The ‘Lake of Welshpool’

As the Welshpool area continues to battle the tide of floods that are wreaking havoc across Montgomeryshire, one local photographer has summed up the mood perfectly.

The rain has been relentless since the turn of the year and this Friday the 13^th picture captured by Colin Rogers sums it up.

“The Lake of Welshpool,” proclaimed Colin. “These are the river fields at the end of the Severn Farm factories. The river is about three-quarters of a mile that-a-way!”

Natural Resources Wales red alerts for flooding remain in place for the River Severn at Criggion, Llandrinio and Pool Quay and Trewern along with yellow alerts for the Upper Severn, River Vyrnwy catchment area, and Dyfi catchment area.

Roads remain impassable in some places and the train service continues to be impacted, with the advice to plan ahead and check before travelling. The line from Newtown to the coast is further impacted today by planned engineering works so buses are in place going west.

The North Powys Community Traffic Alerts Facebook page has been buzzing with information on the latest road closures and questions from motorists.

But there is more bad news on the way. Temperatures are dropping and by Tuesday we can expect them to be as low as -5 degrees, even at low lying areas, which brings the prospect of ice.

At 5am this morning, the gritters were dispatched on priority Montgomeryshire roads and are likely to be out for the rest of the week.

“The strong winds should keep temperatures a little higher on lower routes (Sunday), although they will drop sharply with any passing hail showers,” a spokesperson for Powys Highways said. 

“Showery rain and sleet will move in from the north in the morning, with snow briefly on the highest routes.”