Between November 2019 and February 2020, severe winter flooding occurred across the United Kingdom. The first wave of flooding occurred in November 2019, mainly affecting Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the West Midlands. Further isolated flooding incidents were reported in December and January, before the second main wave of flooding, caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis, occurred in February 2020. The excessive rainfall resulted in the wettest February since records began, in 1766, in England and Wales with an average of falling across the regions, beating the record from 1833.
Background Most of England received above average rainfall during October 2019, with some catchments receiving over double the average monthly total. Soils were wetter than average for the time of year across most of the country by the end of October. Monthly mean river flows were classed as exceptionally high at just over a third of indicator sites. Early on 8 November, heavy and prolonged rainfall fell on these saturated catchments across the southern Peak District causing flash floods and rivers to burst their banks. A week later on 14 November a further low pressure system brought more heavy rain to areas further south, raising water levels along on the rivers Severn and Avon.
Mid-November - February flooding
Yorkshire and the Humber
Sheffield The Met Office reported that Sheffield had of rain in just over the 36 hours which preceded the flood. This is almost the same as the monthly average for November. On 7 November Supertram services were terminated at Meadowhall South/Tinsley tram stop over fears that floodwater would put the Tinsley tram bridge in danger. On 8 November, shoppers spent the night inside Meadowhall shopping centre as floods surrounded the complex. Rain continued overnight leading to a major incident being declared in Sheffield. Millhouses public park, where in the 2007 floods a boy was swept to his death, was closed, due to concerns about the level of the River Sheaf, a tributary of the Don. On 8 November junction 34 of the M1 was closed.
Flooding throughout the regions affected rail services from Sheffield. On 7 November flooding at Denby Dale resulted in trains being unable to run between Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone. On 14 November train services between Sheffield and Worksop were cancelled because of floods as was the East Midlands Trains service from Sheffield to London St Pancras via the Midland Main Line. On 15 November the TransPennine Express services between Sheffield and Scunthorpe was suspended because of floods in Kirk Sandall, Doncaster. The Hope Valley Line service was also disrupted due to flooding at nearby Edale. Flooding of railway lines in Rotherham also affected train services from Sheffield.
On 17 November the Met Office reported its Sheffield weather station had recorded its wettest ever autumn, "With 15 days [of November] still to go, the site has already recorded 427.6 mm of rain. The previous record was set in 2000 with 425.2 mm of rain falling between 1 September and 30 November that year."
Rotherham The railway tracks at Rotherham Central railway station, used by both Arriva Rail North railway services and the Sheffield Supertram tram-train, were flooded. Trains were unable to run between Sheffield and Gainsborough Central or Lincoln Central. The Sheffield to Leeds (via Moorthorpe) route was also suspended. On 7 November M1 junction 32, the M18 turn-off was reduced to two lanes due to floodwater. On 12 November flooding led to an oil spillage which led to the RSPCA having to rescue 60 swans. On 15 November it was reported that all Supertram services were operating as normal with the exception of the tram-train. Plans to switch on the Christmas lights in Rotherham were cancelled until further notice because of the floods. Rotherham Parkgate retail park was also closed because of flooding with 85% of the shops re-opening on 16 November, this later caused the temporary closure of a local Burger King.
Doncaster
The River Don flooded in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, reaching record levels with severe flood warnings continuing into 12 November.
On 11 November there were 5 severe flood warnings in place for Kirk Bramwith, South Bramwith, Willow Bridge, Bentley and Fishlake, with residents of Fishlake, Thorpe in Balne, Trumfleet and Bentley being asked to evacuate their homes.
Fishlake local resident, Grant Berry appeared on BBC News stating, "The village had not flooded in over 100 years" as he evacuated his home.
On 11 November the Environment Agency deployed four pumps at Fishlake in an attempt to reduce the depth of flood-water and an RAF Chinook was used to convey aggregate to shore-up the banks of drainage channels east of Bentley. Fishlake residents were critical of the Environment Agency which had stated that on Friday 8 November at 5:00 pm there was no flood warning. Even when the village had flooded by 9:00 pm the Environment Agency had still not issued a flood warning. On 15 November John Curtin, executive director of flood and coastal risk management at the Environment Agency, said 38 pumps had been used in homes in Fishlake to reduce the inundation.
Arriva Rail North told customers not to travel on the Doncaster to Scunthorpe route. CrossCountry diverted its trains away from Doncaster. The floods resulted in the closure of 39 roads in the Doncaster area on 11 November.
On 15 November Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council issued a list of 26 roads still closed due to the flood.
In the Don Valley area, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visited Conisborough and Doncaster and viewed the property damage with local MP Caroline Flint, calling on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to declare the floods a national emergency so immediate financial help could be provided to families in need.
