Why does it rain "cats and dogs"? Have you ever said you are "saving for a rainy day"?

With downpours across the region, and showers on the way, now is perhaps a good time to reflect on why so many well-known phrases make reference to the rain.

Click on this link for an explanation of where some of them come from.

Image source, Getty Images

A High Court judgement involving North Cumbria doctors has cleared the way for them to prescribe a cheaper drug for an eye condition, potentially saving the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds.

The North Cumbria clinical commissioning group had joined a group action with 11 other CCGs against two drug companies, to be able to use Avastin, normally use to treat cancer, to treat wet Age Related Macular Degeneration as well.

The drug firms wanted to force the NHS to use Lucentis, or Eylea, both of which were more expensive.

Image source, Roche

Objectors to plans for a gas-fired power station near Kendal are planning another protest, because the developer has submitted new proposals.

The original plans by Statera Energy were rejected by South Lakeland Council, external in January, partly because of the size the size, and the latest proposals are for a smaller development.

Officers from Cumbria's three police divisions will compete again this lunchtime in the annual Bill Barker Memorial Football Tournament, which honours an officer swept to his death in floods.

Image source, Cumbria Constabulary

The matches start at 13:00 at Whitehaven Amateurs, and a team from the Civil nuclear Constabulary will also take part.

Bill died when a bridge at Workington collapsed beneath him during the floods of 2009.

The University of Cumbria has failed to make it into the top 10 best universities in the north west.

Image source, University of Cumbria

The university is ranked 11th out of 12 in our region in the Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Nationally it came 125th.

The University of Lancaster was rated top in the north west, and sixth nationally, in the ranking, which looks at teaching, student experience, employment and the number of students completing their course.

A lot of becks could be quite high after the rain, but the wind is dropping through the day.

• Temperatures at 3,000ft (900m): Around 7C.
• Winds: Strong to gale force westerly, gusts 50mph, veering northwesterly later and decreasing fresh or strong, gusts 40mph.
• Cloud: Varying amounts of cloud at 2,000 feet (600m), occasionally widespread at 1,600 feet (500m).
• Visibility: Good, occasionally poor in showers and very poor in hill fog.

BBC Weather

There will be a lot of cloud this morning with showers, some heavy and lengthy, driven in on a brisk wind.

The highest temperatures will range from 10 to 13°C (50 to 55°F)

You can find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are, here.

Lee Macaulay
Journalist, BBC Cumbria

The difference between lawful snares and traps in the countryside, and dangerous, illegal ones that can harm animals, is being highlighted by police in Cumbria.

BBC Radio Cumbria has been shown a number of illegal traps and snares that officers have recovered - including a gin trap, which was outlawed decades ago.

PC Helen Branthwaite, the lead officer on wildlife crime in the county, says wire traps of the right sort are legitimately used in pest control, and as long as they are checked regularly, are humane because the animal will not be left in pain.

But she says home-made versions can break the law for reasons as simple as the wrong grade of wire.

The future of Cumbria's nuclear industry will be discussed today at a conference organised by the Conservative MP for Carlisle, John Stevenson.

Image source, NuGen

On the agenda will be the uncertainty surrounding the proposals for the Moorside nuclear power station near Sellafield.

The company behind the plans, NuGen, is struggling to find a buyer to take over the project and has had to make make more than half its workforce redundant.

Cumbria's Chamber of Commerce has called for the government to step in and underwrite the plans, but John Stevenson says ministers, who are watching the situation, will only become more involved when the time is right.

There's a lot of debris left on the roads by the high winds of Storm Bronagh overnight, and some flooding.

The only main road we know of that was blocked is the A591 near the Low Wood Hotel, and there was some minor flooding on the A684 between Sedbergh and junction 37 on the M6.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

I hope you haven't seen any damage from Bronagh. We'll be posting the news and other useful information, along with the odd other nugget from the county, through the day.

