Autumn 2000

The deluge continues

Updated 10 November 2000

The wet weather that brought widespread flooding to England and Wales continues unabated. Many observing stations across the country have broken October rainfall records including:

Station	Oct 2000 total (mm)	Previous record (mm)	Records began
Linton-on-Ouse (North Yorkshire)	134.6	129.8 (1960)	1958
Bracknell (Berkshire)	177.8	170.9 (1987)	1962
Valley (Anglesey, North Wales)	209.2	192.5 (1987)	1941
Herstmonceux (East Sussex)	291.0	224.0 (1987)	1976

England and Wales Precipitation (EWP)

The England and Wales Precipitation series starts in 1766 and is the longest series of its kind in the world. The October 2000 figure was 188 mm, the wettest October since 1903. This came straight after the wettest September since 1981 with 133 mm.

Analysing the two months together shows that since the start of the series, the combination of notably wet (>150 % of the 1961-90 average) such named months has only occurred 7 times before:

• 1835 (265 mm); 1841 (268 mm); 1880 (281 mm); 1885 (275 mm)
• 1935 (272 mm); 1960 (289 mm); 1976 (320 mm)
• 2000 (321 mm)

The combination in 1976 was preceded by one of the most intense droughts in our history; this time there was no such dry spell. Spring and early summer in 2000 were unsettled which severely hampered the drying out of the soil. This is key to understanding the reasons behind the recent floods; could the answer lie in the soil?

Into November 2000

Hopes of a respite after the storm on 29/30 October have been dashed as more heavy rain has fallen early in November. This map shows the rain that has fallen between 28 October and 6 November 2000. On the 2 November, Leeming (North Yorkshire) recorded its wettest November day, a total of 48.4 mm fell. The previous wettest day was on Bonfire Night back in 1951, records go back to 1945.

Many parts have already had more than their normal month's rainfall, particularly in the east. This map expresses the rainfall in November so far as a percent of the long term monthly average. Needless to say we're heading for a wet Autumn in England and Wales. This map shows that some parts have already had more than double their seasonal normal.