A HOT summer could threaten water supplies because of low rainfall at the start of the year.
That is the verdict of Dymock weather-watcher Tony Denby.
Mr Denby, of Great Woodend, said: "The first two months of the year were already one and half inches short on rainfall, following one of the driest years on record.
"It doesn't augur well for water supplies if we have a hot dry summer."
Pointing to February as an example, Mr Denby said: "Average is not a good description of a month which, on the 4th, recorded the hottest February day since 1777, when reliable records began.
"However, it ended with one of the coldest February weeks that I have recorded. Perhaps a month of extremes would be a better definition."
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