YOUR readers might be interested to know some figures for rainfall in Tavistock in 2000, collected in my rain gauge at a height of about 115m above sea level.

The total for the year is a remarkable 72.55 inches (1843 mm) which, I suspect, is a record for Tavistock. 1872 may have been the next wettest year, when a total of 69.79 inches was recorded at Mount Tavy (a similar altitude to my gauge). The average annual rainfall for Tavistock is, I understand about 50 inches.

I have 40 years of records for Yelverton (about 190m OD) covering 1959-1998, and during that period annual rainfall was never less than 40 inches (1973) or more than 70 inches (1974), with an average for Yelverton of about 55 inches per annum.

The monthly totals for Tavistock in 2000 were as follows (in inches): January 2.18; February 7.93; March 1.02; April 6.85; May 3.88; June 1.70; July 3.02; August 5.43; September 7.66; October 11.90; November 9.65; December 11.33.

The wettest day (24-hour period) was December 31 with 2.81 inches. The last four months of the year totalled 40.54 inches! From October 22 to December 20 inclusive there was some precipitation on each day — 60 days in all!

Although October 2000 was exceptionally wet, I wonder if anyone can recall October 1929 when 17.9 inches of rain fell on Tavistock?

Tom Greeves

39 Bannawell Street, Tavistock