Living in central Bedfordshire on the edge of East Anglia, now subject to a long drought, repeated Met Office yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms in July were welcome. The gardeners with empty water butts were positively enthusiastic.
In a 10-day period when there were repeated yellow warnings, a large area of southern and eastern England was subject to an amber threat, with Leighton Buzzard firmly in the middle of the danger zone. To be fair it did rain during the amber alert – there were a series of small showers and one clap of thunder. Altogether, though, it was barely enough water to wet the parched ground.
