Fact or fiction: 'It never rains on Battle day'

'It never rains on Battle day', or so the popular saying goes, but is there any truth in that? Well... no.

Although the event taking place in July or August usually makes for some decent sunshine, that isn't always the case.

The common saying is thought to have originated in Jersey's tourism heyday during the 1970s - but even the Battle of Flowers' organisers are not totally sure of its provenance.

Jersey Met has released new data looking back on the weather during previous Battle of Flowers days.

It shows that over the last 93 'Battle days', it rained on 27 of them.

71% of previous Battle of Flowers saw blue skies with no showers, with 20% measuring some small rainfall, with heavy downpours 9% of the time.

The sunniest Battle of Flowers was in 1971, while the wettest was 1953 - when there was 18.7mm of rainfall.

2022 is expected to be the warmest Battle of Flowers on record, beating the previous record high of 28.1°C.

Organisers are encouraging anyone going to watch Thursday's day parade to bring plenty of water with them, and suggest bringing sun cream and insect repellent on the day.