London: Let's stipulate one thing from the start: Britain has never been known for its salubrious weather.

Great odes have been written to the fog, the clouds, the constant drizzle. From Shakespeare to Sherlock, the patter of rain has formed the ever-present backdrop. Complaining about the damp is a cherished national pastime.

A lighthouse is battered by waves during stormy weather in Newhaven on the southern coast of England. Credit:AFP

And yet, rarely has it been damp like this.

To close out 2013, many parts of Britain experienced their wettest December in decades. The turning of the new year brought the rainiest January in a century. Officials are calling it "one of, if not the most, exceptional periods of winter rainfall in at least 248 years".