Tuesday 24 December 2013

Flooding: Shropshire 24th December 2013

The last few days have seen yet another round of winter storms bring wind, rain and misery to the British Isles, from Cornwall to the NW of Scotland. This follows on from the storms at the beginning of December that included a storm surge affecting the east coast of England. I produced a Prezi (a fancy version of PowerPoint you can access online) on the storms as part of a geography lesson I delivered to year 8 and 9 pupils. You can access the presentation through this link.

The image below is a synoptic chart, produced on the 22nd December as a forecast for the 24th December. Synoptic charts contain a wealth of information about the weather, but it is worth looking at the black lines (isobars) which indicate the strength of the wind and the air pressure around the L. Lower pressure means a stronger storm!


Synoptic chart showing the weather system responsible for Tuesday's wet weather! Source MWIS.org.uk

I spent Tuesday morning looking at the impact of flooding in South Shropshire around Leintwardine and Ludlow.


Ordnance Survey screen print of the area around Leintwardine and Ludlow visited.

To understand the air masses that interact to bring us this weather I suggest watching this short clip from the Met Office. Unfortunately, it looks as though more stormy weather is on the way for Friday. The BBC has a good clip explaining what has caused these unsettled conditions, whilst the Environment Agency is the best source of information on areas at risk of flooding and how to get help.
Below are a few images snapped along the way. They were all taken between 11.00 and 13.15 on 24th December.



Looking North up the River Clun from above Shelderton. Photo: Alasdair Monteith


Looking south along the River Clun from above Shelderton. Photo: Alasdair Monteith



River Clun in full flow at Leintwardine. Photo: Alasdair Monteith
How NOT to drive in heavy rain and flood conditions. Just south of Craven Arms. Photo: Alasdair Monteith


Another shot of Leintwardine looking south across the bridge. Photo: Alasdair Monteith



Another example of how not to drive through flood water. Photo: Alasdair Monteith
River Clun in Leintwardine, looking North. Photo: Alasdair Monteith


Flood waters at Ludlow. Photo: Alasdair Monteith


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