Two storm warnings announced on Valentine’s day put plot holders under pressure again. Whilst you can batten down hatches on a boat, it is not so easy to wind-proof a greenhouse. Cover it up with a temporary tarp and you risk more damage from the winds trying to rip off the cover. A wooden or solid surround would sound like the answer but the time and cost to create it is more than the cost of broken glass. Storm Dudley was predicted to hit the north on the Wednesday and it did. Coming across the Irish Sea at 80 – 90 mph hitting the coast to the west of Weaste. It is the low-pressure systems that are causing the wind disruption.
Weather Watch
As always our weather watcher on the allotment site made sure that a message went out on the private plot holder Facebook group about the amber warning. A request that plot holders visited the site before the storms to grab any stored potatoes or onions and to feed their chickens. The Met office up-date on the 15 February remained bleak.
Sharply on Dudley’s heels was Eunice. Another low-pressure system and expected to be further south from us. As snow was forecasted it was a blessing not to be on high ground and in the direct path. Eunice was given a rare Red Weather Warning due to the high winds expected in the south west and Wales and the fact it would hit the centre of the UK. This is the second Red Weather Warning in four months. The Met Office remains under pressure to get these alerts right as they come thick and fast this season.
Piling on the pressure
Storms are getting a bit like the bus saying, “none and then they all come along at once”! Actually that’s not fair as the bus services around these parts are pretty good. Stops near the allotments are handy for some plot holders. Getting on the bus with some garden tools may raise a few eyebrows, but not as many as carrying a smelly bag of onions home.
So, back to the next storm. Franklin, as named by the Met Office, hits 20 February as another low-pressure system headed our way. A Sunday night into Monday morning less than 48 hours after Eunice. Once again we are preparing on the allotment for 60 -70 mph winds, in the only way we can. Everything that is not staked in or tied down is put inside or taken off site.
All Yellow in the north west
A tree at the back of the allotment is being dealt with by lumberjacks the morning after Eunice. Greenhouses have again taken the brunt of the damage, more glass panes blown out. In Liverpool Street, Salford, a sinkhole appeared near the church reports the Manchester Evening News. Water taking away the soil underneath the road. It’s not been good for many, but the allotment has got away lightly. There are a lot of coal shafts around the area too, that have been built on top of. Water can flow through them and hopefully stay there. A few worried plot holders for their homes. Not a Coldplay front man in sight, but that’s the Weather Warning we have. It’s in force due to the expected rain as much as the strong 50-60 mph gusts of wind.
The Clear Up
The Chair was first on site on the Monday and started to do an assessment of damage. The first thing he sees is a large water tank has been moved about a metre near the community hut.
Then it is just a long list of greenhouses with missing glass and poly-tunnels with ripped covers. There is broken glass all over the place. One 10 x 8ft greenhouse has been shifted completely off its footings. The acrylic and polycarbonate panels in some greenhouses at least remained in one piece. It’s just a case of finding where they have blown away to!
Weaste has also turned into a huge paddy field. The only thing anyone could possibly hope to grow in the 6 – 12 inches of water on various plot holders bed would be rice. So the clean up begins on the Monday and all week the Chair is kindly cutting and fixing glass from collected remnants and pieces bought by plot holders.