Heavy Rain, Rapid Thaw, Swollen River

After days of heavy rain and south-west winds that stripped the snow from the fields and woods I wandered down to the River Spey to watch the swollen surging grey water. The riverside path was under water in places and the river was on the verge of spilling over into neighbouring meadows. The power of the water felt immense, great dark swells heaving and pitching in a rush to the sea. Watching the fast moving river I felt disorientated as my eyes and brain tried to adapt to the constantly changing blurred water. There were flood warnings for the lower Spey, closer to the sea, and I knew there had been floods further south around the town of Perth, where several rivers pour down from the Highlands to converge on lowland plains. And of course for days the news has been of terrible floods in Australia, Brazil and the Philippines. Standing on the edge of the Spey in spate I could well understand how fast rain and snowmelt can turn a life-giving river into a fearsome threat and that thinking we can always tame and control nature is hubris.

Photo Info: The River Spey surging below the Old Spey Bridge, Grantown-on-Spey, January 17, 2011. Sony NEX-5, Sony 18-55 lens@36mm, 1/20@f8, ISO 400, raw files processed in Lightroom 3.

Floods

The rains finally eased during the morning of September 4 though showers continued throughout the day and the clouds remained low and threatening. Only after dark did the sky start to clear. A bright moon appeared to shine down on the sodden land. All day the radio reported the aftermath of the rain – people evacuated, some rescued by boat, cars swept away, streets awash, bridges and trees swept away, highways and railways closed as the rivers Lossie and Spey burst their banks. The towns of Fochabers and Rothes and the city of Elgin were inundated. In Aberdeen a month’s rainfall fell in 24 hours, the wettest single day on record. As the day ended there were still flood warnings in force for the River Lossie at Elgin and the River Spey from Fochabers to Spey Bay.

In Strathspey there was less rain than further east with 31mm falling yesterday (76mm feel at Lossiemouth) but the River Spey in Grantown-on-Spey was still 5’ 6” above the usual summer level. I walked along the banks watching the surging brown wave-capped waters rushing seawards. In many places the path was under several feet of water and I had to clamber up the bank to the nearby road. Trees and bushes swayed and quivered as the water swirled round them. A few ducks swam up unaccustomed channels pecking at vegetation usually well above the water line. The forecast is for dry weather, at least until late into the next day, when rain may again fall. Then more stormy weather is predicted for next week. This wet summer is not over yet.

Photo info: The River Spey at Grantown-on-Spey, September 4, 3.30pm. Canon EOS 450D, Canon EF-S 18-55@18mm, 1/200 @ f5.6, ISO 200, raw file converted to JPEG in Lightroom 2.4.