East Lancashire experiencing ‘mini monsoon’ according to weather expert (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire experiencing ‘mini monsoon’ according to weather expert

12:07pm Friday 6th January 2012 in News By Catherine Pye, Reporter

EAST Lancashire is experiencing a ‘mini monsoon’, according to a local weather expert.

Roy Chetham, who collates data from his monitoring station at his home in Huncoat, said there wasn’t one dry day for the whole of December, with rainfall up 163 per cent on average for the time of year.

He said: “It’s very unusual for it to be like this.

There’s been about 37 continuous days with rainfall.

“We had rain two days before the end of November and there hasn’t been a day without it since.

“It’s due to a persistent westerly air flow, bringing in moisture from over the Atlantic, which is so vast.

“There seems to be no relief whatsoever, it’s still happening.

“Usually when you get a rainbelt there is an area behind it which is clear, but that isn’t happening here, and I have no explanation for it.”

Although there have been more prolonged periods of rain, Mr Chetham said it was the fifth wettest December in the last 39 years.

As well as rain, he also noted two days of snow fall and a further nine with sleet or hail.

His records also revealed that last month was the mildest December nationally and in his 40-year experience.

The annual mean temperature was 10.3°C – the third warmest year in his records.

It was 1.1°C above the norm for the time of year and only 0.1°C less than 2006 and 0.2°C less than 1990.

There was only half the usual number of ground frosts.

He said: “People were getting used to the idea that winters were mild until we had the two previous harsh winters. This is what we expected but it has been a topsy turvy month.

“Nationally it has been the third warmest on record over the past 10 years. It has been warmer during the day and night, but that could all change and we could get a cold snap as the month is not over yet."

John Prior, national climate manager at the Met Office, said: “While it may have felt mild for many in December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect.

“It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm.”