The 2012 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a series of weather events that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland periodically during the course of 2012 and on through the winter into 2013. The beginning of 2012 saw much of the United Kingdom experiencing droughts and a heat wave in March. A series of low pressure systems steered by the jet stream brought the wettest April in 100 years, and flooding across Britain and Ireland. Continuing through May and leading to the wettest beginning to June in 150 years, with flooding and extreme events occurring periodically throughout Britain and parts of Atlantic Europe.
On 27 and 28 June and again on 7 July heavy rain events occurred from powerful thunderstorms that gathered strength as they travelled across mainland Britain. Severe weather warnings and a number of flood alerts were issued by the UK's Environment Agency, and many areas were hit by flash floods that overwhelmed properties and caused power cuts. A motorist was killed after his vehicle was caught by floodwater and landslides halted rail services between England and Scotland. The thunderstorms were the product of two fronts that collided over the British Isles – warm air travelling from the Azores and cold water-ladened air from the west. The second batch of flooding struck the South-West of England during the afternoon of 6 July, forcing the Met Office to issue its highest alert, Red (Take Action), due to the significant amounts of rainfall caused by a system travelling from Southern Europe, along with the warm, humid air the United Kingdom had seen in the run-up to the floods, which, like the June floods, caused thunderstorms.
During the Autumn the most intense September low since 1981 brought widespread flooding and wind damage to the UK. Widespread flooding occurred again in November, December and January 2013, as more heavy rains overwhelmed the saturated ground.
Spring in the UK A series of extratropical cyclones brought the wettest April to many parts of the United Kingdom. Beginning with the storm Gritt (2–11 April 995 hPa) a low system tracking south over the UK and Ireland bringing storm force winds and heavy snowfall just a week after many areas of the UK experienced temperatures above . 50,000 people were left without power in Northern England, nine Belgian tourists were rescued from blizzards on Ben Macdui, Scotland. A cargo ship ran aground near to Conwy in Wales. The trans-Pennine Woodhead pass route was closed to traffic and the M62 motorway was disrupted. This was followed by the storm Petra (22–29 April 970 hPa) and Queenie (27 April–11 May 988 hPa). Heavy rains led to flooding after a wet April in the UK. 5,000 homes in Wales were without electricity, as winds brought down trees in SW areas of the British Isles. Flood Warnings were in force across much of the UK. A man died after a car became trapped in a Berkshire ford. The wet weather resulted in the cancellation of the Badminton Horse Trials. Towards the end of May there was a brief warm dry period.
Summer Storms
June 3 June saw the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant beleaguered by heavy rain, 46 people from the boats were treated for the effects of the cold weather, and six were taken to hospital with symptoms of hypothermia. On 9 June severe flooding began around Aberystwyth, West Wales with people evacuated from 2 holiday parks, with 150 people saved from lifeboats in 4–5 ft of water.
10–11 June saw a small but active area of low pressure track slowly east through the English Channel, eventually becoming slow moving for almost 24 hours near the Sussex coast. Flooding followed in the villages of Almodington, Somerley and Birdham, with Bracklesham Bay Caravan Park and Sussex Beach Holiday Village in Earnley on the Manhood Peninsula also inundated. Elsewhere in Sussex, flooding occurred at Worthing Hospital and saw basement flats on Littlehampton seafront also under water.
22 June saw over a month's worth of rain fall on areas of the North, with Lancashire, Cumbria and Pennine areas badly hit. Todmorden, Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge saw flash floods which halted trains on the Calder Valley line between Leeds and Manchester Victoria, following a landslip and flooding.
The conditions that led to the extreme weather conditions were caused by a warm front blowing northward from the Azores and an eastward travelling cold front that came together over the British Isles. The first of the severe weather brought heavy rainfall to Northern Ireland on the night of 27 June, with Belfast one of the worst affected areas. Two inches of overnight rain from back building thunderstorms caused flash flooding, damaging properties and leaving 1,000 homes without power for several hours. The following day the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said that it had dealt with 700 flood-related calls, while Finance Minister Sammy Wilson announced that those affected by the floods would be eligible to apply for up to £1,000 in emergency funding. Northern Ireland Water reported that its staff had helped to clear sewage from 158 properties, and said it was on "high alert" to deal with further incidents.
28 June supercell storms
On the morning of 28 June, supercell thunderstorms developed over Wales shortly after 8.00 a.m., then moved separately across England to the Midlands and the north, leaving a trail of disruption in their wake. At one point the Environment Agency had 10 flood warnings and 47 alerts in place for England, mainly in the Midlands and North, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had one flood warning and 12 flood alerts covering many areas.
