Floods'14-will the rain never end?

[Kit-Ginevra]

Just checking in to make sure all our Brit people are still in one piece.We have had some ferocious storms-all along our coast the road runs pretty much alongside the seafront and with some harbours on there,the waves have been crashing in and inundating the place. At Land's End,the waves were 50 feet high....
The railway line along the coast is no more.All that's left are a few chunks of metal and holes.
We're right by the canal in Exeter which has burst its banks.So far,we've just got a very wet kitchen-about an inch of rain in so far and lost two doormats and a bathtowel.

This is in a village just down from us.I should have been travelling through there on the way to my writer's group....perhaps just as well I wasn't.

So stay safe all.And if you want to go and watch the pretty waves-keep away from them.When you're on a cliff 50 feet up and nearly get washed away,then standing on the sea wall is not a good idea.Hell,these things were nearly washing people off the platform at the station...

[crazylegs]

Soggy here but nothing unusual - all the normal spots are flooding but they're flood plains that aren't built on so no biggie.

Few times some of my chums have come close with flood defence nearly over-topping but nothing yet. We were forecast 23mm rain today (wouldn't surprise me if that much fell) and we're forecast 19mm tomorrow.

Current forecast suggests the next dry day will be 14th.

[Kit-Ginevra]

I seriously think we have not had one dry day here since New Year,which opened at literally 12.01 with an almighty thunderstorm that you could hear over the fireworks.It's been raining at some point every day since then... So glad I don't have to work outside

[crazylegs]

Had a mostly dry day the day before yesterday - managed to get into the garden for the first time in weeks. We're one of the areas which has had nearly 200% of the normal rain for Jan.

News link for the non brits... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26042990

[Pixilated]

Those waves in Photo #1 look scary ... like one of the next ones is going to take out the windows in the buildings across the road.

We here in Canada have snow coming out the wazoo. Makes me a bit worried about what it'll be like when spring comes. I guess this is the 'extreme weather' the climatologists have been warning us about ... ?

[Kit-Ginevra]

More piccies...Newlyn in the first one... Land's End at the second.Those are big waves-we've had them up to 70 FOOT in places!
The last one is our canal at the end of the road.Those trees are now underwater.The water is washing down the cycle paths at the top of the canal.Another foot or so and it will be over the bridge.

[crazylegs]

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/w...ime=1391644800

More weather warnings. Exeter is in the "Be Prepared" area, stay safe out there.

[SongsOfDragons]

We're mostly okay here in Southampton. The Test burst its banks and the ground is boggy but nothing too dreadful has happened...

[Bardmaiden]

Up in York, the River Ouse has broken it's banks a couple of times but no higher than usual, hasn't even reached Clifford Street. Had some nasty winds.

We've been lucky so far. But then my house is quite far from the river. (We joke that York Minster would have to be underwater for us to flood).

[Kal]

I saw that a seawall collapsed somewhere down there.
I seem to be in a fairly safe place. We get very little extreme weather here - virtually no snow, no floods for years, just quite a lot of high winds.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Somehow made it through the night. Was expecting to get a train back home about 10pm.Repeatedly told there is a shuttle train that will be operating-it will be arriving in approx 5-10 mins,then 20 mins,then 30 mins.Trains are operating on this line.Then told it's not coming.There will not be any road transport.You have to make your way home.At 1am.That's a £50 taxi ride which I do not have.Or a four-hour hitch hike along the seafront road.That's the same seafront road that was last seen floating off on the tide.

So I managed to get along the coast to the nearest manned station and somehow crashed down in a corner of the station platform-it's warm,it's dry.Given that outside, it's hurling stuff fifty yards across the main road,scaffolding is moving and in the car park,the lampposts are swaying and I'm holding onto the barriers to stop being blown into the sea 200 feet away,I'm staying there.If the police want me to move,excellent-they can come and collect me.Got home at 8am this morning,very very unhappy and straight to bed....but in one piece.

Have already put my rant in to their customer services.

[crazylegs]

That's pretty shoddy of them.

I've just been put on standby to crew should local floods occur. Should be interesting.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Yes-I can understand that it complete chaos and that some areas rail transport and even road transport cannot reach. That does not excuse your company telling us that a train service will be due when you know it is and then refusing to assist. Taxis can still get around in places,and our station was one of the least affected areas.
Meanwhile there's a new storm arriving(just what we need!)-the first rain and gales have already appeared,and it's predicted to be cyclone-level over the weekend and we're dead in its target range.
Cornwall has already had 60 foot waves and we're being told that the new storm will be even worse than that(to put that in context,the 2004 tsunami was 80 foot high...)

Batten down and stay safe folks...

[crazylegs]

Oddly got stood down last night, am staying sober on rest days though JIC the weather on Tuesday is a bit dicey, and with what's happening upstream of here I'm expecting fairly bad floods locally in a day or so (we're safe, but I can see us needing to use our 4x4s fairly soon.

[Kit-Ginevra]

And on it goes.100mph winds expected.Today on a 15-minute walk into town with waterproofs I was drenched.Almost hit by a branch and a diverted traffic sign that washed past. And it is very cold and wet rain-we've already had some people here showing signs of hypothermia or frostbite.My hands were starting to turn red and cold after just 10 minutes out in it. Brrr.....

And meanwhile,Chertsey and Windsor are underwater and a sinkhole has opened up in the M2. Would whoever has been doing the rain dance please stop-we've got all we need by now