The Met Office has confirmed that at 1,095.8 millimetres, the average rainfall across England in 2012 had already breached the previous high of 1,093mm in 2000. So as one of the wettest years on record continues to close your route to work, it’s time to pull out of the bottleneck, smash through the bollards blocking the road, create one last massive spray as you shift into 3^rd gear, and head to places where floods have never been known in living memory. You can pack light. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the wide, dry highway beckons. We’ve even thought of the watches you can bring with you on your journey.

The place: St. Petersburg Florida

Award-winning beaches, world-class art and culture, hotel deals, fly and drive packages waiting to be snapped up. With an average of some 360 days of sunshine each year, it is not surprisingly nicknamed ‘The Sunshine City’

The watch: Garmin GPS

Priced at just $399, this is Garmin’s first GPS wristwatch, which boasts built-in sensors that ensure all sorts of useful information on your impromptu road trip. It can tell you everything you need to know about weather changes, elevation, air pressure, and your exact position at any given time. The device can also be used by fitness enthusiasts, as it is compatible with Garmin’s heart rate monitor strap and cycling cadence sensor, helping the wearer keep track of his or her body’s reaction to effort. But in an automatic convertible with the hood down and the wind in your hair, effort is minimal.

The place: Interstate 15 to Las Vegas

This road is so long it actually travels through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California. You can travel this route all the way to the Las Vegas Strip and it’s safe to gamble that the road will not be flooded. There is only 4 inches or rain throughout the year, and it’s only likely to fall on 29 of 365 days of the year. No need to pack an umbrella.

The watch: Frederique Constant Vintage Rally

Swiss Watch Manufacturer Frédérique Constant is well known for its classical and refined timepieces of exceptional value. The new Vintage Rally collection reflects the brand’s involvement in various classic car events around the world in past years, and the Vintage Rally was created to celebrate the latest edition of The Ultimate Driving Adventure: Peking to Paris. Limited to just 1,888 pieces, this 43mm watch with an in-house automatic movement may be as hard to find as flood warnings on Interstate 15.

The place: Death Valley

Situated within the Mojave Desert in Eastern California, this is officially the driest place in North America. It also holds the record for the world’s highest reported temperature at 57.8 centigrade. Average rainfall is 2 inches per year, and what little there is of it just falls as precipitation from cloud cover.

The watch: TAG Heuer AquaRacer

With 300m water resistance, this great chronograph from TAG Heuer also qualifies as a diver’s watch, but you won’t be getting wet any time soon in Death Valley. It’s name though may remind you to bring plenty of bottled water, because trekking through the searing heat of Death Valley you are going to need plenty of it, both for you, and for the car. The Aquaracer comes in a range of sizes and calibres and is the choice of actor Leonardo diCaprio.

The place: Sonoran Desert, Arizona

The Sonoran desert covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona, California, Northwest Mexico in Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest deserts in North America, with an area of 311,000 square kilometres. In fairness it does receive more rainfall than any other desert, but we are talking damp, not sodden, soaked, cold and miserable.

The watch: GRAHAM Chronofighter Oversize Baja 1000

Running on a modified Valjoux 7750, this cool Limited Edition watch from GRAHAM was created to commemorate the Tecate Score Baja 1000 races in Mexico. Only 100 pieces were issued, and the watch features a PVD Case, machined carbon fibre trigger and a ceramic buckle. As for the race itself, the Tecate Score Baja 1000 attracts 200’000 spectators. The course is 1000 miles, and 300 eager competitors from over 30 US states and 15 countries participate, and there are categories for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, all in the heat and dust of the Baja’s windy, flood-free roads.

The place: Lake Eyre, Oodnadatta Track, Australia

Lake Eyre saw a lot of rainfall this year in March, but that doesn’t alter the fact that it’s one of the driest places in Australia. And the floods are long gone. Now it’s back to dry as a bone dust roads, and besides, the lake has only filled to capacity three times in the last 150 years. So if you’re lucky enough to see it with water in it, then you’re truly seeing something amazing. The Oodnadatta Track is 620 kilometres of outback track; a journey of discovery, exploration and imagination. Although the word ‘Oodnadatta’ sounds remote, tough and dangerous, the Oodnadatta Track is actually one of the easiest outback tracks to drive.

The watch: Casio ProTrek

Casio has refined its best-selling ProTrek models for years, producing top-notch feature packed watches that are also solar powered, for places where there is plenty of sun – even though they can operate perfectly well even in the thin winter sunlight experienced in Britain. Casio ProTrek watches are packed with reliable information including a digital compass, barometer for weather prediction, thermometer, various alarms, a full calendar and much more. Our choice is the PRW-5000T-7ER .