Weather predicition for February 2014 in the South West of England

It's impossible to live in Britain without being preoccupied by the weather day by day and even hour by hour.
In the commuter belt of Surrey our little granddaughter stands at the bottom of her garden surrounded by water. Even the River Wey has burst it's banks along with other local water ways.

Here in the South of Devon high tides and flooding have again made headline news.
One part of the scenic Coastal railway line collapsed at the seaside town of Dawlish because of the power of the stormy sea battering South West sea defenses earlier this week.

The railway line is going to be closed for weeks months. It's the main rail link from the rest of the country into Devon and Cornwall.

Even when there is a lull in the rain, clouds are never far away. From a quiet walk on the beach in a matter of moments a full blown gale appears.

Taking a walk anywhere at the moment is a bit of a hit and miss affair.

Soggibottom is very well and still has dry feet. Thanks to all those that keep asking, she is fine.
In case anyone doesn't know, Soggibottom is the name of our 17th century cottage.

The new water relief channel, for all the upset it caused when being built last year, really has saved us. We think without it being there, the chances of  being flooded again last Christmas Eve were quite high.

A quick snap of  flooded fields near Exeter yesterday.  No escape from water at the moment.

This is our route for a Sunday morning walk along to our favorite coffee shop in Teignmouth.  Another coastal town along from Dawlish that took a good battering from high waves.

 Even the old pier was damaged in the storms last week. The photo above taken only two weeks ago. The one below after last weeks storm.

It might be a while before Freya goes galloping along the beach at Teignmouth.

 Having our own home flooded, we know exactly how it feels when you can't stop water seeping it's way through the door.
The photo's you see of houses and places that have been hit by this year's floods are only photographs.
They can never convey the smell of brown water that is all around, it's not just river or sea water, sewers also overflow. Photographs of flooded houses and villages can never convey the amount of heartbreak and story that is attached to each photograph. 

 When the water goes down, the clear up operation starts. Every thing touched by water goes out of the door and never returns.  In our case things had to be broken up first because they had come in through the window, old cottage, narrow front door.

The lingering thought every time it rains, will the little babbling brook you live beside turn into a red raging torrent of angry water ?
The thought never goes away, there is always awareness that it could and might happen again. We know we have been very lucky not to have been flooded this year. Every rain fall, we are forever watchful, watching water levels around us.

 On 1st August 1861 The Times printed its first Meteorological Office weather forecast. It predicted fine weather across Britain.  The first time we were flooded at Soggibottom was in 2006, the day before it had been a beautiful calm sunny day with blue skies.

This is the life boat and new lifeboat station at Exmouth.

Maybe Freya is starting to queue making sure she is first in line. All in line behind Freya.

Who, apart from being in the cottage window seat, can be found on her own blog CAT FLAP CAVALIER, just HERE.

That the darkest hour of the night is just before the dawn is a consoling proverb implying that nothing is all bad and improvement is always possible.
Keep dry, keep warm and most of all keep safe.