It was midwinter in March yesterday as 3.51 inches of rain lashed Bermuda by 9pm.

But the downpour, which lasted most of the day, was a welcome boost for tanks that were beginning to run dry after one of the calmest Februaries on record.

Before yesterday, Bermuda had eight inches of rain, almost four inches short of the normal rate.

The Bermuda Weather Service warned residents to brace themselves for more rain, strong to gale force winds and thunder for the rest of the week.

BWS director James Dodgson said the changeable weather was a result of a low-pressure system to the west of Bermuda and travelling up the United States eastern seaboard.

But Mr Dodgson welcomed the “tank rain”. He said: “We have been approaching four inches below average for the year to date so a couple more inches will go a long way towards eradicating this deficit.”

The average temperature of 67F last month meant it was in the top five warmest Februarys since 1942.

Only four days had wind speeds greater than 21mph, compared with the monthly average of 18 days.

The calm came to an end in early March when a winter storm brought hurricane-force gusts, flooding and power cuts.