Britain set for wettest summer on record

LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) This summer looks set to have been the wettest in Britain since records began as the Jet Stream sucked in successive depressions, the Met Office said.

Provisional data up to August 28 showed that Britain as a whole had 358.5 millimetres of rain, just beating the previous record of 358.4 mm set in 1956. Records began in 1914.

''These figures confirm what most people have already been thinking -- this summer has been very wet and very disappointing for most,'' said Keith Groves, Head of Forecasting at the Met Office.

He said the reason was that the Jet Stream -- a set of very strong winds at high altitude -- had been further south than in a normal summer.

However, while the weather may have been the soggiest on record with major flooding in many parts of the country, it was also relatively warm, averaging 14.1 degrees Celsius.

And while England far exceeded the previous record rainfall at 324.2 mm against 308.2 mm in 1956, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the rainfall fell short of previous records.

Northern Ireland had 374.5 mm of rain against 404.0 mm in 1958, while Scotland had 383.3 mm against 453.6 in 1985. Wales had 469.9 mm compared with 499.5 in 1927.

Reuters GL RN1414