Storms make for a wet May

The two thunderstorms occurring near the end of last month made May almost twice as wet as the norm, according to the Meteorological Office.

Rain at this time of year usually spells bad news for farmers and those who have their crops out to dry. However, farmers said that since the rain was accompanied by strong winds there was little if any damage to the crops.

May had a slightly warmer average temperature, although a lower than average spell between May 15 and 25.

This was followed by the warmest, sunniest day last month, which unfortunately for office workers happened to be a working day - Wednesday 26. At 26.9˚C, it fell short of reaching the hottest May day ever, which was a baking May 23, 2006, when the mercury reached 35.3˚C.

May, following in April's footsteps, was not as sunny as usual, with an average of nine hours, six minutes of sunshine a day - 36 minutes less than usual.