| WINSHAM WEATHER 2000. The temperature and rainfall charts for each month give an insight into the weather experienced by the village during the year. The daily maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded on a north facing house wall to then rear of Badger Cottage, High Street. The wall forms part of a sheltered courtyard which probably affected the readings to a small extent such that the maximum value is slightly lower and the minimum reading is slightly higher than the true temperatures. The daily rainfall measurements were taken at Lime Kiln Farm by Angela Warry, who has taken similar measurements for over 20 years. The amount recorded each day is for the preceding 24 hours up to 9.00 a.m. t  he next day. This explains why the heavy rain which fell on New Year's Eve 2000/01 is not listed. For the record the amount measured at 9.00 a.m. on the 1 January 2001 was 45 mm.Interesting points. 1. The lowest temperature recorded was -4 deg C on the nights of 26/27 January and 29/30 December. Floods at Lower Chalkway 2. The lowest daytime temperature was recorded on the 28 and 29 December when it failed to rise above freezing. 3. The highest daytime temperature was 27 deg C on the 18 June. 4. The early part of the winter was very mild. The first snow fell on 3 April with a further fall on the 15 April. On both occasions the snow melted quickly and was gone by next day Real snow to a depth of 2 inches (50 mm) fell overnight on the 27/28 December and stayed until a warm wind on the morning of the 31 December melted it. 5. While the Summer was neither particularly wet or cold there was a noticeable absence of sunshine. 6. However, the most noticeable feature of the years weather was the amount of rainfall. April was very wet and the Autumn was the wettest in England since records began over 300 years ago. As a result parts of Winsham suffered as the drains were unable to cope. Sand bags were regularly seen across the shop doorw  ay as ,water swept down Colham Lane, lower Back Street and the across Church Street past the Village Cross. The River Axe flooded on several occasions. The worst being late on New Year's Eve when water on the Dorset side of Axe Bridge is said to have been 4 ft above the road. A car attempting to cross was stranded. The occupant sat on a car roof while another traveller sought sanctuary in a tree until rescued by helicopter. Adjacent fences were swept away and debris was strewn across the adjoining field for over a 100 meters. Further downstream at Chard Junction the river rose to record levels. Empty milk tankers at the Creamery floated into the nearby cycle sheds and the railway line was under 18 inches of water. The creamery was flooded to such an extent that production was suspended for several days.7. The total amount of rain measured by Angela Warry for the year was 1377 mm (54.21 ins.). The previous hig  hest measured by Angela was 1300 mm (51.17 ins.) in 1979. If the 45 mm of rain
which fell
on New Year's Eve was added in, the total for the year would have been 1422 mm (56.0 ins.). The
average for the previous 22 years was 1002 mm.(39.44 ins.).Winsham weather made the National News |
