OUR British, barbecue summer lasted just two days at the start of July in the North-East, before the customary thunderstorms arrived.

These signalled a rapid deterioration in our fortunes.

The Met Office’s forecast for the season – rainfall likely to be near or below average, a repeat of the very wet summers of 2007 and 2008 unlikely – was soon found to be sadly inappropriate.

The 1st was widely the hottest day for three years but even during that afternoon, a line of storms developed over the Pennines. These transferred north-east and caused flash-flooding to the north-west of Durham.

My colleague, Ken Cook, at Copley, near Barnard Castle, collected 88mm (3ins), much in one hour.

This represented six weeks of normal rainfall and was by far the wettest episode in his 40-year record.

Apart from some distant, muffled booms of thunder, many of us were unaware of this event, enjoying a lovely, sunny day.

The fine interlude was courtesy of high pressure over Scandinavia but this soon retreated into Russia. For the rest of the month, Atlantic depressions held sway.

Fronts associated with them brought a longer period of rain initially.

However, as the lows were slow-moving, it was several days before a replacement came and showers were generated readily on most days. These were often frequent and heavy, occasionally torrential, and accompanied by thunder, even hail.

One bonus with this regime was that there were good sunny spells as well and we managed our usual ration of sunshine over the month.

Also, temperatures were close to the mean, above by the sea, on the cool side by day but mild at night.

Thursday the 16th saw a departure from the routine when a small, innocuous- looking depression swung north-east into Biscay. As it crossed the Channel, it deepened and turned north, heading up the east coast on the Friday.

With winds ahead of it backing into the north-east, it provided the ideal situation to give our region a soaking and it certainly did. We were drenched with 50mm (2ins) or more and again, Copley copped the worst, amassing 101mm (4ins).

Further appreciable quantities on many remaining days of the month all added up to make it the wettest July for more than 30 years in some parts. A few spots like Carlton, near Stokesley, and Copley measured the highest amount in any month.

With volumes varying greatly from place to place in the downpours, there was a huge range in July totals.

These mounted up to at least double the average in most areas and at Copley to an incredible four times (268mm, 10.5ins).

On the other hand, Pickering received only 25 per cent over the norm (71mm, 2.8ins).

July figures for Carlton-in-Cleveland Mean Maximum: 19.7C, 67.5F, (0.7C, 1.3F); Mean Minimum: 12.1C, 54F, (+0.6C, +1.0F); Highest Maximum: 27.7C, 82F, 1st; Lowest Minimum: 8.0C, 46.5F, 11th; Total Rainfall: 177mm, 7.0ins, (+120mm, 4.7ins); Wettest Day: 34mm, 1.3ins, 16th and No of Rain Days, with 0.2mm (0.01ins) or more: 23 (+9).

(Figures in brackets show the difference from the 25-year mean, 1984-2008)