Aylesbury Vale has had just a fifth of normal rainfall since early June but is that about to change?

Since the extreme heat a couple of weeks ago, temperatures have dropped and we have seen some rain, but it is not anywhere near what we need to redress the drought problems.

Looking at rainfall in more detail for our region, the last significantly wet spell was on June 5/6, when the Vale and nearby Chilterns saw up to 30mm of rain in a 36-hour period.

Since that wet spell, we’ve received measurable rain on only around 15 days up to August 22, and at no point has an individual day of rain exceeded 10mm.

In total since June 7, we’ve seen around 30-35mm of rain in Aylesbury. Put into perspective, we’d normally expect around 150mm in that period, so we’ve essentially received only 20 per cent of the normal rainfall. These dry conditions come off the back of a broadly dry spring too.

If you’ve ventured into the Chilterns recently, you may have noticed that lots of the small streams and rivers, and also some of the ponds and lakes, are very low or even dry.

Many of these are fed by the chalk aquifers - giant geological sponges that hold on to winter rainfall and release it slowly into watercourses during the months that follow.

These aquifers are now very low on water and it will take weeks, if not months, of steady rainfall to replenish them.

There is some rain in the forecast over the next few days, with the potential for a few showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.

However, as high pressure builds, the prospect for the rest of August and early September is still for below-average rainfall, and thus the drought conditions are unlikely to be solved any time soon.