One storm affected the Midlands, producing hailstones reported to be larger than golfballs, with conglomerate stones up to 10 cm across. Burbage in Leicestershire saw some of the most severe hail. Another supercell produced a tornado near Sleaford, in Lincolnshire. Homes and businesses were damaged as an inch of rain fell in two hours in some areas of the West Midlands. Hailstones as large as golf balls fell in parts of the East Midlands, while the 2012 Olympic torch relay was briefly halted by lightning. A motorist was swept to his death after his vehicle was overwhelmed by flood waters in Shropshire.
Another supercell storm struck Tyneside without warning at the height of the evening rush hour causing widespread damage and travel chaos, locally known as the Toon Monsoon. Flooded shopping malls were evacuated, Newcastle station was closed, as was the Tyne & Wear Metro, and main road routes were flooded leading to massive tailbacks. Drivers were forced to abandon their cars, with many commuters stranded due to public transport closures. Northern Powergrid reported that 23,000 properties were left without electricity in North-East England after flash flooding and lightning storms hit the area. The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service reported more than 1,500 calls relating to flooding on the night of 28 June. 999 land line services were knocked out in some areas and the damage ran to huge amounts only visible the next day after water cleared. Many parts of County Durham and Northumberland were also affected with thousands of homes across the North East left without power due to lightning strikes. Lightning was filmed striking the Tyne Bridge as motorists were sat gridlocked on it.
Landslides blocked both main East Coast and West Coast rail lines linking England and Scotland. Both lines reopened the following day, but problems with overhead power lines forced a second closure of the West Coast line while maintenance was carried out.
Record rainfall totals in June 2012 beat those of 2007 in the UK, which had itself broken a record which had held for nearly 40 years.
July On 6 July, a deep low-pressure system started to spread towards the British Isles. The system struck around 1 p.m. during the day, with the Environment Agency issuing flood alerts & warnings throughout the United Kingdom. South Yorkshire experienced heavy rainfall, and 52 people were evacuated from a care home in Thurnscoe due to a flood warning being issued in the area. An emergency command centre was set up by South Yorkshire Police in Sheffield over fears of flooding in the city, and authorities advised people to avoid the Meadowhall area because of high water levels on the River Don. Severe flooding occurred in the city's Graves Park which led to the collapse of a pedestrian footbridge along the Lower Valley Walk.
The South West of England also suffered from river & surface flooding, and the Met Office placed the region on a red warning for severe weather. Filey lifeboat station rescued six people from an inland caravan park in North Yorkshire which was under 3 feet of floodwater. Officials at Silverstone Circuit on the Northamptonshire/Buckinghamshire border had to turn away thousands of fans attending the Formula 1 Grand Prix qualifying sessions on Saturday 7 July due to heavy rainfall the previous day.
In Dorset a couple were killed when heavy rains caused a landslip and partial collapse of the Beaminster Tunnel. 700 tonnes of mud slid onto the roadway completely covering the vehicle on 7 July. Dorset Police at the time were dealing with 150 flood warnings in the county and the evacuation of 180 houses with 400 incidents reported to police control room. A cursory inspection of the landslip did not reveal the presence of the vehicle and it was not until after the couple were reported as missing that the police re-investigated the debris and found the crushed car on 15 July. The Dorset Police force was criticised for failing to find the bodies sooner and the case was voluntarily referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission to be reviewed. 8 July brought renewed flash-flooding, to the Upper Calder Valley. This was the third time the area had suffered a deluge, within the space of a fortnight. Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd were hit particularly badly. The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, venue for Sailing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, flooded after a nearby lake burst its banks overnight.
August 4–5 August saw localised flooding across the UK in Devon, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire and Southern Scotland from torrential rains, in places exceeding 30 mm over a short time. This storm crossed the North Sea and was designated as extreme weather event "Frida" by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Rainfall totals up to 100 mm in 24 hours across southern Norway and parts of Denmark resulted in flooding and landslips. Towards the end of the month more flash floods were reported in Cumbria, leading to landslides and a derailed train. High waters on the River Ehen tore down the side of a house in Egremont, Cumbria.
Autumn
September 570 homes and businesses were flooded in September according to the Environment Agency. The worst hit areas were Wales, Yorkshire and North East England. In Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne a block of flats was completely undermined by floodwaters leaving the block looking precarious with the pile foundations exposed. Engineering surveys resulted in the likelihood that the homes were unsalvageable, leaving angry residents looking for the landowners and developers to take responsibility. The River Ouse in York reached a peak height of 5.02 m over normal. In North Yorkshire the British Army were called on to deploy sandbags in the village of Cawood to help save homes and businesses. A young couple who were walking their dogs along the River Clywedog near to Wrexham were caught in the flooded waters and drowned. Local authorities were left reeling from the floods asked the government to set up an emergency capital highways maintenance fund to help with the expected cost of bridge, road and infrastructure repairs from the flooding, as they had done during the widespread 2007 United Kingdom floods.
October