United States

Wet UK Summer Exacts a Toll

September 12, 2012; 7:59 AM

The abnormally wet summer that helped put an end to the major drought in the UK has reportedly also cost dearly some segments of the economy.

Summer of 2012 was the wettest in 100 years, according to the UK Met Office.

The result is that a wide range of businesses have taken a financial hit, to the tune of 1 billion pounds (over $1.6 billion), the BBC News website said recently.

Farmers, tourist operators, insurers and event organizers suffered losses, according to the BBC.

A guide rail affords dry passage for pedestrians along a flooded street in Jarrow, England, Aug. 5, 2012, following torrential rain (AP Photo/Scott Heppell).

For instance, people have stayed away from tourist attractions and campgrounds, shaving the cash take for operators.

"It's been a catastrophic year, worse that anybody's known," said Gary Rogers, who runs Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream. "We're down 50 percent on last year," he added.

Hundreds of millions of pounds in losses were attributed to cutbacks to camping and other outdoor pursuits, as well as lower visitation to tourist sites.

On the farm, crops have rotted.

Bees were less active, cutting the honey business in half.

The health of livestock has suffered, owing to the wet footing in soggy paddocks.

The weather-related loss to agriculture "approaches 600 million pounds," the BBC said.

The period of June through August saw average rainfall of 370.7 mm (14.59 inches) of rain across the UK. This was second highest summer rainfall in the UK weather record. The summer of 1912 had 384.4 mm (15.14 inches).

Meteorological data accessed by AccuWeather.com showed summer rainfall of 200 percent to more than 400 percent of normal in much of UK and Ireland.

Estimated rainfall at Brize Norton, in the west Midlands, was 417 percent of normal. Rainfall at London's Heathrow was a more moderate 138 percent of normal.

Last summer was also the dullest since 1987, having an average of only 413 hours of sunshine, according to the Met Office.

The Met Office report did not give normal amounts of either rainfall or sunshine.

The summer was cooler than normal, albeit by only an average of 0.4 degrees C.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com