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Storm Ellen

19–21 August 2020 · 2019-20 season · named by Met Eireann · Ireland, Wales, England

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94flood warnings & alerts (England)
An unseasonal late-August storm bringing damaging summer gales to Ireland, Wales and southwest England with power outages; predominantly a wind event.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

0severe warnings
34flood warnings
60flood alerts
70areas
31counties
32rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (18–21 August 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

  • Climping Seafront5
  • South Cornwall Coast from Lizard Point to Gribbin Head excluding Truro City4
  • Cumbrian coastline at North Morecambe Bay, along the coast from Roosebeck to Carnforth3
  • Cumbrian coastline from Gretna to Silloth including Port Carlisle, Skinburness and Rockcliffe3
  • South Cornwall Coast from Gribbin Head to Rame Head3
  • Humber estuary from Spurn Point to Winestead Outfall2

Counties

  • Cornwall21
  • Devon14
  • East Riding of Yorkshire11
  • West Sussex8
  • Dorset Council7
  • Hampshire7

Rivers & seas

  • English Channel19
  • South Cornwall Coast12
  • North Sea8
  • Bristol Channel7
  • South Devon Coast5
  • Bristol Channel, North Devon Coast4

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
White Barrow 112.6
Allenby 100.4
Mickleden Middle Fell Farm 91.2
Honister 90.0
Ennerdale Black Sail 87.8
Seathwaite Farm 85.0
Demings Moss 81.4
Holne Priddons Farm 80.5
Vowchurch 75.6
Dale Head 75.2
Thirlmere St Johns Beck 73.4
Wet Sleddale 72.8

The riverspeak vs warning level

StationPeak% of warning
Mansfield The Dykes · River Maun 3.13 m 313%
Portmarsh Lane · Coney Gut 1.51 m 301%
Wensor Bridge, Shelton · River Devon 4.67 m 274%
Prestbury Road · Wymans Brook 0.11 m 218%
Brookhouse Farm · Ford Green Brook 2.07 m 218%
Perry Park · River Tame 1.75 m 202%
Ashford in the Water · River Wye 1.51 m 201%
Calthorpe Park · River Rea 0.81 m 194%
Whitewater Bridge · River Maun 1.43 m 179%
Bacons End · River Cole 0.66 m 171%
Bescot · River Tame 2.08 m 166%
Little Alne · River Alne 2.19 m 165%

Gauge records cover 18–22 August 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.