SEVERE WEATHER RECORD 2001
A
summary of severe weather warnings
and other notable weather extremes for
Northamptonshire since February 1998.
19 January Slight dusting of snow across the county. Accumulation by 0900hrs on 20th January amounted to just 1cm. Further falls of snow on 21st. 21 January Snowfall on 21st ends 16 consecutive days without rainfall. 1 February Dense freezing fog affects much of the county. Visibility reduced to 50m in places. Scores of minor accidents as vehicles skid on black ice in the morning rush hour. 5 February Heavy and persistent rain turns parts of Delapre Park in Northampton into a lake as the county again faces the risk of flooding. The Environment Agency has issued flood watch and flood warnings for the River Nene and its tributaries and the River Avon after several hours of rain. By 0900hrs on the 5th, more than 80% of the normal rainfall for February had been recorded at Pitsford Hall. Four consecutive days of rainfall lasting 23.9 hours has so far produced 30.3mm. A river gauge at Lilbourne on the River Avon was measuring 1.35 metres at 0530hrs this morning, although levels were falling.
Click here for photograph.
12 February Following heavy rainfall during the morning, the Environment Agency releases a severe flood warning for the River Nene and tributaries at 1.30pm. Areas affected include Kislingbury, Weedon and Bugbrooke, also on Harper's Brook and the River Avon at Stanford upstream of Rugby. A floodwatch is also declared on the River Nene in the St James, Far Cotton, St Peter's Way and Far Cotton areas of Northampton and also for villages on the Nene floodplain between Billing and Thrapston. 13 February Severe flood warning on the River Nene is downgraded to flood watch during the morning. Several roads across the county remain closed to traffic. Farmers with livestock in floodplain areas are told to move their animals to more protected sites. Outside Northampton muddy torrents of water flowed down the A45 gathering at the Kislingbury roundabout where cars struggled to pass through.
Click here for photograph.
17 March Extensive snowfall across the county. Accumulation at Pitsford Hall at 0900hrs UTC measuring 3.0cm. Ground evenly covered by wet snow. Snow remains lying through 18th with 2.0cm covering half at 0900hrs. The following comment was supplied by Jeremy Borrett of Wilby: "I know it was predicted the day before but there was quite a bit of wet snow this morning. At least it's now melting and once again, I hope this is now the last of it and look forward to a nice summer!" Depth of melted snow between 17th and 18th March: 12.6mm, 9.4mm falling on 17th. 21 March Snow and strong winds affect much of southern England, Wales and the Midlands. Accumulations slight across the county, measuring under 1cm at 0900hrs UTC at Pitsford Hall. Winds gusted to 36mph over the 24 hour period up to 0900hrs. 10 May Spectacular thunder and lightning display across the county in the early hours. Although the 24hr rainfall was slight at Pitsford Hall (3.0mm), two noteable downpours occurred in just a few minutes between 0230 and 0245hrs. Firefighters were called to a house in Kingsthorpe, Northampton which was seriously damaged after being struck by lightning. It was the worst incident in a busy night for the county's firefighters who were called out to 15 storm related incidents. The bulk of calls to the Fire Service were caused by lightning strikes setting off fire alarms. 5 July Newly-laid roads across the county melt in the heat as the county basks in a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 26C since the 2nd. Roads affected were ones in Hackleton, Yardley Hastings and Evenley near Brackley. The maximum temperature recorded at Pitsford Hall on the 4th was 29.3C. Apart from a couple of days towards the end of June, there has been no appreciable rain across the county since June 16th. 17-18 July 30.4mm of rainfall is recorded over the space of 24 hours at Pitsford Hall on the 17th, with a further 14.4mm falling on the 18th. Localised flooding is reported across the county on tributary branches of the River Nene. 31 July The month ends with 10 consecutive days without rain. 28 August Reports are received of a whirlwind hitting the village of Pattishall. The whirlwind struck just before 1630 hrs GMT and whipped up bails of straw in nearby fields hurling them into gardens. Villagers launched a clean-up operation after homes and gardens were left covered in straw. The whirlwind struck following a long period of protracted sunshine, 11.9 hours being recorded for the 27th and 10.6 hours noted for the 28th (Pitsford Hall). 22 October Heavy deluges prompt the Environment Agency to issue a flood watch on the River Nene and the Met Office to send out a weather warning following a weekend of heavy rain across Northamptonshire. 12.7mm of rainfall was recorded over 7.5 hours on the 21st at Pitsford Hall. Motorists were warned of dangerous driving conditions as localised flooding, surface water and visibility caused problems on roads. Between 50 and 60mm of rainfall are reported in Peter- borough. Parts of neighbouring Cambridgeshire were badly hit by the extreme weather and roads had to be closed as sandbags were given out to homes after up to 70mm of rain fell in just a few hours in some parts. 27 October Environment Agency issues a 'floodwatch' for the River Great Ouse near Brackley following further heavy rain over the previous 24 hours. 9.7mm of rainfall was recorded up until 0900hrs at Pitsford Hall. 28 October Earth tremor at 1520 GMT rocks homes across the county. The quake measured 3.8 on the Richter scale and was centred on the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray. The tremor was the biggest in the region since 1750. Unlike a similar tremor last year, the vibrations were not picked up by the thermograph at Pitsford Hall. The intensity of this quake had significant regional variation. 1 November First ground frost of the autumn season: -0.5C 8-9 November A run of brisk northerly winds (max gust on 9th: 49mph) plunges the county into a cold snap. Wintry showers were observed at Pitsford on the 8th with reports of snow settling on the ground overnight in Irthlingborough. The first air frost is reported of the autumn season on the 9th (-0.1C). 5 December Strong winds buffet the county with gusts reaching gale force at Pitsford Hall (max gust recorded 51mph). Reports received of trees being uprooted in some areas. 10 December Dense fog reduces visibility to less than 100m across much of the county. An accident involving 30 vehicles causes a 7-mile tail-back on the A14 near Naseby. 9 people were injured, 3 seriously. Other minor accidents are reported from around the county and adjacent areas. Fog remains persistent throughout the day, thickening again towards evening. 28 December Winds gusting to severe gale force batter the county. Peak gusts of 54mph are recorded at 0700hrs and of 52mph at 12hrs GMT. Reports are received of structural damage across Northampton including the collapse of the tennis dome at the Racecourse and the loss of parts of the roof of the newly constructed Sol Central leisure complex. A weather warning is released advising drivers of high sided vehicles to drive with extreme caution. 30 December First snow lying on the ground of the new winter season. An uneven cover of dry loose snow is measured to a depth of 1.0cm at Pitsford Hall.
The weather extremes documented here are generally only those observed at Pitsford Hall Weather Station. Reports received of extreme events in other parts of the county are indicated by *.