Rain records have revealed 1997 as the fifth wettest year since 1949 and the drizzliest for 11 years.

The Bermuda Weather Service said the Island was drenched under 69.03 inches of rain in the last 12 months.

And there was record rainfall in May and August.

The BWS experts, who have records going back to 1949, blamed the freak El Nino weather system for huge downpours in late summer and towards the end of the year.

The storms brought the year's rainfall total to the highest level since 1986 when Bermuda was flooded with 69.62 inches.

But 1997, was still six inches short of the 75.4 inches which fell during 1962, the wettest year on record.

Wetter years were also recorded in 1963 and 1983.

But Bermuda saw 13 more inches of rain last year than in 1996.

And the 1997 total was well above the Bermuda average of 54.7 inches a year.

Bermuda Weather Service manager Roger Williams said August was the wettest month last year, with 12.23 inches of rain.

October was the driest month with just 1.64 inches but December recorded 9.49 inches -- more than double the total for December, 1996.

He said: "The El Nino weather system seems to have contributed to higher rainfall since late summer.

"It subdued the formation of hurricanes in the Atlantic but it caused a lot of unstable tropical mist which gave us heavy showers.

"The storms were pushed further to the north east this year and that's one of the factors which gave us the heavy rain.

"Bermuda actually needs nice consistent rain for water tanks but we didn't get that again this year.'' Six months of the year recorded above average rainfall and six months were below average.

Mr. Williams added: "The remarkable thing is that we had a very heavy year despite having below average rain for half the year.

"When it rained in 1997, it poured. Rainfall is pretty variable here anyway.

"There was one day at the begining of June, 1996 when we had nearly eight inches of rain in 24 hours.

"Our Island is so small that it is impossible to gauge which years will be wet and which will be dry.

"It all depends on precisely where the storms develop over the sub-tropical mid-Atlantic.'' The driest year on record was 1975 when just 37.1 inches of rain fell.