UK weather: October sees wettest day on record with enough rainfall to fill Loch Ness

The UK had its wettest day since records began in 1891 earlier this month, with the level of rainfall exceeding the volume of water in Loch Ness.

The Met Office said that Saturday 3 October, the day after Storm Alex hit the UK, saw an average of 31.7mm of rainfall falling across the UK.

This beat the previous record of 29.8mm from 25 August 1986, according to the national weather service.

The new record comes after February was declared the wettest on record, following downpours brought by three storms - Ciara, Dennis and Jorge - that month.

As a result of these records, Dr Mark McCarthy, who is the head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said this year would be remembered for its rain.

“In climate statistics, 2019 will be remembered for possessing the UK’s hottest day, whereas 2020 will be associated with rainfall records,” he said.

Dr McCarthy also said that the total amount of rain that fell on 3 October would have more than filled Loch Ness, which holds 7.4 cubic kilometers of water.

"It is exceptional to have 30 to 50mm or more of rain falling so extensively across the UK - from the south coast of England to the north coast of Scotland - in a single day,” he added.

Grahame Madge, a climate spokesman for the Met Office, said climate change would mean that the UK was “likely to witness” further rainfall records, as a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture.

"The UK's rainfall record contains many extreme events but it is clear from the UK's climate projections that with warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers we can expect increasingly more extreme rainfall records toward the end of the century,” Mr Madge said.

Met Office data shows that October has been a very wet month so far, as more than 20 counties in the UK have already had more than a month’s worth of rain.

As well as the two rainfall records, another weather record was broken earlier this year when May became the sunniest ever month, with its 266 hours of sunshine eclipsing the 265 seen in June 1957.

Read more

Storm Jorge: Britain sees wettest February on record

Heavy rain and flood warnings for UK after battering by Storm Alex