After months of dry weather, December returned to something like normality, measurable rain falling on 15 days, including the wettest day since August on 3rd. This helped the severely depleted water-table, my measuring point in the Devil’s Hole blowout showing a rise of 13 cm by the month’s end. Despite this, most of our dune-slacks...
Dr Phil Smith: Wildlife Notes November 2018
It has been known for centuries that rainfall on the coast is much lower than a few miles inland, yet I have never heard this reflected in regional, let alone national weather forecasts. So yet again, the default forecast for the Northwest of “frequent heavy showers” was wrong day after day. The result was another...
Anthony Carter: Ravenmeols and Lifeboat Road
Sixteen members of North West Fungus Group attended on a beautiful autumn day. Our first foray since the area was taken over by The National Trust. First stop was at Ravenmeols where we checked on the decreasing patch of Tulostoma brumale. We also recorded some rarities in Hebeloma dunense and Inocybe dunensis, in the dunes...
Dr Phil Smith: Wildlife Notes October 2018
After the great drought of 1976, the heavens opened in September and October of that year, rapidly replenishing ground-waters, rivers and other wetlands. In complete contrast, following this summer’s comparable drought, September 2018 was dry, while October was even worse, with measurable rain on only five days, a named storm on 13th producing the only...
