Hi Mary,
As you must know Britain is a fairly small group of islands. Our surface area would fit into one or two of your states, however, the huge variation in land features has always meant big regional differences. Scotland and the North are traditionally wetter and the South warmer but this year, instead of the chronic water shortages of last year are replaced this year with floods not seen for 100 years (and this is mid-summer not snow-melt or autumn rain).
We have got locked into a situation where the je-streams up high are funneling low pressure above us which is rubbing shoulders with VERY hot european and North-african weather triggering huge thunderstorms and causing an evaporation/condensation situation not unlike tropical monsoons.
A number of years ago I travelled down the west coast of the USA and remember down in the orange groves of California the huge gulleys carved out by flash floods a few months earlier. This is what is happening here.
This year I planted climbing beans in a large redundant plastic dustbin (trash can). Knowing that they like a good amount of water I did not overdo the drainage holes, result, one bin FULL of water. Even beans can't cope with that. Result, root death and a lesson learned.
In the last week, if anything, the rain has been worse but the plants seem to have said, ok so it's wet but we'll grow and flower anyway. Huge growth now but a little lacking in colour (color). Here we are well into the Northern Hemisphere but my banana tree is loving it.
Except for this week, lt has been warm and humid, now a little cooler but still wet.
Sorry if you feel jealous but we would happily export some rain at present.
The damage here could run into hundreds of millions. I just hope that we move quicker here than the US did in New Orleans. Flooding causes such variable and complex damage to society.
Chins up, we can take it. We will just have to keep planting and hoping for the best.
Roger
http://www.greenwiz.com/members/romac/