Past weather events

Case studies of past severe weather events

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2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

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2021

Storm Barra

7 to 8 December

Storm Barra brought strong winds and heavy rain to the UK, but the storm was more extreme across Ireland with the Irish national meteorological service, Met Eireann, issuing a red warning for wind ...

Storm Arwen

26 to 27 November

Storm Arwen brought severe winds across the UK overnight, with the Met Office issuing a red warning for wind. This was one of the most powerful and damaging winters storms of the latest decade ...

Heavy and persistent rain

26 to 31 October

A slow-moving frontal system brought heavy and persistent rain to parts of northern England and southern Scotland. On 27th October, two rain-gauges in the Lake District recorded daily totals of over 200mm ...

Storm Evert

29 to 30 July

Storm Evert brought unusually strong winds for the time of year to southern and south-west England ...

Northern Ireland record temperature

17 to 23 July

31.3°C was recorded at Castlederg, County Tyrone, setting a new all-time temperature record for Northern Ireland for any month ...

Extremes of temperature

Late March to early April

The UK experienced a brief spell of unusual warmth at the end of March, with temperatures reaching 24°C, followed by a cold plunge of Arctic Maritime air in early April bringing widespread hard frosts and some snow ...

Snow and low temperatures including storm Darcy

7 to 13 February

The UK experienced a spell of bitterly cold east winds bringing low temperatures and lying snow to many eastern areas. Temperatures fell below -20°C at three stations in Scotland with the UK's lowest temperature since December 1995 ...

Storm Christoph

18 to 20 January

Storm Christoph brought some exceptionally wet weather to North Wales and northern England, with some areas receiving around the January whole-month long-term average rainfall ...

2020

Storm Bella

26 to 27 December

Storm Bella was a large, deep area of low pressure in the North Atlantic bringing heavy rain and strong winds across the UK ...

Storm Aiden

31 October

Storm Aiden was part of a spell of turbulent, wet and windy weather to affect the UK from late October to early November ...

Storm Alex and heavy rain

2 to 4 October

Storm Alex brought strong winds to the southern half of the UK, while 3 October 2020 was the wettest day on record since 1891 for UK-wide rainfall with average rainfall of 31.7mm across the entire UK ...

Storms Ellen and Francis

19 to 21 August; 25 August

Storms Ellen and Francis were two of the most notable August storms in the UK in the last 50 years, with gusts of 50 to 60Kt in exposed coastal locations ...

Extreme rainfall, Norfolk

16 August

Thunderstorms affected parts of East Anglia on 16th August. A rain-gauge in East Wretham, Norfolk recorded a remarkable daily total of 239.9mm ...

Thunderstorms north-east Scotland

11 to 12 August

North-east Scotland experienced thunderstorms and torrential downpours bringing 30 to 50mm or more of rain in 3 hours or less, causing flash-flooding ...

Southern England heatwave

Early August

Temperatures exceeded 34 °C across parts of the south-east for six consecutive days and there were several 'tropical nights' with the overnight temperature remaining above 20 °C ...

Exceptionally hot day

31 July

The temperature reached 37.8 °C at Heathrow making this the UK's third hottest day on record ...

Storm Jorge

28 February to 1 March

Storm Jorge brought further strong winds and heavy rain in late-February. Jorge was less severe than storms Ciara or Dennis but the additional rain exacerbated flooding problems ...

Storm Dennis

15 to 16 February

Heavy rain from storm Dennis caused widespread flooding. 50 to 100mm of rain fell across western upland parts of the UK and the Met Office issued a Red Warning for parts of south Wales.

Storm Ciara

8 to 9 February

Strong winds and heavy rain from Ciara, one of the most powerful storms of the last few years, brought widespread disruption across the UK. West Yorkshire was among the areas worst affected by flooding.

Storms Atiyah and Brendan

8 to 9 December 2019; 13 to 14 January 2020

Storm Atiyah brought strong winds to Wales and south-west England, while storm Brendan was a deep Atlantic low pressure system bringing strong winds and heavy rain across the UK.

2019

Record-breaking temperature

28 December

18.7 °C was recorded at Achfary (Sutherland), the UK's highest December temperature on record.

Severe flooding South Yorkshire

7 November

Severe flooding affected parts of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire after a whole month's average rain fell in 24 hours.

