A total of 38.6mm – or just over one-and-a-half inches – was recorded in the 24 hours to 10am yesterday, leaving the ground saturated and testing the Island’s infrastructure.
Excess rainwater was stored in the Cavern beneath Snow Hill until it could safely be discharged into the sea during the afternoon after the rain had eased and high tide had passed.
The honorary police attended a landslide that blocked one lane of the road in Waterworks Valley at around 7.30am, while at the same time staff from the Environment Department helped to deal with flooding on Grande Route de St Clement near Le Rocquier School. There were also reports of standing water at Grands Vaux and Vallée des Vaux.
The rainfall total measured at Maison St Louis in St Helier was the highest daily figure since 40.6mm was recorded on 30 October last year. It was even wetter in the north of the Island, with a 24-hour total figure of 49.8mm recorded at Howard Davis Farm in Trinity.
Matthew Winter, of Jersey Met, said the only wetter June day recorded since 1894 was 9 June 1982, when 55.4mm was recorded at Maison St Louis.
The deluge follows a very dry May, with just 17.2mm recorded across the entire month. Mr Winter said that a spell of calmer weather was forecast from today onwards, with showers dying out this afternoon and predominantly dry conditions for the next few days, with predicted maximum temperatures of around 19°C.