If you've got a story, or a great photo, that you'd like to share, email us, drop us a line on Twitter where we're @BBC_Cumbria, external, or head to our Facebook page, external.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

The latest warnings from the Met Office suggest a pretty stormy night, and any travel reports or major breaking news should get posted here automatically. Here's a reminder of some of today's main developments:

• Power engineers worked through the day to repair cables brought down by Storm Ali, while Storm Bronagh swung in to promise more tonight, although the winds were not going to be quite as strong;
• South Lakeland council said it would look in detail at a business plan put forward by campaigners to getting a swimming pool restored at Grange Lido;
• And after rail regulators roundly criticised all the agencies supposed to manage our railways after the chaos of this summer, one taxi-driver on the rank at Windermere station suggested a return to the days of steam might be in order.

We'll be back to see what Bronagh (A popular girl's name in County Down, if you were wondering) has done overnight, from 08:00 tomorrow.

If you have pictures or news to help us tell that story or any other, you can email us, drop us a line on Twitter where we're @BBC_Cumbria, external, or head to our Facebook page, external.

Do stay safe and have a good evening.

Up to four inches of rain and winds gusting to around 50mph, external are forecast for Cumbria tonight at Storm Bronagh because the second named storm in a week to affect the county.

Image source, Met Office

Rain is expected to continue into this evening, dropping up to 100mm (4in) in a few places, while winds will gust widely to 50mph, which is not as strong as Ali's gales earlier this week.

The Met Office says journey times could be longer with spray and flooding on roads, power siupplies could be interrupted and there could be flooding in a few places.

A Carlisle man has been found not guilty of rape after a trial at the city's crown court.

Mark George Farrell, 28, of St Ann's Crescent, had denied three charges, insisting the woman he was alleged to have attacked, had consented to what happened.

This afternoon the jury of six men and six women agreed that he was innocent.

Cumbria's Chamber of Commerce has again called for the government to underwrite plans for a new nuclear power station at Moorside, next to Sellafield.

Image source, NuGen

The developers, NuGen, have now confirmed they will lay off 60 of the 100 staff, with the remainder concentrating on finding a buyer for the business.

The Korean national company, Kepco, had been expected to take the firm over from the troubled Japanese technology giant, Toshiba, but with that plan in trouble, NuGen is looking for new buyers.

Rob Johnston, chief executive of the chamber, said Britain would need the power that Moorside could generate, and ministers should consider taking on a 25% share, as they had with a Welsh scheme.

BBC Weather

Storm Bronagh is expected to cross the county this evening, with further heavy and persistent rain expected through this evening and overnight, with some high rainfall totals likely.

It will become increasingly windy, especially after midnight with lowest temperatures around 5C (41F).

You can find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are, here.

Two men who caught the train to Kendal with drugs for sale have each been jailed for more than three years at Carlisle Crown Court.

Connor Jordan Halliwell and Kieran Sean Howe, both 25, both admitted carrying crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

Howe, from Lime Grove in Lancaster, was carrying the drugs, but the court heard the trip was a joint enterprise, and a mobile phone in their possession rang constantly after they were caught.

Recorder Julie Clemitson handed down 40-month jail terms to both Howe, and Halliwell, of West Road Lancaster, saying: "You were clearly crossing the county line, into Cumbria, in order to supply class A drugs."

The RMT union announces further action over train guards on the South Western and Northern networks.

Highways engineers say the new Bridge over the Eamont at Pooley Bridge, on the northern end of Ullswater, will now not be open until April 2020.

Image source, Cumbria County Council

They gave local people a revised timetable for the rebuilding of the bridge, to replace one washed away by Storm Desmond, at a public meeting this week.

It shows the existing temporary structure being removed in a year's time, with a footbridge in place to keep the two halves of the community connected, and with all work completed by May 2020.

Volunteers from the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team were called out twice in quick succession yesterday after walkers were blown off their feet by strong winds.

In the first call yesterday, in the Newlands valley, a 43-year-old man lost consciousness briefly after landing on his head, and his 73-year-old father suffered cuts and bruises. Bother were taken to hospital for treatment.

Two hours later, two women walking in the same area were blown over, with one suffering a suspected broken collar bone.

Both were driven to Keswick Cottage Hospital and then transferred to the Cumberland Infirmary at Carlisle.

Image source, Keswick MRT