How Wet Has 2012 Been? Rainfall in the UK in 2012

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the UK has had a wet year overall in 2012. Since the drought earlier in the year came to an abrubt end, hardly a week has gone by without some part of the country suffering with floods, damaged homes, ruined crops and disrupted transport.

But has the year really been exceptionally wet? Surprisingly, the answer is not so clear cut.

For one thing, there was a definite deficit in the first few months of 2012. Secondly, some parts of the UK have actually had below average rainfall (up to 28 December) this year.

So what exactly has been unusual about the year? Well, the drought does mean that we had some 'catching up' to do. For many of us, the twelve months' average precipitation has mostly fallen in about nine months. Heavy rain, especially when repeated so it falls on saturated soil, does cause more flood problems than a steady rainfall would do.

But the really unusual thing about 2012 has been the rainfall distribution. Taken against the long term average, Northwest Scotland has been 'dry', while Southeast England has been wet. But absolute amounts of precipitation, as measured by the Met Office show that rainfall has been distributed with unusual evenness.

For example, Northwest Scotland and western parts of Northern Ireland had about 80% of the long term average rainfall, with Scotland as a whole receiving about 1500 mm (near average).

Meanwhile, Northern England experienced 129% of the long term average, with over 1200 mm falling here.

In fact, most of the wettest areas, when compared with their long term averages, formed a distinct band extending from the East Midlands to Northeast England and Southeast Scotland (normally relatively dry areas), with another band roughly from sheltered East Devon to the South Midlands. Meanwhile, most of Cornwall and Wales has had rainfall near or only a little above average.

And rainfall for the UK as a whole in 2012? That's been around 113% of the 30-year average. That makes it a wet year, certainly, but not an exceptional one.

So, 2012 has been marked by unusual rainfall patterns across the UK, rather than an unusual amount of rain. Not that that is any comfort to you if you've suffered from a flooded home, waterlogged fields or lost business in this highly unusual year.

Products related to this article