Yes I do remember what it was like to have 4 completely different seasons, I do also remember Summers in this country almost always being wet! 'typical English weather' was something you always heard from tourists and non-tourists alike, I remember us going to Cornwall for a holiday when our kids were small ( around 1980ish) and it rained non stop for the 2 weeks we were there. The el nino (spelling) weather system cycles 7 yearly and it could be that time as the jet stream is further South than normal for this time of year and this is what is causing all the problems, I don't find it frightening particularly, I have always found aspects of the weather fascinating, wanted to be a storm chaser and to see a volcano in action, of course I am fully aware of the devastation these extremes of weather cause, and my heart goes out to those poor people who are really up against it at the moment and especially to the people who have tragically lost family members.