Strong winds

2 November

An area of low pressure brought very strong winds to south Wales and the south coast with a gust of 95 Kt (109 mph) at Needles Old Battery, Isle of Wight.

Persistent wet weather

Late October

A slow moving front brought persistent heavy rain across parts of England and Wales.

Wet weather spell and Storm Lorenzo

Late September to early October

A spell of wet weather during late September was followed by Storm Lorenzo on 3 October.

Torrential downpours

30 to 31 July

Parts of North Yorkshire, south Manchester and the Pennines experienced flash-flooding following torrential downpours with some locations recording 40 to 60mm of rain in one hour.

Record-breaking heatwave

July 2019

On 25 July, 38.7 °C at Cambridge Botanic Garden set a new UK temperature record.

Heavy rainfall

June 2019

The UK experienced a spell of very wet weather in mid-June. Parts of Lincolnshire received 2.5 times the monthly average rainfall in 3 days.

Storm Hannah

26 to 27 April

Storm Hannah was one of the most significant April storms in the last 50 years, with exposed locations in west Wales recording gusts of over 60 Kt (69 mph).

Storm Gareth

10 to 16 March

The UK experienced a turbulent week of very wet and windy weather including storm Gareth.

Storm Freya

3 to 4 March

Storm Freya brought strong winds and heavy rain to England, Wales and southern Scotland.

Exceptional warmth

21 to 27 February

The UK experienced some exceptionally high temperatures for the time of year with 21.2 °C at Kew Gardens (London) on 26 February the highest temperature on record for a winter month.

Storm Erik

8 to 9 February

Storm Erik was a deep Atlantic low pressure system bringing strong winds to the UK. Much of the country recorded gusts over 50mph (58Kt).

2018

Storm Deirdre

15 to 16 December

Storm Deirdre brought strong winds and freezing rain to western and northern parts of the UK...

Storm Callum

11 to 13 October

Storm Callum brought strong winds and persistent heavy rain to western parts of the UK, with south Wales particularly badly affected by flooding...

Storms Ali and Bronagh

19 to 21 September

Storm Ali brought very strong winds and heavy rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland, followed by storm Bronagh which brought very heavy rain to England and Wales...

Summer 2018

Summer

Summer 2018 brought plenty of warm, dry, sunny weather with the UK often under the influence of high pressure...

Storm Hector

14 June

Storm Hector brought some unseasonably strong winds to the UK. The strongest winds were across Northern Ireland, North Wales, northern England and southern Scotland...

Hot spell

18 to 22 April

The UK experienced some unusually high temperatures for the time of year with high pressure over the near continent drawing very warm air from the south...

Snow and low temperatures

Late February to early March

The UK experienced a spell of severe winter weather with very low temperatures and significant snowfalls from late February to early March 2018...

2017

Ex-Hurricane Ophelia

October

On 16 October Ex-Hurricane Ophelia brought very strong winds to the west of the UK and Ireland. This date fell on the exact 30th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1987...

Hot, sunny spell

June

A spell of hot, sunny weather from 17 to 21 June led to the UK's highest June temperature since 1976...

2016

Strong winds and heavy rain from storm Angus

November

The first named storm of the 2016-2017 season brought some damaging winds to the south coast, accompanied by heavy rain causing flooding mainly across parts of south-west England...

Exceptional warmth, September 2016

September

A brief heatwave from 12 to 15 September brought some exceptionally high temperatures accompanied by flash-flooding...

2015

Exceptional warmth, December 2015

December

December 2015 was easily the warmest December on record across the UK...

Further rainfall and flooding across north of the UK

December

A sequence of heavy rainfall events in late December led to further widespread severe flooding across northern parts of the UK...

Flooding in Cumbria December 2015

December

Persistent heavy rainfall from storm Desmond on 4 to 6 December led to widespread flooding in Cumbria and across other parts of northern Britain...

Heatwave 1 July 2015

1 July

The UK experienced a 1-day heatwave as hot air moved north from Spain, setting a new July temperature record...

2014

Ex-hurricane Bertha

10 - 11 August

The UK experienced some unseasonably windy and very wet weather from the remnants of ex-hurricane Bertha...

Winter storms, January to February 2014

Late January to mid-February

From late January to mid-February, a sequence of major winter storms again affected the UK, causing widespread impacts and major flooding problems...

