Wettest April ever - but hosepipe ban remains

This April looks like being the wettest ever recorded in the UK and some parts of the country have already experienced flooding - but the UK remains on drought alert and the hosepipe ban which affects many parts of the country remains in force as water reserves and aquifers remain low and environment chiefs said the downpours will have no effect on the drought and hosepipe ban.  In Lincolnshire, where the drought situation is amongst the worst in the country, some of the highest rainfall totals have been recorded so far this month. In the 24 hours to 10am last Saturday morning, nearly 40mm was recorded at Waddington in Lincolnshire, bringing their monthly total to 101mm, already more than double their monthly average of 47mm. In records that date back to the end of the Second World War, April 2000 was the wettest with 124mm of rain. A new Atlantic depression will bring another 2.5cm (1in) of rain in a front stretching from Plymouth to Norwich, and it will spread to Birmingham and Newcastle. Winds will reach 80-95kph (50-60mph) and drivers are warned to beware hazardous road conditions.  And this is the coldest April for 23 years!   You can see more tonight (26 April)  in the UK on ITV1 :  Is Britain Running Dry?