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Home › UK Storms › Storm Dennis
Archive Cat 5 · Extreme

Storm Dennis

15–16 February 2020 · 2019-20 season · named by Met Office · Wales, England

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128 mphmax gust
158 mmpeak rainfall
825flood warnings & alerts (England)
5UK deaths
A catastrophic flooding storm: 157.6mm of rain at Crai Reservoir (Powys) over 48 hours fell on saturated ground, sending many rivers to record levels. The Taff at Pontypridd reached its highest in 40+ years and the Wye hit record highs, devastating the south Wales valleys and Tenbury Wells.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

8severe warnings
420flood warnings
397flood alerts
761areas
135counties
406rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (14–16 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

  • River Severn at East Waterside, Upton upon Severn4
  • Barcombe Mills3
  • Eastern Yar3
  • Lower Arun3
  • Climping Seafront2
  • Cuckmere River2

Counties

  • Worcestershire60
  • Staffordshire55
  • Derbyshire52
  • Hampshire51
  • North Yorkshire50
  • Devon46

Rivers & seas

  • River Severn35
  • River Trent21
  • Groundwater18
  • River Wye18
  • River Teme17
  • River Thames14

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
Holne Priddons Farm 184.2
Demings Moss 166.0
Bellever Dartmoor 156.3
Dartmoor 152.1
Wet Sleddale 145.0
Austins Bridge 132.2
Burnbanks 132.0
West Dunkery 129.4
Prewley 127.4
Princetown 126.2
Bovey Tracey 123.2
High Row 121.0

The riverspeak vs warning level

StationPeak% of warning
Hexham Tanners Row Downstream · Cockshaw Burn 0.18 m 600%
Hunsingore · River Nidd 2.52 m 359%
Cosford River · River Worfe 1.16 m 330%
Rodbourne · Gauze Brook 1.15 m 324%
Fenton Dam · Bushy Beck 5.28 m 322%
Pateley Bridge · River Nidd 2.89 m 321%
Burcote · River Worfe 1.75 m 318%
Hundred House Bridge · Royal Military Canal 1.44 m 316%
Rocester · River Dove 2.09 m 312%
Hindley Wrae Ford · River West Allen 1.62 m 304%
Shipston · River Stour 2.94 m 303%
Church Wilne · River Derwent 4.84 m 303%

Gauge records cover 14–17 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.