January could become the wettest in the island’s history, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.

Not including rainfall recorded yesterday, the island has already recorded more than 8.6 inches of rain this month — 1.26in shy of the record set in 1958 — and wet weather is expected to continue today.

However, the BWS said it was difficult to say for certain if the record would be broken. A spokesman for the BWS said that despite the grey weather, as of noon yesterday they had reported around 0.08in of rain at the LF Wade International Airport, with sensors elsewhere showing even lower results.

“Even though there is a fair amount of activity on radar, we can never be sure we will break the record until the event occurs,” he said.

“Activity from the evening and into Wednesday will be spotty, and showery in nature, so if we happen to get a couple of moderate showers overhead, then the closer we get. But, there is an equal chance that does not happen and those moderate showers miss us.

“It seems the system on Friday is not that strong, but it is expected to move fairly slowly so the chances are definitely there once again. Model guidance indicates another unsettled period with a low and passing front near January 30 or 31, so when you factor in all these above chances, we may just break the record.”

While he said weather for the month had largely been normal, the unusual 5.34in of rain on January 5 were enough to push the month close to the 1958 record.

“If you removed just that one day, we would be striving to reach our average January rainfall of just over 5in,” he said. “The 5.34in rainfall day was the ‘anomaly’ per se, as a very slow moving frontal boundary with rain, and embedded heavy showers and thunderstorms passed through.

“Other than that day, the occasional gale with a ½ to 1in of rainfall has been pretty much normal.”