The wettest February

Last month has been labelled as the wettest February since records began and we have seen on TV and in the papers the flooding in East Yorkshire and in the towns along the River Severn.

In Tattenhall, we have been very fortunate that the Environment Agency/TWiG/ Bolesworth scheme to 'slow the flow' of the Mill Brook has prevented serious flooding in the centre of Tattenhall. But you only have to drive across the Dee at Farndon or look over the Meadows in Chester to see that the flooding along the River Dee has been very extensive.

Our local rainfall correspondent tells us that, according to his gauge, February's rainfall in Tattenhall amounted to 116 mms compared to the February average of 43mms. Indeed, in Tattenhall, February is, on average, the driest month of the year with August the wettest. He also remarks how often it is the new developments built on floodplains which flood first whereas mediaeval churches were usually built on higher ground.

(Pictured top: The River Dee in flood from Farndon Bridge, bottom left: Holt Church standing well above the river, bottom right: Tewkesbury Abbey on an island in the River Severn)