CEH: Submitted by Katie Muchan on Fri, 22/11/2019 – 15:04   An unsettled and wet period since late September followed by persistent heavy rainfall in late October and early November has caused severe flooding across northern and central England. Our hydrologists have provided the following background information, based on provisional data provided by the Environment Agency and the Met Office, and ongoing flood research carried out at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Introduction

The summer and autumn so far (June-September 2019) have been exceptionally wet in northern, central and eastern England, resulting in widespread and severe flooding. In the summer, localised but severe flooding occurred in Lincolnshire in June and in the western Peak District and Yorkshire Dales from late July to early August, as reported in our monthly Hydrological Summaries. In October, the jet stream adopted an anomalous southern track propelling a series of cyclonic systems across the UK. The prolonged and persistent rainfall contributed to substantial rainfall totals in many regions and, in conjunction with saturated soils, many catchments were susceptible to flooding. Notable rainfall on 7th November prompted exceptionally high river flows in central and northern England, with a number of catchments in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire recording their highest ever peak flows. There has been flooding of properties and significant disruption to transport.

Here, we present some preliminary analysis of the November flooding, in terms of rainfall and river flows, and briefly consider the impacts. We also discuss the question of the role of climate change in extreme floods such as these. Click here to read more