Fen Blow phenomenon: Farmers concerned as winds threaten

Overwintered leeks were buried in sand at a Suffolk farm after the Fen Blow in April

A weather phenomenon known as the Fen Blow, where high winds blow topsoil off fields, is threatening to cause crop damage for farmers in the east again.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning with gales of up to 60mph forecast to hit exposed regions.

Farmers whose fledgling crops were damaged by winds in mid-April said they were "keeping a watching brief".

One said: "Everything is very vulnerable now. If the blow hits again, crops could be wiped out".

In April, gusts of up to 55mph (88kph) hit the Fens, initially causing problems for drivers in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

'Very concerned'

Drivers were forced to pull over as soil and sand blew off fields. One driver said it was "like driving through Marmite".

Later, farmers reported damage to young crops after "cover crops" - designed to protect them from the elements - were blown away.

Brian Rutterford, who farms on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, said at the time another Fen Blow "could wreck" his crops.

He is one of a number of farmers in the east closely monitoring the weather system as it develops.

Soil and sand blew off fields in the Fens last month causing visibility problems for drivers

Jim Bacon, a weather analyst with Weatherquest, said the forecast was for "quite unusually windy weather for early May".

"It certainly could be enough to cause a pretty bad blow," he added.

Mr Rutterford said: "Everything is very dry and vulnerable at the moment.

"We have been watering but there's not much else we can do. We lost two or three inches of cover soil in some place and the leeks, carrots and onions are very exposed."

He said about 300 acres of crops were potentially at risk.

Andrew Blenkiron, director of the Euston Estate Farm in Suffolk, lost 5% of his sugar beet crop in April.

"We're very concerned about the forecast as the sugar beet has now emerged and is highly vulnerable," he said.

Although the land has also been irrigated, he said about 400 acres could be damaged by another Fen Blow.