30 Jun 2012

Wet year in Britain

10:41 am on 30 June 2012

April to June this year is the wettest second quarter in Britain since records began in 1910.

Up to 27 June, total rainfall was 130.1mm - 6mm short of the 2007 record.

It is already the wettest June on record for Wales, with 186.3mm of rain this month, compared with the previous record of 183.1mm set in 1998.

Torrential rain is still falling in some parts of the country. The West Coast main railway line between England and Scotland was closed for a second time on Friday and thousands in north-east England had no electricity.

Many roads were impassable on Thursday in Northern Ireland after downpours on Wednesday night.

But four water companies, Sutton and East Surrey Water, South East Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water South East still have hosepipe bans in place. The BBC reports they rely heavily on water from chalk aquifers.