Wet Lyneham
20th July 2007
A prolonged period of heavy rain and isolated thunder swept across the county today. Rainfall totals of between 20mm and 40mm were being recorded across the country, soggy Lyneham was one of the wettest with a record breaking 63mm (2.48 inches) rain in a twenty-four period. Pershore College (Worcestshire) was the wettest for the day as 135.2mm (5.32 inches) fell in the same time interval. Other notable heavy rainfall totals were from neighbouring RAF Brize Norton (Oxon) 127.6mm (5.02 inches) also the lowest max of 13.9°C, Little Rissington (Gloucestershire) 111.2mm (4.37 inches), and Malvern (Worcestshire) 101.4mm (3.99 inches).

Relentless heavy rain caused disruption across the district and many of the rural road drainage and ditches could not cope with the downpour. The ground was already soaked from recent high rainfall figures and this latest deluge made matters worse as the rain rolled off the fields onto the nearby roads causing torrents of streams along the countryside roads. Preston Lane was turned into a river as neighbouring fields could not cope with the rain and tributaries of water collected and overflowed onto the byroad, making driving conditions perilous.

Motorist were constantly trying to avoid splashing pedestrians, as roads were covered with rain. The B4069 Chippenham Road was particularly flooded and many heavy goods lorries using this route, were dampening roadside gardens as the spray overflowed onto the roadside. Drains just could not unload the rainfall.

BBC Radio Swindon and Wiltshire presenter Graham Seaman invited midday listeners to take part in a 'Rain gang' experiment, by asking selected listeners across the county to place a glass outside for a couple of hours and record how much rain fell. The chirpy presenter, who was supposed to do an outside broadcast today, had to alter his plans to present the show in a drier environment of the studio. The amount of rain would have caused serious shock hazards with the electrical equipment. Graham was astounded by the amount of rain that fell across the region in such a short period. One caller from Swindon noticed that her homemade rain gauge collected an amazing 37mm of water in a few hours.

Despite these reported extreme local conditions, which is typical weather patterns for April and not the middle of the summer, we have escaped the worst of the downpours. Neighbouring Berkshire, was one of the worst affected areas, and the council handed out sandbags to residents in Maidenhead.

Many areas of Berkshire have been affected by flash flooding, where at least three schools in Windsor and one in Maidenhead have been closed. In Maidenhead, at least 30 homes have flooded and at least one woman had to be rescued from her car.

Julia Abbott, from BBC Travel, said roads were being affected by flooding and surface spray mostly in south-east and south-west England. They include the M4 and Pipers Way in Swindon. Wiltshire Police have said that there has been very few calls of stranded motorists or accidents despite the horrible conditions.

This heavy rainfall is not particularly unusual for this time of year. The warmer summer weather results in more water evaporating from the rivers and fields and results in more moisture condensation in the clouds. The high volume of moisture gathers and creates larger clouds and hence the sizable downpours. What is unusual is the amount of rainfall in a short period of time.

Last month was the wettest June the UK had seen since detailed records began in 1914. The Met Office confirmed that 134.5mm (5.3in) of rain fell across the four countries. The average June rainfall in the UK is 72.6mm (3in). A new record was also set for England, with 140.2mm (5.5in) of rain. In June, four people died in floods which inundated parts of the Midlands and Yorkshire, with more than 30,000 homes and 7,000 businesses affected.

It is hard to believe exactly 12 months ago Lyneham recorded its highest recorded July temperature ever as we basked in hot sunshine throughout the summer months. July 2006 will be remembered as the 'Hottest July' on record and the 'Sunniest' too. The mean maximum for July was 25.1°C which was helped with the maximum temperature of 34.4°C being recorded on the 19th. more..

Even though it did rain heavily on the 15th of this month, known as St Swithin's Day, folklore says that if it rains on that day, we should expect a further 40 days of downpours. St Swithin, a Bishop of Winchester who died in 862, asked to be buried where rain would continue to water his grave. On July 15th 971, his remains were to be moved inside the cathedral - but heavy rains disrupted the operation for 40 days. This gave rise to the superstition, which has no scientific fact to back it.

The Village Green was turned into a lake as the well known small Swan River opposite Piggies Cafe could not accommodate the excess water from the fields and nearby streams. The banks flooded and over spilt onto the troughs of the green.

Equally the excessive water caused disruption to motorists on the A3102 at Frying Pan Bottom - The Folly, as rain water flowed from the Old Vicarage driveway onto the main road and collected with other overflowing rain and pocketed in the trough of the Folly. The surface water was in places up to 12 inches deep and as the larger vehicles passing through the water, caused bow waves to push the deep residual water down to the lower Folly property. We have added a small collection of the photographs taken during the 'Lyneham Downpour' to our main gallery, to view, click here

Environment Agency Floodline
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Around 5 million people, in 2 million properties, live in flood risk areas in England and Wales. The Environment Agency has an important role in warning people about the risk of flooding, and in reducing the likelihood of flooding from rivers and the sea. Lyneham, fortunately is not located in a flood risk area. For further information click here