December 2015 was the wettest in the UK’s history, weather forecasters at the Met Office have revealed.
The average temperature soared to 7.9°C, some 4°C above the long-term average.
The rainfall throughout the month makes it the wettest since records began in 1910.
These conditions contributed to the worse flooding seen in Salford for over 70 years.
Streets and estates were turned into rivers.
Over 400 homes in Lower Broughton were hit by unstoppable, rising waters on Boxing Day when the River Irwell burst its banks.
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282 of those properties are owned by Salix Homes, with the rest private addresses.
Before 26 December the highest recorded river level in Salford was 4.34m.
When persistent, heavy rain fell however, the level swelled to around 4.8m.
Across the country, England saw 150% more rainfall than the average, with some 137mm of rain falling in December.
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A spokeperson for the Met Office said: “The temperatures for December 2015 were closer to those normally experienced during April or May.
“North west England has also seen record breaking December rainfall, while for central and southern England it has been average.
“Along with the remarkable warmth, there has been a virtual complete lack of air frost across much of England, with the UK as a whole seeing less than three days of air frost on average for December which is eight days below the long term average.”
Insurers from Salix Homes are now visiting flood-hit homes to assess the level of damage from the Boxing Day floods.
In a statement chief executive Lee Sudgen said his teams had been working around the clock to assist those affected, but that their own investigation revealed only 10% of tenants had contents insurance with the housing association.
He said: “Salix Homes will be repairing damage to properties, however the loss of furniture and personal items is only covered by residents’ own contents insurance.
“It is not yet known how many tenants have their own contents insurance policies.
“Salix Homes understands the devastation the floods have caused and we will be making every effort to support our tenants to rebuild their lives in 2016.”
Communities and Local government minister Baroness Williams promised that alongside a £500 emergency grant from Salford City Council, which you can apply for here if you’ve not done so already, Repair and Renew grants of £5,000 would be available to help flood-hit families.
Watch: Heath Avenue family describe Salford flood shock as minister promises floods review
Main image via by @NatureinSalford
