is very wet. 10% below average and you still wont have it dry enough to subsoil into stubbles.
Here, too, static.
However, the ground water indicators recently published by South West Water are surely scary enough to deserve a bit of an airing.
If they are right, the risk of damaging soil moisture deficit during grain fill is now at a 20 year high on their patch (basically anywhere south of the M4) and it's already baked in (that is the risk of it's baked in, not the certainty).
Hence this thread posted here on 'cropping', rather than on the weather forum.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
drains ran in October here
februarry rain will get drains running on heavy land light soils will let some through to the ground water
but on average feb is the driest month
februarry rain will get drains running on heavy land light soils will let some through to the ground water
but on average feb is the driest month
Soil moisture deficit is music to my ears.
- Location
- East yorks
Exactly, i'd take a defecit
Really, it's 6 months until grain fill! A little early to be predicting a June drought methinks
Yup. While we all enjoy looking at slim_shiney's pics of ploughing on Christmas day / lifting roots in Jan and following with a Sumo, a continuous slight deficit causes next to no trouble here bat a spot of brown rust. The very idea of your levels of rainfall here would be disasterous. Would I prefer :
a) cutting a slightly smaller yield of dry grain, hay etc, and getting land work done in good order at an improved price, or
b) cutting a higher yield of damp grain; tedding the hay 9 times and it still being poo; making a muddy mess, just to say what great yields we have had?
Admittedly for you lot growing a lot of spring barley its a different kettle of fish, but it doesnt take long to flick back to pics of 2012 which for us was about your normal level of rain, to see what a disaster that can be. I think, in general, slightly drier than average benefits more farmers than sightly wetter doesnt it? Thats why those posting a desire for rain is such a complete pain!
Fair enough, static, but we've got soils at both extremes.
One extreme where soil moisture capacity is less than 2 inches and relies upon summer rainfall for any decent crop production at all (no summer rainfall = 1 tonne/acre, as in 1976).
The other where soil moisture capacity is 8 to 10 inches and potentially 4 tonne/acre without very much summer rainfall (as in 1996), but relies upon winter rainfall to top it up.
This has yet to happen here, this time.
Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
Been out digging up a blocked drain today (one that runs constantly with spring water, not ground water), the ground is as dry as anything down a few feet. Clay falling out of the bucket. Moisture content of the ground is way down from normal at this time of year. Driving around with a 3CX and not making more than a cleat mark.