Bermuda has been deluged with nearly nine inches of rain so far this month.

But forecasters said that — although unusual — the high rainfall has not notched up a new record.

And they warned that rain was set to continue into next week as a stationary weather front sits over the Island — while Tropical Storm Cristobal is also expected to make its presence felt with more rain and high winds. A spokeswoman for the Bermuda Weather Service said: “We have been under an unusual weather pattern this month. There has been an upper level trough that has been almost stationary between Bermuda and the US East Coast.

“This brought a cold front over the area in the beginning of the month and the front became stationary and has continued to develop surface low pressure centres along throughout the month which have continued to provide energy for heavier showers and thunderstorms.”

But the rain has some way to go before it hits the record — 1997 logged the wettest August on record with a total of 13 inches of rain. This month is at present 11th on the list of wettest Augusts since 1949.

She added that the Bermuda-Azores high had been pushed east by the stationary weather system — centring over the Azores rather than the mid-Atlantic.

The spokeswoman explained: “Since this places Bermuda on the western extent of the high there has been convergence from moisture that is travelling around the high — and arriving from the south in our area — and the stationary front that is in our area. This convergence also adds energy to the showers so when the upper trough weakens, which would allow the surface weather pattern to change a bit, the convergence has been adding the extra energy required to maintain showers and the threat of thunder.”

And she held out little prospect of a change in the weather before the start of next month. The spokeswoman said: “It looks like we have at least another week of this as the upper pattern doesn’t begin to change until later this week. Tropical Storm Cristobal will also be pushing plenty of tropical moisture and likely some strong winds through the area this week.”