It's official – summer 2012 has been a complete washout!

Figures have confirmed it is the wettest since local records began – with almost half the rain predicted for the whole year falling in just three months.

A total of 256.4mm fell during June, July and August – beating the two previous wettest summers when 230mm fell in 2007 and 202mm in 1997.
The average rainfall for a year is about 520mm.

The figures have come from amateur meteorologist Ken Beal, corrwho has been measuring precipitation from his home in Eastchurch since 1994.

This year’s washout summer was mainly due to the unusually high rainfall in June – the wettest on record – which was 109.9mm, and July when 113.7mm came down.

Only 32.8mm was recorded in August, which is not that high as the month has reached triple figures before.

In June, the heaviest downpour was over the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend, when 26.4mm was recorded on Saturday 2 and 17.8mm on Sunday 3.

July had two particularly wet days – Friday 13, when there was 27.6mm, and Friday 20, which saw 32.7mm.

There was also a day when more than 20mm of rain came down in just over an hour.

In August, nearly half of the 32.8mm total came on Saturday 4 with 14.9mm.
The wettest August was in 2006, when there was 114mm, but that year there was only 8.6mm in July and 22mm in June.

Added to the rest of 2012’s rain, this means 419.5mm has been measured since January 1.

The driest month so far was February, when there was 13.1mm.

Mr Beal, 83, said: “There were some days when I don’t think it rained as much in Sheerness as up here.

“There was just a black cloud over Warden that wouldn’t move.

“We have had other years when it’s been wet but this is the wettest summer.

"September will probably be fairly dry – although it can be wet.”