Rain tonight could make April a wet record-breaker (From York Press)

Rain tonight could make April a wet record-breaker

5:50pm Monday 30th April 2012 in News By Gavin Aitchison, gavin.aitchison@thepress.co.uk

FLOODING continued to cause disruption in and around York, as experts confirmed this year’s April as one of the wettest since British records began.

The riverside staithes beside the River Ouse remained underwater today and motorists encountered difficulties on many roads due to localised flooding. The B1222 near Naburn was only just passable at times.

Further rain is expecetd tonight, and weather experts will tomorrow be checking their guages to ascertain how this April compares with the previous wettest ones recorded.

The Met Office said today that, based on figures up to the 29th of the month, this April had been the wettest for the UK as a whole since their records began 1910.

But MeteoGroup, a separate organisation which covers England and Wales only but which has records since 1765, said it was the third or fourth wettest they had recorded, and said it was touch and go whether this year would be marginally less or more wet than April 2000.

By Sunday, the UK had already seen 121.8mm of rain so far – compared to an average of 69.6mm, claimed the Met Office.

MeteoGroup said England and Wales had had about 130mm of rainfall by Sunday, compared to 143mm in 2000.

The Environment Agency expected the Ouse in York to peak late this afternoon at three metres above normal summer levels, before beginning to subside. Friday’s peak was at 3.8 metres above normal.

Despite the rain, many parts of England remain officially in drought.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "Following two dry winters and record low levels of rainfall, water reserves are still under pressure in many parts of the UK.

"While we welcome the rain we have received recently, we cannot be complacent and still need everyone to save water where they can."