Widespread, soaking rain invaded Ireland, England, Wales and southern Scotland on Thursday night and Friday. As of Saturday morning, rainfall topped 2 inches locally. Northern and middle Wales, for instance, had widespread rainfall of 1.5 to 3.0 inches. At Hawarden, it was 2.6 inches; Capel Curg got 2.5 inches. South of Wales, the West Country of England had 3.4 inches of rain at Liscombe. Northeastern England to the Scottish borders had amounts to at least 2 inches, as did eastern Ireland, Dublin included.

A storm that this week soaked a broad swath of eastern Australia, mostly over southern Queensland to eastern New South Wales, spun slowly away from the coast on Saturday. In its wake it left rainfall of 10.1 inches as of Friday night, local time, at Dorrigo, northeastern New South Wales. Storm impact on Saturday was confined mostly to the coast of middle New South Wales, both north and south of Sydney. Rainfall reached 3.3 inches at Observatory Hill, Sydney, and 2.5 inches at Sydney Airport. Farther north, amounts were about 7 inches at Nelson Bay, Gosford, Mangrove Mountain and Peats Ridge. Southerly gales--winds sustained above 40 mph--whipped the shore north of Sydney.

Although early September is prime time for tropical storms and typhoons in the western North Pacific Ocean, this week has been exceptionally quiet. And indications are that this tranquility with respect to tropical weather will carry forward to next week.