Millions of historical monthly rainfall observations taken in the UK and Ireland rescued by citizen scientists
https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/gdj3.157 https://en.x-mol.com/paper/article/1507846240026345472 https://climate-science.press/2022/03/26/rescued-victorian-rainfall-data-smashes-former-records Notable details uncovered by Rainfall Rescue volunteers include:
The driest year on record is now 1855 (786.5mm), thanks to the new data.
For many regions and England as a whole, the driest May on record was May 2020 (for England 9.6mm), when some volunteers were still helping confirm the Rainfall Rescue transcriptions. In doing so they shifted those records back to May 1844 (for England 8.3mm).
November/December 1852 were confirmed as exceptionally wet months – December 1852 now being the third wettest month on record in Cumbria (364.9mm) and November 1852 being the wettest month on record for large parts of southern England. Floods are known to have occurred in a number of locations at this time, and are known as the Duke of Wellington Floods as they started around the time of his state funeral in London.
Observations were made by people from a range of backgrounds – such as ‘Lady Bayning’, who recorded rainfall in Norfolk between 1835-1887, even taking her rainfall gauge to London for the social season.