Britons can blame the heatwave that has scorched eastern Europe over the past month for the deluges that have just wreaked havoc across the country.
Hot air, laden with moisture, has been blown westwards for several weeks. Then, last week, this air collided with a cold weather system from the Atlantic - with downpours bringing flooding across southern England, the Midlands and Wales.
Forecasters blame the area of high pressure that has settled over the Azores. Normally this system extends northwards into southern England in summer, protecting the country from Atlantic rain fronts. But this year the Azores' high pressure area has extended east. 'It currently stretches into Spain, France, Italy and on to Greece and Turkey,' said Met Office forecaster Stewart Wortley.
'However, there are signs that the Azores high pressure area may start to bring better weather by the end of the week. How long that will last is difficult to tell, however.'
Not flooded as I am a top floor flat, but a bar across the road has closed due to flooding.
Here I am, surrounded by the rainforest of Sri-Lanka in the middle of winter, where it is dark in the middle of the day, and visibility is reduced to a hundred yards by low clouds and dank moisture in the air.
Wait..... no........that's RIGHT, it's the heart of the British SUMMER! That's what I meant.