Region suffers wettest year on record (From The Northern Echo)
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Region suffers wettest year on record
6:19pm Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News By Stuart Minting
Flooding on the A167 near Croft in September
THE past 12 months were the wettest on record in the North-East and North Yorkshire, according to data released by the Met Office.
While the region was deluged by 30 per cent more rain than average, County Durham was among the hardest hit areas in the North-East, with 44 per cent above average rainfall.
Bainbridge in Wensleydale was inundated by the largest amount of rain, 1,354mm, which topped the area's 30-year average of 1,262mm.
A Met Office spokesman said the region had been inundated due to the Atlantic jet stream persistently remaining in an unusually southerly position, particularly from April to June.
He said the jet stream movement was due to global patterns and researchers had linked it to Arctic ice melting.
The National Farmers Union said the wet weather had led to a £1.3bn black hole on Britain's farms.
Met Office chief scientist, Prof Julia Slingo, said: "The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK.
"Much more research is needed to understand more about the causes and potential implications."
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