Low pressure = High water = High Drama

The local council were caught by surprise today when the tidal water level rose to the top of the river wall. Two workmen hurriedly put up the flood gates minutes before high tide. The tidal charts for today indicated a 4.3 metre tide, which is not an abnormal tide. The real culprit was the deep low pressure north of the country. Each millibar drop in pressure raises the sea level by approx 1 centimetre, this might seem small but combined with a high tide high winds and a river flood, could prove disasterous for some coastal regions. In two weeks time there is a high tide of 4.9 metres - had this been today then we would have seen the maggot flooded and water levels possibly over the low walls at the moorings. This puts into context just how powerful nature is, and how dredging the river would have no bearing at all in coastal flood prevention ! However it was High drama for a family of mice that had made their home in the river wall. As I watched the Swans inspect their Island shortly before high tide, I spotted a poor mouse poking it's head out of a crack in the river path. The water was lapping underneath it,and within minutes 3 mice made a quick exit. One ran along the pathway close to the wall, and the other two started swimming towards whatever debris was floating at the side. I took a few pics of the ones that swam to safety, one of them climbed a dock stem, and another sat on a pile of floating twigs. It was very dull and raining but you should spot them in the middle of the pics! Wee sleekit cowerin timid beastie's...am glad they survived!