The water levels in the Tilshead borehole never fail to confound expectations. After a week of very heavy rain following a few dry days, you might have expected the rate of increase in the level to fall for a few days and then, after a short lag, the recharge rate to increase again. That is what normally happens, but not this week.
No, not a bit of it. The recharge rate has fallen steadily throughout the week. On the other hand, the depth of River Till at the southern end of the village has increased steadily and is well above its summer maximum. So what’s going on? It’s possible that we had so much rain in a short time falling on sodden ground, a large proportion has simply run off straight into the River Till. Whatever the explanation, it is still better news than anticipated.
We are expecting more showers today, and a dry day on Monday. However, as the week goes on, anticipate more heavy rain and the weather getting steadily colder. The bad news is that the weather begins to get warmer with bands of rain coming in from the West in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.
Early January may provide the relief we need, with a long, dry spell of weather.