Flood Warnings swamp West Yorkshire

Yesterday, it was the turn of the North to bear the brunt of June’s inclement weather, with up to 100mm of rain falling in northwest England bringing about flooding in Oldham and Wigan. As of 08:05 this morning, the Environment Agency had 49 flood alerts in place for Northeast England (encompassing Yorkshire) and 46 for its Northwest district. Most of the warnings for the Northeast were concentrated in West Yorkshire, with the River Calder alone possessing 29 flood alerts, the River Spen 4 and the Aire 3. Thus far, Calder Valley has thus experienced the worst of the flooding, with both Mytholmroyd and Todmorden hit. A number of properties in the centre of Brighouse also suffered from the effects of the rising waters in the early hours of this morning.

The BBC reports that rail services between Leeds and Manchester on the Calder Valley route have been suspended, and that services between Leeds and Wakefield have been affected. There appears to be a lull in the rain in the area currently, although more is forecast. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for the Northwest and parts of West and North Yorkshire until 9.00 Sunday morning. However, the forecast thereafter for the next few days suggests that the area could eventually enjoy some respite from the deluge. When will summer finally arrive? One week in May makes for a pretty miserable season.

In recent years, we seem to have veered between extended periods of rain, drought, cold and warmth, with the unusual position of the jet stream being blamed. Some theories attribute this to weakness in solar activity, others to a warming Arctic and a consequent decrease in temperature differentials in the Northern Hemisphere, expressed in a more sluggish jet stream prone to get stuck in a particular position for longer. More on these speculations can be viewed here.