London rainfall | Wanstead Meteo

Since I wrote the original blog on London droughts in July 2018 there have been five more meteorological droughts.

The latest, as I write this on August 8th 2022, now sits joint 2nd in longest droughts in this area.

The rolling 12-month rainfall total has now reduced to 457mm; the lowest since 2017, and low given that the annual Jan-Dec rainfall average here is 602mm. At this point last year the rolling 12-month total was 818mm!

Looking further back, at a monthly rainfall series that goes back to 1797, the opening seven months of this 2022 are the 6th driest.

Whatever way you look at it this area is desperate for rain.

April 2019 was yet another dry month. Just under 12mm was recorded, that’s 28 per cent of average.

There has been rain around but the prevailing wind has not been conducive for great amounts to fall here. Last weekend, over a period of 5 days, just 0.9mm fall. Yet Capel Curig in Snowdonia, 200 miles northwest as the crow flies, recorded 130mm thanks to a NW’ly regime.

A look at rainfall in Wanstead back to July 2013 shows that of the 3,550mm recorded just 17 per cent has fallen when the wind was NW’ly.

Because of the topography of the area most of our rain falls when the wind is blowing between SE’ly and SW’ly, a total of 43 per cent.

A westerly is usually reliable for rainfall, however because this area is in the lee of high ground areas such as Hampstead westerlies have delivered just under 8 per cent of that 6-year total.