WEDNESDAY was the wettest July day for 35 years.
50.7 mm of rain was recorded at the St Louis Observatory from 10 am on Wednesday to 10 am on Thursday - making the period the most sodden 24 hours in July since 1969, when 67 mm fell at the Wellington Hill station.
The Island is now calming after a thundery few days in which roads flooded, trees were uprooted and a number of boats escaped their moorings and were smashed against rocks.
The unseasonal tempest was caused by a thundery low pressure system which moved north from Spain and into South Biscay.
Although the Met Office was a little modest in its forecast, predicting that Wednesday would be ‘a little breezy’, the wind actually picked up to gale force eight, with the highest gust recorded at 52 mph.
With the low pressure stalling over Brittany, Brest experienced the worst of the rainfall with the island of Ushant on its western tip recording 88 mm.
RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire was the wettest spot in the UK, recording 56.6 mm of rain.
Article posted on 9th July, 2004 - 12.00am
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