Dry January to follow wettest year on record?

January could see a respite from the floods that have caused havoc: PA

After the Met Office confirmed 2012 was the wettest year for England on record, it might be music to many people's ears that we're set for a dry spell in January.

Much of the flooding and downpours that have caused chaos over Christmas will clear up for the New Year, bringing cloudy days with just some light showers.

Eddy Carroll, the Met Office's chief forecaster, told the Daily Telegraph: "This change to much drier weather looks set to last into the first weekend of January and the following week."

The ferocious rain has seen much of the UK on flood alert, causing road and rail disruption, particularly in the south west, where a rare landslide and rock fall warning had to be issued last week due to the soggy weather.

One of Somerset's oldest bridges - Exmoor's Tarr Steps - was even swept away by a raging river.

The iconic 1,000-year-old landmark is a well-known beauty spot on the River Barle. More than three quarters of the 50-metre long clapper bridge was washed away in the river, which reached depths 10 feet deeper than normal levels.

The damage to Tarr Steps came as sections of the cliffs along the Jurassic Coast began sliding towards the waves last weekend, threatening luxury beach chalets and creating risky conditions for beach-goers and fossil hunters who were warned to stay away from the cliffs, according to This Is Somerset.

The flooding was also a problem for one particular family over Christmas, who found themselves marooned at a holiday cottage for an entire week after the River Severn burst its banks.

So many will be looking forward to a drier, if not brighter, January.

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