Despite the 2026 long, hot summer, and the subsequent dip in reservoir levels, rainfall in our locality is becoming more substantial, and the long record shows it clearly. Using the same HadUK-Grid dataset that gives us our temperature story, Monkton Heathfield’s precipitation pattern tells a tale of gradual intensification. Over 140 years, both the typical yearly totals and the frequency of wet spells have increased, with the most pronounced shifts visible since the turn of the 21st century.
The decadal chart shows mean rainfall by ten-year block. You can see the drier periods of the mid-20th century, then the upward trajectory from the 1980s onward. The 2020s — again, even as a partial decade running only through 2025 — continue the pattern of elevated rainfall compared to the historical baseline. That is not a random blip; it represents a sustained shift in how much moisture the atmosphere delivers to our corner of Somerset.
More rain doesn’t just mean greener gardens. It means heavier downpours when storms arrive, shorter windows between showers, and longer periods when the ground stays saturated. The village sits near the Somerset Levels, and while we’re not on the floodplain itself, the hydrology connects — what happens upstream affects downstream flows, and what happens here feeds into the wider system.
Farmers and growers face different pressures. Fields stay workable for shorter periods, harvesting windows tighten, and storage becomes more critical when harvest coincides with persistent wet weather. The growing season itself has shifted, with earlier springs and later autumns bringing their own challenges for crops that evolved under older weather norms.
The annual chart below the decadal view adds another layer. Individual years swing wildly — some remarkably dry, others drenching — but the trend line cuts through that noise. It shows the slow but unmistakable drift toward wetter conditions across the full record. That rising median is the key signal: we’re not just seeing extremes; we’re seeing a new baseline.
Winter months dominate the increase. When cold air holds less moisture, rainfall tends to fall more intensely when it does come, overwhelming soils that can’t absorb fast enough. Spring and autumn patterns have shifted too, with fewer completely dry weeks between systems.
