Storm Abigail

12–13 November 2015 · 2015-16 season · named by Met Office · Scotland

▶ Replay this storm hour by hour the rain, the rivers and the warnings on one clock, and the moments that mattered at your door

84 mphmax gust

56flood warnings & alerts (England)

The first-ever Met Office named storm brought high winds, rain and lightning to north and northwest Scotland, cutting power to over 20,000 homes; impact was mainly wind rather than widespread flooding.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

0severe warnings

6flood warnings

50flood alerts

47areas

22counties

29rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (11–13 November 2015). Welsh warnings are held in a separate record and are not counted here, and FloodRadar only began recording Scottish warnings on 16 September 2026 because SEPA publishes no archive. So this is England's share of the storm, not its total.

Worst-hit areas

River Calder Upper Catchment3
Earby Beck and Glusburn Beck Catchments2
Lower River Ure2
North Sea Coast at Bridlington2
River Aire Upper Catchment2
Severn Estuary at Severn Beach2

Counties

North Yorkshire15
Bradford8
Cumberland5
East Riding of Yorkshire5
Norfolk5
Suffolk5

Rivers & seas

North Sea8
Bristol Channel5
North Cornwall Coast3
River Calder, Walsden Water, Hebden Water3
River Nidd3
River Ouse3

Flood mapthe storm's flood footprint

Red/amber rings mark rivers that reached or came close to their own high level during the storm — the most direct evidence of likely flooding (the gauge measures the river, not any one property). Solid dots mark each flood area's reference point, coloured by the most severe warning raised there — a warning means flooding was expected. Shaded shapes are the Environment Agency's recorded flood outlines: land actually observed flooded, published retrospectively (updated quarterly). England data only. An unshaded area means no flood was mapped here, which is not evidence none happened: the Environment Agency mapped only some floods, mapping effort rose sharply after about 2000, and surface-water flooding is largely absent from this record.

The rainstorm-total by gauge

Gauge	Total mm
Ennerdale Black Sail	261.6
Seathwaite Farm	250.4
Honister	235.6
Mickleden Middle Fell Farm	215.4
Wastwater Hotel	196.8
Littondale	165.8
Brotherswater	137.0
Dale Head	136.2
Far Gearstones	134.8
Beckermonds	134.8
Aisgill	129.6
Seathwaite Tarn	126.2

The riverspeak vs warning level

Station	Peak	% of warning
Brookhouse Farm · Ford Green Brook	2.57 m	271%
Wensor Bridge, Shelton · River Devon	4.58 m	269%
Silsden · Silsden Beck	0.28 m	262%
Calder Hall · River Calder	1.28 m	248%
Hynam Bridge · River Gelt	1.75 m	236%
Coney Gut · Coney Gut	1.66 m	204%
Ferrybridge Fishergate · Wash Dike	0.43 m	203%
Whitewater Bridge · River Maun	1.60 m	200%
Cononley · River Aire	2.05 m	193%
Lodore · Derwentwater	2.62 m	187%
Greenholme · River Irthing	3.12 m	180%
Roe Bridge · River Brock	2.56 m	171%

Gauge records cover 11–14 November 2015 (the storm window ± a day). Frozen 3 Jul 2026.

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FloodRadar compiles Environment Agency warning history, gauge data and public reporting. It is not an emergency service and does not replace official flood warnings — always follow official guidance during a storm.