Barnsley On 7 November the River Dearne burst its banks, flooding the pub and restaurant, The Mill of the Black Monks, thought to be Barnsley's oldest pub. The building mostly dates back to 1150 AD, with some parts dating back to 700 AD. Other nearby residences were also flooded. On 7 November, within Barnsley twelve roads were closed due to floodwater. Residents and businesses in the Lundwood and Low Valley areas of Barnsley were flooded and the B6096, Station Road at Wombwell was affected by severe flooding. On 15 November three roads remained closed due to floodwater, New Road (from Tingle Bridge Lane junction to the roundabout at Lions Lodge) and Smithy Bridge Lane at Hemingfield, and Birds Nest Lane at Penistone.
Hull On 14 November run-off from fields closed the A63, the only link between Hull and the M62 motorway. The road re-opened on 15 November although a significant number of roads remained closed in the Hull area, including sections of the A164.
Leeds and West Yorkshire On 8 November flooding of railway lines on part of the East Coast Mainline led to delays on the Leeds to London service, with all LNER electric locomotive hauled services being cancelled. At least seven roads in West Yorkshire were closed, including the M606 Northbound main carriageway at junction 3, part of the A641 and some of the A646 Halifax to Burnley route. The moveable weir at Knostrop, part of the River Aire flood alleviation scheme, was lowered to reduce the water level upstream.
East Midlands
River Derwent and Derbyshire The Derwent flooded, and parts of Matlock were submerged as a month's worth of rainfall fell in a day. A woman swept away when wading through fast moving floodwaters and found dead later the same day was named as a former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Annie Hall. During a visit to Matlock, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister said the floods were "not like something we need to escalate to the level of a national emergency".
On 12 November a number of car parks at Chatsworth House were closed, with access to the Christmas market restricted to pre-booked customers and 'Friends of Chatsworth'. Also on 12 November, flooding at Edale led to the closure of the Hope Valley rail service from Sheffield to Manchester Piccadilly. Services resumed later that day.
On 14 November the railtracks at Draycott flooded, leading to delays on journeys from Derby to Long Eaton on the Midland Main Line, and the Matlock to Newark Castle lines were also affected.
River Trent and Nottinghamshire On 7 November the River Ryton burst its banks resulting in major incidents being declared in Worksop. Residents and Bassetlaw District Council leader, Simon Greaves, were critical of the Canal and River Trust (CRT) for not opening The Canch sluice gate. This sluice feeds excess water to the Chesterfield Canal via a channel. The sluice was eventually opened by a firefighter. The initial response of the CRT to requests to open the gate was to say no flood alert had been issued for the Ryton, according to a resident of the Riverside Caravan Park. When CRT engineers visited the sluice gate they refused to enter the building housing the sluice, saying the building was 'unsafe'. The CRT is responsible for the sluice gate though the building is owned by the council. On 15 November the CRT released a statement stating that the sluice was not designed to drain the river. It said "Definitively, it would not have alleviated the flooding in the town. The water would have stayed in the area as the feeder, canal and river all run in parallel a very short distance apart".
Residents of mobile homes in Newark were evacuated on 9 November over fears that the River Trent would burst its banks. The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for Retford and moved pumps into the Retford Beck area in an attempt to prevent the flooding of homes. In Mansfield the heavy rain also caused a mudslide which resulted in 35 homes being evacuated.
Transport was affected in the county with road and rail closures. East Midlands Railway services on the Nottingham to Mansfield and Worksop routes were disrupted due to flooding on the railway line. More than seven roads were closed in the Nottinghamshire area. The rail service between Shirebrook and Worksop, on the Robin Hood Line was also disrupted. On 14 November East Midlands Railway said a flooded railway line near Loughborough had disrupted services between Lincoln, Nottingham and Leicester. The bus operator, Nottingham City Transport reported that flooding had affected fourteen of its routes, with some bus stops not being served.
Lincolnshire More than in Lincolnshire were underwater when the Barlings Eau burst its banks. Twelve flood warnings were issued in the county and some farms were cut off. About 30 residents were evacuated from the Short Ferry Caravan Park near to Bardney, which is close to the Barlings Eau.
On 8 November homes in the Cherry Willingham area of Lincoln were inundated as the River Witham burst its banks, and the area around the Brayford Pool in the centre of Lincoln was flooded. A number of roads were closed in the county including parts of the A1 (northbound), parts of the A46 and parts of the A631.
Bransby Horses, an animal sanctuary near Lincoln, was told by the Environment Agency to close their drain valves and flood their site. The sanctuary, which is located on the River Till washlands has long-standing agreement with the agency to do so in order to reduce flooding in Lincoln. The washlands help protect 7,000 homes and businesses in and around Lincoln. The Bransby Horses site has seen human sewage and four feet of water on their fields with 40% of the grazing land unsafe for at least the next six months (from November 2019). Over one hundred of the four hundred and fifty horses, donkeys, ponies and mules were moved to the sanctuary's site in Barlings, which was bought specifically to deal with emergency evacuations of the Bransby site.