2015-16 UK winter floods most extreme in last century: study

Winter floods of 2015-2016 in the UK was one of the most extreme and severe hydrological events of the last century, new research has found.
The research brings together both river flow and meteorological data in an analysis of the events that led to extensive river flooding in northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of Wales over a three month period.
The study by scientists from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the British Hydrological Society in the UK found that the Winter 2015/2016 episode ranks alongside the floods of 1947 as one of the two largest flood events of the last 100 years at least.

Storm Desmond, which struck on the 5th and 6th December last year, alone caused an estimated insurance bill of more than 1.3 billion pounds.
The review also highlights that 16,000 properties in England were flooded during the three months of 'remarkably persistent and exceptionally mild cyclonic' activity which, along with Storm Desmond, included the major storms of Abigail, Frank and Gertrude.
"At a national scale the winter floods of 2015/16 were the most extreme on record. The November to January period was the wettest three-month sequence in the UK rainfall series - which begins in 1910," said Terry Marsh from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

"Correspondingly, river flows across much of the country exceeded bankfull for extended periods. The associated flooding was both extensive and repetitive, and total river outflows from Great Britain following the passage of Storm Desmond in December exceeded the previous maximum by a substantial margin," Marsh said.

The research highlights that December last year was the wettest and, on average, the warmest on record in the UK, in records going back to 1910.
The highest ever recorded rainfall in the UK was measured when 341.4 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass in the Lake District in the 24 hours leading up to 6 pm on the 5th December 2015.

Record peak flows occurred at the rivers Eden, Tyne and Lune in England of around 1,700 cubic metres per second. This volume of water is enough to fill London's Royal Albert Hall in under a minute.
Other record peak flows also took place on the rivers Nith, Tweed, Clyde, Forth and Tay in Scotland and the Mourne in Northern Ireland.
"Our new review clearly outlines the events of the last winter, as one of the most severe episodes of flooding to hit the UK in the last 100 years," said Nick Reynard, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's Science Area Lead for Natural Hazards research.