How much more can they take

This winter has been brutal for the UK. I cannot remember a time in the 57 years that I lived there a winter with so many storms and so much bad weather widespread across the country. From the northern tip to the south coast, all areas have been hit at some time this year.

The decision was taken to name the storms this year and so far they have reached I for Imogen. The next storm would be named Jake but the hope is that, with spring coming, it will either not happen or will not be significant.

In the meantime, storm Imogen has wreaked havoc in Ireland and Wales. Over 15,000 homes lost power and 5,000 more had blackouts. Transport has been hit badly with problems on roads, rail and of course ferry crossings.

According to news sources, the winds of up to 80mph (129kmph) created waves of of  19.1m off the coast of St Ives in Cornwall. Around 255 flood warnings were in place with 48 advising immediate action should be taken. There was 40mm of rain expected in the South West and Wales falling on ground that was already saturated from previous rain.

The country will recover and as we move towards summer, winter will become a bad memory. Let us hope that next winter will be a lot kinder and that we are not seeing a pattern develop for years to come.

PS The wind here has felt strong at times during the last few days but at  a mere 25kmph, I don't think we should talk about it.