Source: Wunderground.com - 12/25/12, By Sandiquiz
As this is primarily a weather site I thought I would post a weather related entry for the last entry of 2012.
2012 had been a year of records here in the UK. Record drought at the beginning of the year, record wet at the end!
Since April 9th, when the rain's arrival brought an end to the driest spring on record, it has rained almost non-stop. April, June, October and November were record breaking months, and as yet December hasn't been added into the equation.
The amount of rainfall this year will probably rate 2012 as the wettest on record. So far we are at the fifth wettest since records began and once the month of December has been added in it will be near the wettest on record, if not break the record.
This graph shows the rain in my area - Bedfordshire is the next county - and as far as rainfall has gone, we haven't had as much as other areas of the UK.
Some images of the floods this week. The road closed sign is similar to several I saw yesterday ... my trip to and from my aunt's was certainly circuitous!
But we are not the only area of Europe suffering extremes....
There is extreme cold in Eastern Europe/Russia and a heat wave in southern France.
This image was taken yesterday in Russia's southern city of Stavropol....I think it is beautiful, in a chilly sort of way!
Officials say the icy conditions in Eastern Europe are probably the most severe of the last 70 years, where temperatures have been about 12 degrees C lower than the seasonal norm. In the last two weeks alone 123 people have died from the cold in Russia, 88 in Ukraine and 67 in Poland.
Whilst Eastern Europe shivers and digs themselves out of the snow, the south of France is experiencing temperatures 12 degrees C higher than average. It is reported that they are donning swimsuits and heading for the beach!
The weather extremes are the result of the jet stream, which has been erratic this year, to say the least! This winter, the jet stream is particularly wavy, pulling cold air in over Russia from the far north, and bringing hotter air up from the south over France, and trapping sodden Britain in the middle!
And looking at the forecast for the end of the month, it looks like the stream of deep depressions haven't finished with us yet!
ROLL ON 2013!!!
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Surface pressure for the UK.
Rainfall for the UK
Rainfall radar!
