Stormy near Keswick…..

It’s getting pretty wild out. Suspect the post ’09 flood defences are in for their first real test……

Seeing various postings on Twitter and looking at the environment agency website, it looks pretty serious.

Record river levels at Threkeld and Greta Bridge now (by some distance). Stay safe guys.

Very high in Cockermouth too – hopefully new defences will hold. The Trout car park is starting to flood a bit.
The flood plane from Brigham down towards Workington is also well and truly flooded. Last time I saw it this full was Nov ’09.

We’re cut off now, still chucking it down and 5 hours til high tide. Daughter in tears as 6th party cancelled. Ah well, plenty cake…..

Saw this earlier:

https://www.facebook.com/grizedale-mtb-278457401321/?fref=ts

Good luck boxelder.

Post 2009 defences in Keswick. 🙁

Eek.

All the best to those of you in that part of the world.

@martinhutch

Just been on Sky news those defenses have now been breached, suspect it will get worse before it gets better.

Can’t quite work out where on Derwent Water that actually is but then again it probably looks a bit different normally…
@cazgraham1 on Twitter

There’s some incredible pictures of the River Kent through the middle of Kendal too.

Good luck everyone, just read all roads around Keswick closed

It’s called The Boat House, I think

Oops defences

Pretty wild here in Carlisle. River is up but a long way from the defences just yet. A shed load of flooded roads though. A69 is in a right shite state apparently.

Friends have just told me people in Cockermouth are being evacuated as the river has breached the new defences.

It’s called The Boat House, I think

Yes, I recognise it now, I do know it.
The other property that never comes out of these things well is The Wateredge Inn in Ambleside, I’ve ridden past that in heavy flooding before and there was a drowned sheep bumping against the ground floor window. 🙁

Friends have just told me people in Cockermouth are being evacuated as the river has breached the new defences

A ‘hundred year event’ every few years now.

The Greta is still rising at Low Briery near Keswick – gauge went offline at Greta Bridge approaching a foot over 2009 levels. So things aren’t looking good for Cockermouth.

Cumbria Police have just declared a major incident !!

Stay safe people.

It’s certainly wild; wilder than it has been for the last couple of weeks. People have been told not to make any unnecessary journeys…but cycling is definitely necessary….as long as you dress appropriately.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue reporting their base is Flooded

We’re on high ground in Keswick and that’s even flooding thoughts are with the people even worse off down the road, all emergency services on site – stay safe

Water is just pouring off the fells through the house and down the road 🙁

@rse, stay safe everyone.

Terrible day on the post lots of Propertys flooded in Staveley on my round Kendal is now cut off no getting in or out except for emergency services!!

Aye got some seriously impressive and scary pics of the river having burst it banks and flooding all the streets. Not there this weekend but was going to drive up today so that wont be happening

Stay safe out there folks its looking bad and gooseholme park area under and church at risk. bike in cellar so worried now

On BBC News now, reporter in Keswick. Pumping out the drains back into the river…

Post pics up or links of anything?

Couldn’t get into Ambleside for work today, road in from windermere is closed.

Rain is still coming down heavily.
Hope everybody is ok

Some pics

http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/14126440.VIDEO__Major_flood_disruption_as_Storm_Desmond_sweeps_across_Cumbria/

cannot post mine from whatapp though

All roads in and out of Keswick now closed. We were there this time last year, and the year before.

Hope everyone’s ok. The water coming over the flood defences looks bonkers. I can’t believe how high it is!

Worst over here hopefully. Went out with the dog and ended up with some cold wet refugees – BMW dead after trying to drive through the ‘puddle’. It’s taken the front off the car and killed it. Hot drink and got them a tractor taxi to nearby hotel. There’s a fair few abandoned cars arch deep in water. I’ll try to post a PIC.

Some vids of Glenridding Beck in spate 😯

https://twitter.com/Mountain_Run?lang=en

Not sure I’d want to use that footbridge…

It’s time for the National Parks & govt to listed to George Monbiot on how our subsidies of sheep & grouse moors are turning upland areas into deserts with little capacity to hold water. And just like deserts, when it rains, the areas downstream flood. We need to change the upland ecology by planting trees & allowing regrowth.

I couldn’t agree less @moses The solution is not planting trees on high ground. This amount of flooding/rainfall is not that unusual

Cockermouth Main St and Wordsworth House now flooded….. 🙁

Well the “desertification” of the Lakes began at least as far back as the Romans, ever wondered how Fairfield got its name? It’s not so much the lack of vegetation that’s the problem at the moment but the huge amount of rain that the area has endured over the last month or so – the NW has had 200% of the average for November.

Veg is already regenerating. Flocks sizes have been down since F+M and single farm payment. Not saying afforestation won’t help, but amount and intensity of rain has produced a second 1 in a 1000 year flood in a decade. Almost as though something global is affecting our climate…..

Well, the last 2 responses were at odds with each other.

This amount of flooding/rainfall is not that unusual

Yes it is. The churchyard at Appleby is flooded. Churches didn’t get built in areas subject to flooding, as the graves lifted. The 2009 event was described as a once in 100years – except it’s happened again.

Whitestone, yes the tree cover started to get cut back fromm the iron age onwards, but it’s noticeably worse now. The pollen analyses show it’s changed in the last 80 years. You can see run-off channels / hushes now that just weren’t there when I was young.

313mm rainfall in the last 24hrs at one guage in centre of Lakes…

That is very very very unusual. Trust me.

This is potentially worse than 2009.

Struggle with links on my tablet but have a look at this

https://twitter.com/CumbriaWeather/status/673203193212444672