EAST Lancashire experienced a wetter but more frost clear 12 months than in previous years in contrast to a rollercoaster of extreme weather across the country. in 2014.

The National Trust’s annual round-up of the year in nature has revealed the full extent of the dramatic changes in the weather in the region in 2014.

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But the Lancashire Telegraph’s weather expert Roy Chetham has said that while the weather was turbulent elsewhere, East Lancashire’s weather was only fractionally worse than in other years.

The average rainfall for 53 inches in the region compared to the average of 50 inches and there was less frost until the middle of December.

The National Trust labelled 2014 the ‘year of the biting fly’ with horseflies and mosquitoes benefitting from the warm and often wet summer, while slugs, swallows and house martins, and frogs and toads all did well.

The report said that from the stormy winter at the beginning of the year to a ‘superb’ June, a very wet August and one of the driest Septembers on record, it was a topsy-turvy year in East Lancashire.

It also said that the UK’s plants and animals are facing a challenging future and that this year could be a sign of things to come.

The mild weather in winter and spring saw insects and spring plants such as snowdrops emerging early and red squirrels malting earlier.

But by September, the driest on record and one of the warmest, trees were dropping their leaves early and there was an abundance of autumn nuts, seeds and berries.

Mr Chetham said: “The national picture might be different but East Lancashire was only a bit worse than other years.

“We are used to extreme levels of rain here so the storms in other areas of the country are nothing new to us.”

National Trust nature and wildlife specialist Matthew Oates said: “The greatest challenge for wildlife this year, and perhaps a sign of things to come, was the extreme weather.

“This, combined with the loss of habitat, means that nature is in for a bumpy ride in the years ahead as shown by the rollercoaster that many species endured in 2014.

“This was a remarkable year for much of our wildlife, with many extreme highs and lows. Some species fared exceptionally well, others very poorly, with many faring differently from region to region.”