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Home › UK Storms › Storm Babet
Archive Cat 4 · Severe

Storm Babet

18–22 October 2023 · 2023-24 season · named by Met Office · Scotland, England

▶ Replay this storm hour by hour
the rain, the rivers and the warnings on one clock, and the moments that mattered at your door
115 mphmax gust
864flood warnings & alerts (England)
7UK deaths
A predominantly rainfall-driven storm that triggered a rare red rain warning for eastern Scotland, causing catastrophic river flooding in Angus (over 330 homes evacuated in Brechin as the South Esk breached defences) plus major flooding in Aberdeenshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

5severe warnings
552flood warnings
307flood alerts
743areas
118counties
356rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (17–22 October 2023). 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

  • Lower River Derwent3
  • North Sea at Sandsend3
  • North Sea coast at Bridlington3
  • North Sea coast at Bridlington - Harbour Road and Floral Pavilion3
  • North Sea coast from Staithes to Whitby including tidal River Esk3
  • River Idle at Retford, Eaton and Gamston3

Counties

  • Derbyshire133
  • Nottinghamshire82
  • North Yorkshire69
  • Lincolnshire64
  • Staffordshire62
  • Worcestershire58

Rivers & seas

  • River Derwent49
  • River Trent44
  • River Severn33
  • River Don27
  • North Sea24
  • River Weaver17

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

GaugeTotal mm
Dancers End 331.0
Ebworth 184.8
Redmires 176.6
Wakefield 148.6
Dore 136.6
Ringinglow 135.8
Barbrook 132.0
Goldscleugh 131.2
Maltby 128.4
Sutton-In-Ashfield 127.8
Rothbury 124.4
Langsett 124.2

The riverspeak vs warning level

StationPeak% of warning
Hexham Tanners Row Downstream · Cockshaw Burn 0.14 m 467%
Prestbury Road · Wymans Brook 0.20 m 400%
Acomb Garden House · Birkey Burn 0.61 m 389%
Dutlas · River Teme 2.19 m 365%
Sheffield Station · Porter Brook 1.09 m 363%
Hunsingore · River Nidd 2.41 m 344%
Weetwood Bridge · River Till 3.57 m 316%
Wellesbourne · River Dene 1.11 m 307%
Wyre Piddle · Piddle Brook 1.93 m 303%
Skipton Eller Beck · Eller Beck 2.27 m 303%
Crabb Mill · Woodbridge Brook 2.02 m 298%
Goulceby · River Bain 1.02 m 291%

Gauge records cover 17–23 October 2023 (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.