But whilst there is no shortage of rain, especially over the Clwydian Range and Berwyn Mountains, the area is drier than the rest of Wales. Less that 30 inches falls on average along the North Wales coast from Llandudno to the Dee estuary, throughout the Vale of Clwyd, and around Wrexham, Buckley and Shotton.

At Rhyl the long-term mean rainfall is 25.8 inches, and at Hawarden Bridge (just across the river Dee from Chester) it is just 24.3 inches. This is because NE Wales lies in a "rain shadow".

The wind blows mainly from the south west so winters are generally mild and summers cool. When the wind is south westerly, most of the rain falls over Snowdonia but the moist winds from the Atlantic having been forced to rise up the mountains producing more cloud and rain, sink downwards on the lee side, and dry out. The cloud breaks, temperatures rise and places such as Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Mold can bask in warm sunshine, while in Dolgellau, Cardiff and Swansea its cold, wet and soggy!

Blowing hot and cold
NE Wales, remote from the tempering influences of the Atlantic Ocean, is also home to the most extreme temperatures recorded in Wales.

On December 13 1981, the mercury sank to a bone chilling minus 23ºC, while on August 2 1990, a new record was set. At Hawarden Bridge the temperature rocketed to 35.2 Celsius.

The North Wales coast has also seen some remarkable out-of-season heat waves, with some of the highest winter temperatures recorded in the British Isles. For example Aber, near Llandudno, has recorded 18.3ºC in January and 21.3ºC in November.