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Storm Francis

25–26 August 2020 · 2019-20 season · named by Met Office · England, Wales, 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

63flood warnings & alerts (England)

Followed Ellen with strong winds and heavy rain across England, Wales and Scotland, causing some surface-water and localised river flooding in an unusually stormy August.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

0severe warnings

5flood warnings

58flood alerts

61areas

49counties

57rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (24–26 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

Somerset coast at Porlock Weir2
The River Dee Catchment in England from Whitchurch to Chester2
Earby Beck and Glusburn Beck1
Exmoor Rivers1
Honksford Brook at Worsley Business Park and Mosley Common Road1
Keswick Campsite1

Counties

North Yorkshire12
Devon9
Westmorland and Furness7
Cumberland7
Staffordshire6
Somerset5

Rivers & seas

Bristol Channel2
North Sea2
River Dee2
River Douglas2
River Nidd2
River Wye2

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
White Barrow	133.0
Mickleden Middle Fell Farm	113.4
Seathwaite Tarn	105.2
West Dunkery	100.4
Goldscleugh	99.4
Princetown	95.8
Cat And Fiddle	93.6
Coniston Coppermines	92.5
Holne Priddons Farm	91.7
Brownhills	90.4
Burnbanks	89.2
Longridge Spade Mill	88.8

The riverspeak vs warning level

Station	Peak	% of warning
Hexham Tanners Row Downstream · Cockshaw Burn	0.12 m	410%
Prestbury Road · Wymans Brook	0.18 m	366%
Brookhouse Farm · Ford Green Brook	2.93 m	308%
Ferrybridge Fishergate · Wash Dike	0.62 m	294%
Calthorpe Park · River Rea	1.22 m	293%
Skipton Eller Beck · Eller Beck	2.20 m	293%
Whitewater Bridge · River Maun	2.19 m	274%
Todmorden Millwood · River Calder	2.07 m	274%
Broadway Foot · River Rye	1.08 m	269%
The Causeway · Dimore Brook	1.40 m	258%
Portmarsh Lane · Coney Gut	1.28 m	256%
Roe Bridge · River Brock	3.72 m	248%

Gauge records cover 24–27 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.