THE Met Office has confirmed that 2012 had the wettest summer on record.
August’s rainfall at Ronaldsway measured 126.6mm, almost double the long-term average for the month.
June and July were also significantly wetter than average. The total rainfall across June, July and August came to 381.5mm, which easily surpasses the previous record of 329.9mm from back in 1985. Ronaldsway’s records began in 1947.
The rain was often unusually varied around the island last month.
On August 5, a thunderstorm caused some flooding just over Douglas, and a similar intense downpour caused problems, again mostly for Douglas and the east, on the 29th.
The thousands enjoying the sun at the Jurby Festival on the 26th may be surprised to learn that there was 18mm of rain at the Point Of Ayre that morning. Heavy rain over high ground also caused problems with road damage and land slips. On the 27th there was 16mm of rain at Ronaldsway, but over 60mm on the hills.
Despite all the rain, other areas of the weather weren’t too far from the long term averages.
The mean daily maximum was 17.5C; about half a degree below normal, but the mean night minima of 13.0C was about half a degree above normal. The warmest day was the 10th with 19.5C achieved at Ronaldsway.
The wind averaged out at 9.9 knots, which is normal for the time of year, with a peak gust of 38 knots on the 27th.
Sunshine totalled 169 hours, which is 17 hours below the long term average.
There were 3 days with fog observed at Ronaldsway, and a funnel cloud (small tornado) was seen over Onchan on the 4th.