On 2009-09-28 17:01:52 +0100, hugh ] said:

In message , Sacha
writes
On 2009-09-28 00:22:39 +0100, "mark" said:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
Isn't 3 weeks without rain officially a drought in England? If so, this
may be the first I've encountered since I moved here in 1997! Today it is
3 weeks since it rained here. We had customers in from Norfolk today who
said they've had no rain all summer. Somehow, we kept our hands from
around their necks! This is the most beautiful Indian Summer ever
experienced, by me, here. Tonight, Ray came into the kitchen, dragged me
away from a hot stove (!) and took me outside to see a simply
awe-inspiring sunset of pinks and golds. This morning the air was cold and
crisp and dry, like a really good wine. It made one feel better just for
being outside the front door and inhaling it. This weather is gorgeous
beyond description.
--
It is true that we've not seen a lot of rain this summer here in Norfolk,
two or three very heavy showers which didn't do that much good.
I've found this definition of drought:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/feature.../drought.shtml
mark

That's a useful site and does make the point about different strokes
etc! Thanks Mark. Personally, I'd say we're in a drought. ;-)

It says we can expect more droughts - but can't define what a drought is.

Nowadays, the only factor which determines whether we have a drought or
not is winter rainfall. Lack of rain at any other time of the year is
expected. Very little of any rain which does fall manages to permeate
as far as the aquifers since trees, plants and evaporation get it
first. On the other hand, winter rainfall flows freely into the
aquifers and is critical to maintaining adequate natural supplies of
water throughout the year.

The Environment Agency historically doesn't consider a drought to be
threatened until or unless we have had two successive dry winters.
There is information on their website about how they decide what
constitutes a dry winter: it's a calculation based not on zero rainfall
but on below average rainfall. If we get two in a row, we can expect
water restrictions, hosepipe bans etc as soon as the second winter
turns to spring.

Alarmist as the EA often is (it likes to make headlines), you won't
find any notes of concern about dry summers (or springs or autumns) on
their website.