From the UK Guardian - February 21, 2012:
Drought may be new norm for UK, says environment secretary
Drought may be the new norm for the UK, with drastic measures including growing genetically modified crops likely to be considered as part of the solution, the environment secretary has said.
With large parts of the south and south-east of England officially in drought, and areas of the Midlands at risk, Caroline Spelman warned that households across the south-east were likely to face water usage restrictions this spring, starting with hosepipe bans. Reservoirs have reached record lows in some places and rainfall would need to be more than a fifth higher than normal in the next three months to relieve the drought, but forecasters have said this is unlikely.
From the UK Meteorological Office - February 27, 2014:
Wettest winter for England and Wales since 1766
As February comes to an end provisional rainfall figures (from 1 December 2013 to 25 February 2014) confirm the UK has had its wettest winter since the national series records began in 1910.
New records have been set for many parts of the UK, with southeast and central southern England having seen well over double the rainfall expected in a normal winter.
Tip of the hat to Don Surber for the link.
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