Long-standing weather records have been smashed by a stormy, yet warm December, the Met Office's early figures suggest.
Scotland, Wales and the north-west of England all had the wettest December in more than a century. A UK mean temperature of 8C (46F) broke records too and would have felt more like a day in April or May.
The Met Office said storms Desmond, Eva and, most recently, Frank were behind the record rainfall, while a humid south-westerly airflow kept it warm.
