FLOODS were back with a vengeance this week and as the Review went to press there were alerts on the Severn and Wye and their tributaries.
For some in flood prone areas the miseries of mopping up have reappeared, and it is hard to be cheerful with Christmas just around the corner.
Fears were raised for the lower reaches of the Wye and Severn this week because high tides coincide with the new floodwater peaks.
When the latest bad weather struck last Thursday stretches of the A48 between Gloucester and Chepstow and on down to Newport, and dozens of minor roads, became extremely hazardous and impassable in places though standing water.
Lower parts of Ross-on-Wye were flooded and it was impossible to travel the riverside route from Monmouth to Chepstow.
High winds also led to the closure of the old Severn Bridge for periods, making detours round Gloucester or down to the new crossing essential for anyone travelling East on the roads. Continuing rail chaos did not help matters.
More rain has been forecast for the rest of the week but a respite is possible on Saturday and Sunday with the chance of colder, dryer weather appearing to break the spell of more or less constant depressions sweeping into the South West from the Atlantic.
Nevertheless there is an anxious period ahead for anyone living on low ground, with waterlogged fields unable to soak up anything more.
Major beneficiaries would appear to be Bewick's swans from the arctic circle which overwinter on large bodies of water like Walmore Common, which this year has been turned into a huge lake.