Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Britain sees wettest February on record as Storm Jorge brings further flooding and strong winds

There are 90 different flood warnings in place across the UK

Sunday 01 March 2020 00:01 GMT
Comments
Rescue workers in the flooded village of East Cowick, Yorkshire, after heavy rain and strong winds brought by Storm Jorge battered the UK overnight.
Rescue workers in the flooded village of East Cowick, Yorkshire, after heavy rain and strong winds brought by Storm Jorge battered the UK overnight. (PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Three successive storms have battered Britain – prompting the Met Office to brand this month the wettest February on record.

Thanks to storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge, the country has seen an average of 202.1mm of rainfall over the month, surpassing the previous record of February 1990 when 193.4mm fell, the Met Office said.

The rainfall saw numerous rivers burst their banks following record river levels in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire – with severe “danger to life” flood alerts issued.

Across the country 90 flood warnings are currently still in place alongside 215 flood alerts.

And following rainfall from Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, it was estimated that up to 3,300 homes in England had been flooded, and a further 1,000 homes in Wales – with much of the country bracing for further damage from adverse weather conditions as Storm Jorge threatened to bring gusts of up to 70mph on Saturday night.

Winds from Storm Jorge were expected to peak on Saturday night, with coastguard chiefs issuing warnings to keep away from harbour walls, cliffs and exposed beaches during the storm.

Ireland is expected to bear the brunt of the winds. Galway and County Clare have been issued with red warnings, however it is expected that the high winds will tail off into Sunday. Meanwhile parts of Scotland were told to expect possibly heavy snowfall.

Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Frank Saunders said: “From Saturday Storm Jorge will bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK, with potentially heavy snowfall being a hazard for parts of Scotland.

“Areas above 400 metres could see accumulations of 20-30 cm of snow, with lower areas, roughly above 250 metres, seeing accumulations of up to 10 cm.

“On Saturday and Sunday, the majority of the UK is covered by Yellow weather warnings with some areas being covered by more than one warning, indicating multiple weather hazards.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in