Page 25 - April 2024 Newsletter

Surprisingly, despite all
the rain we had no named
storms! The sea-level
atmospheric pressure rose
to 1034 hPa on the 1st but
fell to 976 hPa by the 9th.
The average pressure was
1010 hPa. Winds were
mainly from the southwest with a maximum gust of 27 mph on the
26th.

There were seven days
with no sunshine at all,
with a total for the month
of 53 hours, which is
seven percent below the
February average. Note
how the UV Index
readings (in red on the
chart) are rising as the month progresses. This is due to the sun
gradually rising higher in the sky.

Why doesn’t the bridge at Offchurch and other places flood
while it’s raining?

“It poured with rain all day and yet the bridge was clear of
water in the evening. It was dry overnight and yet the next
morning the bridge was flooded and remained so most of the
day even though there was no more rain.” This delay
experienced in Offchurch and other places where roads are
prone to flooding after prolonged heavy rain is due to the time
taken for the excess water to drain into the rivers. Whilst the
immediate rainfall into the river has some effect on the water
level, it’s the rainfall over the countryside, which drains into
gullies, brooks and streams, and eventually into the rivers that
causes the rivers to flood. After all, the surface area of the
river is small compared to that of the surrounding

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