Waterlogging

The continued rain events mean the ground is once again waterlogged worse than at any time through last winter.
Water is standing on the surface even in fields which are usually free draining.

 Bizarrely July last year was actually wetter but following a long dry period the rain was generally welcome and not disruptive.
 A good example is what happened at the Yorkshire Show yesterday.
 On day one it seemed just possible that if with luck, it remained mostly dry, the event could manage to stay open - but a sudden heavy shower about 4pm meant that the trafficed areas of car parking fields literally turned to running streams in minutes.

 Lots of grass is still to cut for silage and hay, it is deteriorating rapidly now so we do need to see a major change very soon or the coming winter will be very difficult indeed.
Luckily there are increasing signs of an improvement next week.
Not all plain sailing as Friday could see more rain, then there is a chance of some rain mid-week but this may be downgraded near the time.
The last week of July does currently show signs the Azores High may move our way, bringing much more settled conditions for several days.
All is not lost!