MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Talking to a friend from Bewdley, on the River Severn, recently and he'd been told to expect the water to rise about 200mm above his floor level by Tuesday.
It got me wondering how anyone can know in advance with that level of accuracy.
I know there's a flow meter just above Bewdley and presumably there are others even further upstream.
I would imagine the Environment agency have enough experience to know by now that when the flood peaks in Shrewsbury, it will peak in Bewdley so many hours later.
I'd just be interested to know a bit more about how it's all calculated, right from rainfall in the Hafren Forest to water levels in Gloucester.
By recording rainfall and discharge along tributaries over many years and then assuming that x + y will result in z. As recording becomes more accurate the length of the data record increases, predictions become more accurate. Number crunching computer models.
Or seaweed nailed to the door frame and frog calls.....
[url] http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/ [/url]
Keep drilling down on the map on the above link and you can view the live river levels.
For certain catchments the EA run realtime computer models that forecast predicted levels based on current conditions. There's an FAQ on the site too.
Isn't it related to the top of your wellies?
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Pah, just ignore these 'so called experts' with their scientific measurements and complex analytical models. You should just ask Eric Pickles who has all the answers...