Which years have seen the UK’s wettest Junes?

Which years have seen the UK’s wettest Junes?

Three of the 10 wettest Junes on record have occurred during the past 12 years.

2007, 2012 and 2017 are all in the top 10, according to Met Office data.

June 2012 holds the record for the wettest ever, when an average of 5.9in (149mm) of rain fell across the UK.

In second place is 2007 (5.4in/136.2mm), with 1912 third (4.9in/124.5mm) and 1980 fourth (4.8in/121.3mm).

WEATHER Storms Statistics
(PA Graphics)

According to the Met Office, as of June 23 2019 the UK had received 131% of its average rainfall for this month.

By contrast, total rainfall in June 2012 was roughly 200% of the average.

The most severe downpours arrived at the end of that month. Torrential rain and thunderstorms on June 28 brought widespread flooding and left thousands of homes without power across the Midlands, north-east England, southern Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland.

Racegoers try to keep dry as heavy rain falls during a race meeting at York Racecourse (John Giles/PA)
Racegoers try to keep dry as heavy rain falls during a race meeting at York Racecourse in June 2012 (John Giles/PA)

Some 23,000 properties lost power across north-east England after electricity sub-stations were flooded.

Large hailstones damaged vehicles and greenhouses in Leicestershire, and a man drowned in floodwater in Shropshire.

Earlier in the month, rain had disrupted the Diamond Jubilee Thames pageant on June 3, caused significant flooding in Aberystwyth on June 8/9, and deluged caravan parks and properties in Chichester and Bognor Regis on June 12.

A landslip on the East Coast mainline in Northumberland in June 2012 (Network Rail/PA)
A landslip on the East Coast main line in Northumberland in June 2012 (Network Rail/PA)

And on June 22 yet more rain left many parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and West Yorkshire flooded, with a total of 8.2in (208mm) falling at Honister Pass in Cumbria.

Note: Met Office comparable data on rainfall begins in 1910. Figures for average rainfall are based on the period 1981-2010.

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