Storm Ciara

8–9 February 2020 · 2019-20 season · named by Met Office · England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

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

110 mphmax gust

180 mmpeak rainfall

613flood warnings & alerts (England)

3UK deaths

A severe wind-and-rain storm: a UK gust of 109.5mph at Capel Curig and 179.8mm of rain at Honister Pass over the weekend caused widespread flooding across northern England and Scotland, with the EA issuing 251 flood warnings and a severe flood warning on the Nidd at Pateley Bridge.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

1severe warnings

308flood warnings

304flood alerts

565areas

106counties

279rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (7–9 February 2020). 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

West Bay Harbour4
Climping Seafront3
Coast at North Morecambe Bay3
Coast from Gretna to Silloth3
Coast from Silloth to St Bees3
Coast from St Bees Head to Millom3

Counties

North Yorkshire78
Lancashire69
Cumberland41
Calderdale35
Westmorland and Furness33
Leeds31

Rivers & seas

River Calder39
English Channel33
North Sea28
Irish Sea19
River Aire18
River Eden16

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
Wet Sleddale	203.2
Honister	197.4
Burnbanks	194.6
Brotherswater	181.4
Demings Moss	173.2
Dale Head	166.2
Seathwaite Farm	164.8
Thirlmere St Johns Beck	159.8
High Row	158.2
Mickleden Middle Fell Farm	149.2
Footholme	144.4
Ennerdale Black Sail	144.2

The riverspeak vs warning level

Station	Peak	% of warning
Liversedge Halifax Road · Lands Beck	1.34 m	382%
Keighley Dalton Lane · River Worth	2.79 m	353%
Fenton Dam · Bushy Beck	5.76 m	352%
Silsden · Silsden Beck	0.37 m	345%
Mytholmroyd Dauber Bridge · Cragg Brook	1.03 m	336%
Hindley Wrae Ford · River West Allen	1.73 m	325%
Kielder Butteryhaugh · River North Tyne	1.82 m	325%
Brookhouse Farm · Ford Green Brook	3.00 m	315%
Ramshaw Mill · River Gaunless	1.26 m	313%
Northorpe · Spen Beck	1.54 m	308%
Haydon Bridge Brigwood · River South Tyne	2.86 m	306%
Quixhill · River Churnet	2.37 m	300%

Gauge records cover 7–10 February 2020 (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.