Thunderstorms are forecast tomorrow (Sunday) – which would end one of the longest dry spells in York and North Yorkshire in modern times.
Parts of the region have gone a month without a single drop of rain.
Regional rainfall is 99% below average, and many parks and grass areas are visibly parched, with gardeners and groundskeepers struggling to keep crops watered.
The Met Office’s station at Bramham near Tadcaster has had no rain since 0.2mm fell on May 16th, and hasn’t had more than 1mm in a day since 11 May, some 36 days ago.
The independent York Weather Station has recorded none since 19 May, when 0.8mm was recorded.
The Met Office’s next nearest station, at High Mowthorpe near Malton, recorded 0.2mm of rain on 3 June, but hasn’t had more than 1mm since 9 May.
Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, said: “North Yorkshire has recorded 1.1mm of rain so far during June and that is just 1% of what we would expect on average for the whole of June.”
The Met Office has now issued a yellow warning for Sunday for most of England and Wales.
It says: “Heavy rain and thunderstorms on Sunday will bring a chance of disruption to parts of England and Wales.”
It says:
- Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
- Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations
- to train and bus services
- There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
- There is a small chance that some communities become cut off by flooded roads
Last week, storms had been forecast to hit York, but they passed to the west leaving the region untouched.
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