Has it rained enough in Portsmouth?
One shower has passed over in three weeks. Every one wet the leaves and was gone by lunchtime — none of it reached the roots.
Portsmouth has had 0.2mm of rain in the last 30 days. A normal July here brings 52.5mm — and the driest July in the last 30 years still managed 13.2mm. This is drier than anything on that record.
Rain in Portsmouth through a normal year
Across a normal year Portsmouth gets about 750.3mm of rain, most of it in October (86.7mm) and least in April (47.7mm).
That makes Portsmouth one of the drier places on this site in July — 39th of 40, against Swansea at the wet end (101.1mm) and Bournemouth at the dry end (49.4mm).
What that means for what you grow
- Pots and hanging basketsWorst hit, and first to suffer. Very little soil, fully exposed, and nothing to fall back on — in this weather they can empty in a day.
- Salad and leafy vegShallow-rooted and quick to bolt once they run dry. First priority of anything in the ground.
- Beds and bordersA long soak that reaches the roots is worth more than a daily sprinkle, which only wets the surface and is gone by lunchtime.
- LawnsLeast urgent of the lot. Brown grass is dormant, not dead, and comes back within weeks of proper rain.
- Established shrubs and treesFine as they are. They draw from far deeper than a dry spell reaches.
Your own garden, not the town average
This page is worked out for Portsmouth as a whole. Your garden has its own soil, its own shade and its own planting, and the front page will use your exact location instead.
Check my garden