West Midlands weather: Ditch the woolies and enjoy the sunshine

Temperatures by the middle of the week could be up to 27C (81F) – more than double that of a week previously.

That means some much welcome peace for waterways like Apley Pool, which sits close to the M54.

Photographer Tina Corfield submitted this tranquil landscape to the Star Witness gallery.

Based on the Express & Star Instagram page, the photographic archive has grown to more than 5,000 followers in just four months and records our region through the seasons.

Recent submissions have shown scenes of flooding, caused by relentless showers sweeping through the West Midlands.

They are set to be replaced by more typical summer images – although the Met Office has warned that the humid conditions moving across our region may bring with them sudden and violent thunderstorms.

WATCH the latest forecast

Businesses in the West Midlands today welcomed the boost brought by the sunshine, hoping it will bring in some extra business.

And farmers are having to cope with our topsy-turvy summer.

Richard Simkin, one of the owners from Essington Fruit Farm, said: “It’s been a very strange summer. A fortnight ago we were irrigating to keep the pumpkins alive because it was so dry and then they became more like water lilies.

“A bit of warmth would be appreciated to get the pumpkins established.

“The strawberries are looking well – we’ve got them under plastic so they’ve been more immune from the rain, so we’re very glad we’ve got that this year.

“It has been unseasonably cold and wet and it’s not just about the fruit we were trying to pick – it’s some of the crops for winter.

“Like sweetcorn, for example – without warmth they don’t seem to get going, but there’s time yet. It needn’t be baking hot, but something in the 20s with sunshine will be very welcome. We’ve had enough rain to last us a day or two.”

Andrew Bebb, who farms at Hanwood, said he would welcome the sunshine, adding: “We’ve had 80 per cent of the farm under water. There’s still a lot of standing water – there’s a lot up and down our valley

“There’s grass there but it’s under water so we had to get into our winter reserves to ensure the animals are fed.”

Recent rain saw flood barriers up in Bewdley and Shrewsbury as River Severn levels rose.

And a driver was in deep water after a car got trapped at Trescott Ford, off the road between Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth.

Severn Trent’s water reservoir levels are currently at 93 per cent, with a four per cent increase over the last week as a result of the rain.

Spokesman Jonathan Smith said: “We have other sources of water as well, such as boreholes, but the reservoir levels show that we’ve recovered well from the incredibly hot and dry summer last year where we saw record demand levels for treated water from our customers.

“We’d always ask people to think about the amount of water they use, whatever the time of year, and we offer some handy water saving tips.”

The barriers were being taken down at the end of the week in Bewdley.

Pollen warning to hay fever sufferers

Hay fever sufferers are being warned by an expert to brace themselves for symptoms with drier weather set to trigger a peak in pollen levels.

Forecasters are predicting more settled conditions across our region will bring a high to very high risk of pollen affecting much of the country over the weekend.

Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, from Worcester University, is the UK’s chief pollen forecaster who advises the Met Office.

She said recent rainy weather had delayed the impact of the grass pollen season.

“We’re right in the season now, the grasses have been ready to emit their pollen properly and fully for a week or so now,” she said. “We’re going to see the full peak coming up over the next week or so now.”

She added: “This year we’ve seen a rather stumbling start to it, the rain has dampened down the grass and prevented it from emitting pollen.”

Dr Adams-Groom said the main grass pollen season can affect up to 95 per cent of hay fever sufferers, adding that conditions were not out of the ordinary.

Airborne

“From now on, certainly for the next three days, we’ve got high to very high risk for quite a lot of the country,” she said.

“It’s nothing exceptional, forget all this stuff about a pollen bomb, it’s what we would normally expect to see.”

Grahame Madge, a spokesman for the Met Office, said the pollen risk this weekend was high in the West Midlands.

“When you get settled weather and dry conditions, that will allow pollen to become airborne and remain airborne with the obvious impact on sufferers,” Mr Madge said.

Caroline Fredericks, specialist nurse at research charity Asthma UK, said: “Peaking levels of grass pollen and hot weather next week could cause suffering for about 3.3 million people whose asthma could be affected by hayfever.

“If you have asthma, then an allergy to pollen can inflame your airways and trigger asthma symptoms such as coughing, a tight chest and breathlessness, which could lead to a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.

“Hot weather next week will make the pollen levels spike and cause extra misery for people with asthma.”