Stockbridge colonies flooded. The Meadows always get squelchy after rain, remembering their swampy origins. I wasn’t surprised to hear that Taste had to be cancelled, though sad for all the catering businesses involved. It amazes me that T in the Park managed to go ahead. Edinburgh City Bypass temporarily closed.
The weather station in the Botanics measured 39mm of rain in 24 hours. The weather in June was unusually wet. In the past week, more rain (66.5mm) has fallen than usually falls over an entire month in July. The River Esk in Musselburgh burst its banks.
This was the morning:
My camera got so wet taking photos of Edinburgh Farmers Market in the rain that (although it’s an excellent all-weather camera!) the shutter wouldn’t open/close properly.
There was a great wee photo shop on the Mound, Castle Photos, but it turned out to have become a casualty of the recession.
I texted Twitter hopelessly:
Bloody hell – took photos around farmers market, now camera’s got too wet to use. 😦 #ukrain #Edinburgh
— EdinburghEye (@EyeEdinburgh) July 7, 2012
Was heading for Castle Photo hoping the man who runs it could help, but it’s gone under. #recession #ukrain #Edinburgh
— EdinburghEye (@EyeEdinburgh) July 7, 2012
@FredaOByrne @EyeEdinburgh Ooh! How about folk @Stills? Cockburn Street? Will supply a coffee too!
— Freda O’Byrne (@FredaOByrne) July 7, 2012
That’s Stills Edinburgh, the very lovely gallery/photography school on Cockburn Street. Went there and they loaned me two rubbing cloths for negatives and I got my camera dry and functional again in time to take loads of photographs of the Slutwalk.
@EyeEdinburgh My Eye got all soggy, so hazarded a tweet, with a spit and a polish all is @stills sweet!
— Freda O’Byrne (@FredaOByrne) July 7, 2012
This evening at about nine pm – that is, over 24 hours after the rain had stopped – I walked over to the Water of Leith. The level of water had fallen several inches – the river had risen above its usual banks, and all the plants on the bank had been combed sideways by the current.
But the river is visibly, audibly, still in spate.
And about an hour ago, it started raining again. According to the BBC, it’s now set in to rain on and off till Thursday.
Dave Clark, forecaster at the Met Office in Aberdeen:
“We’ve seen warm humid air coming up off the continent and that tends to end up in heavy showers, which is what we’ve sent here. There’s been a lot of moisture in the air and with warm, humid conditions the atmosphere holds more water. Then when it does let it go we see these kinds of downpours, although we haven’t seen thunder which has mostly been down south.”
Edinburgh Eye 