Summer 2007 floods

by the editor on 10.10.07

The flooding that hit the UK in June and July 2007 was amongst the worst in our recorded history.

Areas of Northern Ireland, north east England, the Midlands and Wales were particularly badly affected.

At least seven people were killed and around 350,000 people in Gloucestershire were left for days without clean water.

The RAF mounted its ever biggest peacetime rescue operation to airlift stranded people to safety.

By the end of the summer, the Association of British Insurers had put the cost of the damage at £3 billion.

Why?

For England and Wales, Summer 2007 was the wettest since 1912.

The jet stream that sits out in the Atlantic was unusually strong and southerly during the summer, dumping a great deal more cloud and rain over the UK than normal.

The intensity of the rainfall was exceptional - Worcestershire recorded 4.8 inches of rain on 20 July - and there has been widespread speculation that the event was connected to climate change.

However, a major report published in March 2008 described the floods as ‘a singular event’. It found that the floods were not consistent with the ‘favoured models’ for changing weather patterns, which predict a general trend of drier summers.

What next?

Despite another warm, wet winter period that included a few worrying moments, the UK has remained largely flood-free over the past few months.

Now attention is turning to the possibility of more heavy summer rain in the coming season.

In its long-range forecasts last year, the Met Office was unable to give warning of last summer’s deluge - but no doubt its forthcoming predictions, due out later this spring, will be pored over regardless.

For further resources and practical advice on what to do if you are affected by flooding, see our flood advice.

Image by Flickr user the mechanical turk