The Cornish village where it has rained every day this year
It rained for 50 days in a village in Cornwall, receiving more rainfall than it would have received in the entire month of February.
Cardinham, near Bodmin, has not experienced a dry day since December 30 and has experienced 441.4mm of rain since the start of the year, according to the Met Office. However, the village has still not achieved the record it set in 2000, when it rained for 72 consecutive days.
The UK has been repeatedly hit by unstable weather conditions this winter, with Storm Pedro bringing more ice and rain across the country this week.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said the south-west of England had particularly high rainfall levels due to multiple low pressure systems heading towards the UK.
“There was a blocking area of high pressure over Scandinavia for much of the winter, which meant it was difficult to move around because the air was so cold and so dense,” Mr Madge said. “So these low pressure storms come across the Atlantic with nowhere to go. They hit this dormant block and that means they dump more rain on parts of the UK because they can’t move any further due to the area blocked by the high pressure.”
Mr Madge said it was still forecast to rain in Cardinham over the coming days, but the bad weather could soon ease as conditions began to improve. “We are still faced with an unstable situation,” he said. “The forecast has softened a bit as we have had periods where conditions were more stable between hits of rain.”
The downpour in England gave Northern Ireland its wettest January in history, with 70 per cent more rainfall than the long-term average. South-west England and the east of Scotland also had among the wettest Januarys in history.
The Environment Agency currently has 67 flood warnings for England where flooding is expected and 169 for places where flooding is likely. The UK Health Safety Agency has issued a cold health warning for the East Midlands, eastern England, the North East, the North West, the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West until Friday evening.
Weekly weather forecast from Meteorology
Thursday
Mostly cloudy, with early rain or showers in the north and east. There are some apparent spells elsewhere before strengthening winds later bring heavy rain to Northern Ireland and Western Scotland. Coolness begins in places where the sky is clear but there is no freezing.
Friday
A cold start. The rain will move eastward in the morning. A brighter afternoon with heavy and showery rain for many. Winds will become stronger and lighter from the west.
Outlook from Saturday to Monday
Much milder, but mostly cloudy with rain or drizzle, heaviest in the west, with brighter periods at times. Rain continues to rain on Sunday. While the weather will brighten for a short time on Monday, the rain will spread further.
