Readers of the BFP letters will recall that Eric Alexander wrote in mid August that May, June and July were the hottest months on record and August would be the same.

In fact, as I pointed out in my subsequent letter, there have been many Mays, Junes and Julys which have been hotter in the past 100 years.

The mean temperature for August 2014 has totally confounded Eric’s predictions. The month was the coldest August since 1993 and the wettest since 2008. Many nights were particularly cold with ground frost in sheltered places.

The mean temperature for August was 1.7C below the 1981-2010 average. The Central England Temperature (CET) was 1.4C below the average. In the past 100 years 19 Augusts were cooler and 79 were warmer. Rainfall was 155% of normal, only 13 Augusts in the past 100 years have been wetter.

If I were Eric Alexander I would give up weather forecasting and confine my activities to watching my daffodils grow! – Anthony Weeden, Bockmer End, Nr. Marlow