UK: May - July Wettest on Record

Daily Express report; says: 'The three months from May to July have been the wettest on record even before July is over, the Met Office has revealed. Figures show that 387.6mm of rain have already fallen across England and Wales, making it the wettest May to July since records began in 1766. The figures will come as no surprise to the thousands of people who have been forced from their homes by the recent devastating floods - the worst in modern times. The total rainfall was 208% higher than the average for May to July, forecasters said.

The extreme rainfall in June, where 103.1mm of rain fell at Fylingdales in North Yorkshire in a 24 hour period between June 24 and 25, was followed by a similar deluge in July when Pershore College in Worcestershire saw 120.8mm of rain fall on July 20. Both downpours resulted in extensive flooding across much of England and Wales.

Research by the Met Office has for the first time identified a link between human activity and global rainfall patterns. Peter Stott, climate scientist at the Met Office, said: "This latest study cannot make the link between climate change and what we have experienced so far this summer. However, with a warmer climate there could be an increase in extreme rainfall events despite the expected general trend toward drier summers."

The figures were revealed ahead of a Met Office briefing on Thursday on the extraordinary weather. Met Office scientists will try to explain why the UK has been experiencing such unsettled conditions.