By Philip Eden

We have just concluded the wettest July, averaged over the UK, since 1988, and August has started in very much the same vein. Earlier in the week severe thunderstorms brought dramatic short-lived downpours of tropical intensity, but the rain which well on Thursday night and Friday morning was prolonged and heavy without quite matching the ferocity of the earlier storms. Heaviest falls have included 115mm at Fylingdales on the North York Moors and 106mm at Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales in the 24 hours ending 10am on Friday, and 113mm at Penistone, near Barnsley, on Tuesday. These falls are the equivalent of six weeks' rainfall in less than a day, and of 65 million gallons of water per square mile, so it is hardly surprising that so many people were affected by flooding as the rain finally petered out. It is as though the entire contents of Windermere had been emptied over North Yorkshire on Friday morning.

July's rain was largely restricted to the first twelve and last two days; some parts of eastern and southern England had no measurable rain between the 11th and the 30th. Averaged over England and Wales the month's total of 90mm was 31% above the long-term mean, and the highest in July for 14 years. However the recent drying trend in July is well illustrated by the fact that there have been 25 wetter Julys in the last 100 years, but only one of those occurred during the last 30 years. Scotland had 108mm of rain (49% above), and Northern Ireland 83mm (30% above).

Mean temperature was slightly below the average for 1971-2000 in most parts of the country, although northeast Scotland enjoyed another rather warm month. The Central England Temperature of 16.0C was 0.5 degC below the long-term mean, but it was not as cool as the Julys of either 2000 or 1998. The first half of the month was persistently cool, but there was a short spell of great heat right at the end. The temperature peaked at 32.6C at Northolt in northwest London last Monday, the highest reading anywhere in the UK in July since 1996.

Sunshine was 10 per cent below normal over England and Wales, 35 per cent below in Scotland and 17 per cent below in Northern Ireland. Averaged over England and Wales it was the dullest July since 1992 but in parts of Scotland it was the dullest since 1931.

(c) Philip Eden