Further rainfall this week topped up the November figure to 188mm by yesterday, with a total of 459mm recorded since the start of September.
John Searson, principal meteorologist at Jersey Met, said autumn 2019 was already the third-wettest on record, and that the figures for 1952 (461mm) and 1929 (476mm) could be surpassed.
‘There is likely to be further rain on Saturday which would take us closer to the 1929 figure,’ he said. ‘We did have an incredibly wet October, and November has seen a lot of rain as well.’
Mr Searson said that after a dry start to autumn, which meteorologists classify as beginning on 1 September, the current wet spell began when 77mm of rain was recorded during the final nine days of September.
The ongoing rainy conditions have caused problems for the National Trust for Jersey, which has had to suspend the annual project to manage the reed-beds at the wetlands in St Ouen.
Senior Ranger Neil Harvey said: ‘We began cutting and burning sections of reed, but water levels rose by 80cm and we couldn’t carry on – it’s not safe to be wading through knee-high water.’
Mr Harvey said that some of the heaviest rain earlier in November had coincided with high tides that meant the sluice gate used to empty water from the wetlands had been unable to cope with the volume of water.
‘It’s been a year of extremes – this is the wettest period I have experienced in 15 years working for the Trust, and earlier this year we had areas which completely dried up, which was again a first during my time,’ he said. ‘We may be able to resume work on the reed-beds, but we’d need a couple of dry weeks in order for the water levels to drop.’
A large number of trees on National Trust land have also been casualties of the weather – Mr Harvey said soil around root areas had become saturated, leaving trees vulnerable to high winds.
A change in the weather is on the way, according to the Met Office, which is forecasting mainly dry and bright weather from Sunday onwards, with maximum temperatures of 9°C on Sunday and Monday.
Wettest autumns (September/October/November) on record
1929 – 476mm
1952 – 461.5mm
2019 – 459.4mm (to 9am Thursday)
