Today is the first day of meteorological winter and the day we have started the winter water-level watch for the last 11 years. Last year was pretty exceptional and already, this year seems set to be comparable. We’ve already received Flood Alerts for the River Wylye and its tributaries above Wilton and groundwater flooding on Salisbury Plain – that has not happened in any previous Autumn over the last 11 years. This morning, the water level in the Tilshead Borehole stood at 93.35 metres AOD. Compare that with last year when water levels on 1st December 2024 were 95.05 metres AOD; so not quite as bad. What matters now is how much rain we have over the coming 3 months.
We know the River Till is close to breaking its banks when Peter Smith at Riverside Cottage sees that his duck house is on the verge of being swept away. Thankfully, he has retrieved it and only just in time.
We are going to have more showers overnight, with showers again tomorrow. It’s going to get colder as well as wetter and windier from the west. At the end of next week, we seem set for a spell of drier weather with morning frosts, but as we get towards mid-month, the weather breaks down again with yet more wet weather; a traditional December. Christmas may well be clear, dry and cold, so fingers firmly crossed. By next Sunday we should have a better idea of the likely trend for the aquifer levels. Will they rise slowly, quickly, or even drop?