2013

Winter storms, December 2013 to January 2014

December to early January 2014

From mid-December to early January, the UK experienced a spell of extreme weather as a succession of major winter storms brought widespread impacts...

Autumn storm, October 2013

28 October

A powerful autumn storm brought damaging winds across much of southern England on 28 October 2013...

Hot dry spell July 2013

July

From 3 to 23 July 2013 the UK experienced a spell of hot, sunny weather with an area of high pressure established across the UK...

Snow and low temperatures late March 2013

Late March to early April

A spell of severe winter weather brought significant snowfalls and unseasonably low temperatures to many parts of the UK from late March to early April 2013...

2012

Exceptionally wet weather - November 2012

November 2012

A sequence of heavy rainfall events in late November 2012 resulted in one of the wettest weeks in England in the last 50 years...

Record rainfall - April to July 2012

April to July 2012

From April to July 2012 the UK experienced a period of exceptionally wet weather, breaking previous rainfall records...

England and Wales drought 2010 to 2012

2010 to March 2012

Much of central, eastern and southern England and Wales experienced a prolonged period of below average rainfall from 2010 to early 2012...

Winter storms, early January 2012

January

A major winter storm brought very strong winds across much of the UK on 3 January 2012. The worst affected area was southern Scotland...

2011

Early winter storms, late 2011

Late November to mid December

On 8 December 2011, a deep Atlantic low pressure system brought very strong winds across the northern half of the UK. Scotland bore the brunt of the storm...

Exceptionally warm and dry Spring 2011

Spring 2011 (March, April and May)

This period was remarkable for the unusual warmth during April and the persistent lack of rainfall during March and April, particularly over England and Wales...

2010

Snow and low temperatures, December 2010

25 November - 26 December

From late November to Boxing Day 2010 the UK experienced two spells of severe winter weather with very low temperatures and significant snowfalls...

Heavy rainfall and flooding in Cornwall, November 2010

16 - 17 November

Very heavy rainfall in the early hours of 17 November resulted in severe flooding to parts of Cornwall...

Snow and low temperatures - December 2009 to January 2010

17 December 2009 - 15 January 2010

The UK experienced a spell of very low temperatures and significant snowfalls which affected almost the whole country...

2009

Heavy rainfall/flooding in the Lake District, Cumbria - November 2009

18 - 19 November

Exceptionally prolonged and heavy rainfall on 18 and 19 November led to severe flooding across parts of the Lake District...

Early February 2009 snowfalls

2 - 6 February

Heavy snowfalls over much of the United Kingdom in early February...

2008

Hail/thunderstorms over east Devon - 29/30 October 2008

29 - 30 October

Heavy and thundery downpours over east Devon, with flooding and travel disruption...

Snow and low temperatures - 28-30 October 2008

28 - 30 October

Record low October temperatures and snow reported across many areas of the UK...

Heavy rainfall early September 2008

5 - 6 September

Prolonged rainfall resulted in flooding, especially in south Wales and north-east England...

Strong winds 10-12 March 2008

10 - 12 March

Strong winds over England and Wales caused some disruption to transport and power supplies over this period...

2007

Heavy rainfall/flooding - July 2007

July

Record July totals and heavy rainfall on 19/20 July, resulted in widespread flooding and transport disruption over the south Midlands...

Record rainfall - June-July & May-July 2007

June-July & May-July

Record totals over England and Wales for both of these periods...

Heavy rainfall/flooding - June 2007

June

Record June totals and heavy rainfall on 12/15 June (N Ireland & N England) and 24/25 June (Yorkshire and the Humber), resulted in widespread flooding and disruption...

2006

Record breaking heat and sunshine - July 2006

July

July 2006 was the warmest month on record over much of the UK and the sunniest over parts of England...

Dry spell 2004/6

22 January

Between November 2004 and July 2006, 17 out of the 21 months recorded below-average rainfall across England SE & Central S..

2004

Flooding in north Cornwall - 16 August 2004

16 August

Heavy rain in north Cornwall caused flash floods in Boscastle and Crackington Haven..

Strong winds/heavy rainfall - 7/8 July 2004

7 - 8 July

Strong winds caused problems to transport, as well as power supplies, with heavy rain in East Anglia...

Past weather events

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