Seasonal flooding during the autumn and winter months and into early spring has been replaced by the threat of deluges throughout the year as global warming plays havoc with traditional weather patterns.
Britain was hit by the latest round of flooding over the weekend as torrential rain caused problems in Yorkshire as well as the North-East and parts of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
At least five people have died in weather-related incidents since Friday, and forecasters have warned that clear skies predicted today (MON) are likely to be the calm before another storm with more flooding to come.
Among the victims was a 42-year-old Sheffield man who was killed when the Kawasaki motorbike he was riding hit a tree branch on the A66 near Scotch Corner.
Another man in his late 30s from near Selby died when his motorcycle collided with a fire engine, which was returning from support duty for crews on flood alert, near Wilton on the A170 between Scarborough and Pickering.
The other victims were a girl of 17 from London, trapped after a 4x4 vehicle plunged into floodwater in Powys, Wales, and a couple whose car collided with a tree in Plymouth in heavy rain.
In Morpeth in Northumberland, the clean-up operation was underway yesterday (SUN) after Saturday's floods put the high street under 2ft of water, with more than 400 people needing to be evacuated.
More than 30 properties were flooded in the Flanshaw and Castlefields areas of Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
In North Yorkshire, towns and villages including Middleham, Sinnington, Colburn and Catterick were also affected after two-and-a-half inches of rain fell during Friday night.
The Environment Agency's regional director for Yorkshire and the North-East, Toby Willison, admitted that contingency plans needed modifyingto counter the threat of flooding throughout the whole year.
He said: "It is absolutely clear that climate change is having an effect on weather patterns. If you look back 10 or 12 years ago, there were seasonal floods in the autumn, winter and early spring months.
"But flooding can happen at any point during the year now. We have seen flooding this weekend in early September and there was last summer's disaster in June. We are having to plan for these changes, and flooding now presents the biggest challenge which we have ever faced at the Environment Agency."
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with 70 incidents in a 24-hour period over the weekend, three times as many calls as normal.
Crews helped pump water out of properties and rescue motorists trapped in their vehicles after attempting to drive through floods.
A woman of 36 was rescued from her car roof after it became stuck in a swollen ford near Kirkbymoorside yesterday. (SUN).
Light showers are expected in parts of Yorkshire today (MON), with more wet weather due to sweep in tomorrow (TUES) and Thursday, and forecasters have warned that the rain could cause more problems when it enters already swollen rivers.