IT WILL be news to no-one that August was a very wet month. For some, it was the wettest August on record and for a few places, the worst drenching received in any month. Everywhere had at least twice the usual rainfall, with one or two spots accumulating three-and-a-half times their normal ration.

Here at Carlton in Cleveland, near Stokesley, it was comfortably (or rather, uncomfortably) the wettest August in my 22 years of records with 157mm (6.2ins), about 250pc of the month's average. The former holder of this dubious accolade was in 1993, when 130mm (5.1ins) fell, with August 1986 not far behind. It was my third wettest of any month, after April and November, both in 2000 - what a year that was - with 169mm and 174mm (6.6ins and 6.8ins) respectively.

Trying to looking on the positive side of this soaking, we had only 16 "rain" days, those with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more. This was less than in August 1985 when there were 21, but with only 98mm (3.8ins) of rain. So, at least this time around, half of the days during the month were dry and fortunately, many of these were at the weekends. But, when it rained, it often poured.

No better example of this was on the 9th and 10th when in excess of 50mm (2ins) fell over much of the region, with up to 25mm (1ins) tumbling down in just an hour. My colleague, Bill Wade, in Pateley Bridge, measured nigh on 80mm (3.2ins), the most he's ever recorded in a day in his more than 20 years of data. The remnants of the first hurricane of the year, caught up in the depression and its associated rain belt that brought all this rain, could be blamed in part for its heaviness.

Another dousing, again with more than 50mm (2ins) in parts, notably this time around Bishop Auckland, occurred on the 19th. Flooding was widespread on both these occasions and locally on other days in the downpours that characterised this month. It was relatively minor compared to the catastrophe at Boscastle, and to a lesser extent, at other nearby villages in the north of Cornwall on the 16th.

A freak combination of factors led to a deluge over the moors there of up to 200mm (8ins) in less than a day, about two to three months of normal rain, much in only a few hours.

Thunder, too, was manifest. I heard it on seven days, more than in any other month in my 22 years of observations here. In the past, I'd noted six days in July 1988, June 1990 and August 1996. Seven was the total for the whole year in both 1989 and 2002.

Other features of the month have been eclipsed by its wetness, but it was the fifth warmer-than-average August in succession and marginally the mildest since that of 1997. Admittedly there was no really hot days, though temperatures on the 8th and 9th did climb widely to over 26.5C (80F), the warmest days of the year.

The mildness was primarily at night and particularly during the first two weeks. Mean minima for many were the second highest for any month in the last twenty years or so, after those of August 1997.

Lowest temperatures early on Monday the 9th in places were the "balmiest" on record. It was the first night in my logs during which the mercury failed to fall below 20C (68F); the previous highest minimum was 19.3C (67F) on August 19, 1996.

The end of July saw an anticyclone transfer north-east across the country to settle over Scandinavia at the beginning of August. This was the first high to influence our weather for about six weeks. Unfortunately, this was short-lived and the last instance until the very end of the month.

Throughout August, low pressure systems headed our way across the Atlantic. During the first half, they came to a standstill off the South-West Approaches resulting in warm, moist, mainly south-easterly winds over Britain. Low cloud and mist were a frequent occurrence during this period especially along the coast.

As the month progressed, the depressions tended to track further north so by the end of the month, the final one became slow-moving to the north of Scotland.

This generally meant that winds veered towards the west as time passed by and, consequently, it became much fresher. A couple of lows also crossed the country in the latter half of August, giving brief, cool spells with northerly winds for a day or two each time.

The month ended with a ridge of high pressure nosing into southern England with a hint of more settled weather in prospect and a chance to dry out.

Not surprisingly, it was a very wet summer with about 175pc of expected rainfall amounts. I recorded 313mm (12.3ins) making it my second soggiest season.

This easily beat the total in the previous wettest summer, 265mm (10.4ins) in 1987, but was well behind autumn 2000 with 388mm (15.25ins). Also, the 14 days with thunder was four more than in the last most thundery season, summer 1994.

It was the fourth consecutive mild summer with temperatures about 0.5C (1F) above the norm, despite the slightly cool July.

AUGUST TEMPERATURES & RAINFALL at

CARLTON in CLEVELAND

Mean max 20.5C, 69F (+0.4C, 0.75F)

Mean min 13C, 55.5F (+1.6C, 3F)

Highest max 27.2C, 81F, 7th

Lowest min 6.2C, 43F, 22nd

Total rainfall 157mm, 6.2ins (+92mm, +3.65ins)

Wettest day 51mm, 2ins, 9th

No of rain days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more 16 (+3)

(Figures in brackets show the

difference from the 21-year mean, 1983-2003)