The U.K., suffering from limits on water use because of a drought lasting 22 months, had its wettest April since at least 1910, the Met Office said.
With more rain forecast tonight, the U.K. has had 121.8 millimeters (4.8 inches) this month, beating the prior record of 120.3 millimeters in 2000 and compared with an average for April of 69.6 millimeters, the state forecaster said in a statement.
“Further rain is to come overnight tonight as outbreaks of heavy and possibly thundery rain affect southern England and Wales,” the Met Office said today in the statement.
Rain has led to 188 flood warnings and alerts across Wales and England, including for the Thames river west of London and around the city of Oxford, the Environment Agency said.
The wet month follows the fifth driest March on record, the Met Office said. April has also been cooler on average than March for the first time since 1998, it said. Figures to April 25 show the mean temperature this month has been 6.1 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit), after March’s 7.7 degrees.
Kemble Water Holdings Ltd.’s Thames Water unit, the U.K.’s largest water company serving 8.8 million homes and businesses in London, joined six other utilities by imposing restrictions on consumption, from April 5. Hose-pipe bans limit the use of garden hoses to water yards, wash cars, fill pools, ponds and fountains, and clean windows, walls and patios.
Liscombe in Somerset has had the most rainfall this month with 273.8 millimeters, more than three times the average.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-30/u-dot-k-dot-posts-wettest-april-in-102-year-record-met-office-says
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