Summer 2012: the wettest for a century (and dullest for decades)

Flash floods hit Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, in June (PA)

The washout summer ending today was the wettest in Britain for 100 years, the Met Office said yesterday.

Provisional figures for this summer show it is likely to be the second wettest in the national rainfall record that goes back to 1910. But as the record was actually set in 1912, this year will go down as the most sodden summer for a century. Figures up to the 29 August show 366.8mm of rain fell across the UK from the start of June. The 1912 record is 384.4mm.

Summer 2012 is also likely to be one of the dullest summers on record with just 399 hours of sunshine up to 28 August. This makes it the dullest summer since 1980 when the UK saw only 396 hours of sunshine.