Storm Ophelia

16 October 2017 · 2017-18 season · named by Met Eireann · Ireland, Northern Ireland, 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

119 mphmax gust

21flood warnings & alerts (England)

3UK deaths

Ex-Hurricane Ophelia struck Ireland under a nationwide Met Eireann red warning, producing Ireland's highest-ever recorded gust of 119mph at Fastnet Rock, killing three and cutting power to around 360,000; impact was overwhelmingly destructive wind, not flooding.

Flood footprintEnvironment Agency warning history, England · storm total

0severe warnings

3flood warnings

18flood alerts

18areas

10counties

7rivers & seas

Counted from the Environment Agency's warning record for England (15–16 October 2017). 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

North Devon Coast from Hartland Point to Lynmouth3
Lune Estuary2
Chiswell1
Christchurch Harbour1
Coast from Gretna to Silloth1
Coast from Silloth to St Bees1

Counties

Dorset Council6
Bournemouth3
Christchurch and Poole3
Cumberland3
Devon3
Cornwall3

Rivers & seas

English Channel7
Bristol Channel4
Irish Sea3
North Cornwall Coast3
Lune estuary2
North Sea1

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
Honister	58.6
Ennerdale Black Sail	57.4
Seathwaite Farm	53.8
Mickleden Middle Fell Farm	33.2
Brotherswater	32.0
Ennerdale Starling Gill	28.8
Ennerdale	28.4
Dale Head	27.4
Wet Sleddale	26.8
Thirlmere St Johns Beck	26.2
High Row	25.4
Burnbanks	23.4

The riverspeak vs warning level

Station	Peak	% of warning
Clifton Hall · River Mease	5.52 m	373%
Ashford in the Water · River Wye	1.86 m	248%
Brookhouse Farm · Ford Green Brook	2.27 m	239%
Wensor Bridge, Shelton · River Devon	4.04 m	237%
Mansfield The Dykes · River Maun	2.13 m	213%
Bardsey · Bardsey Beck	3.34 m	186%
Riseley · River Kym	1.05 m	150%
Viking Recorder · River Ouse	2.80 m	147%
Lodore · Derwentwater	1.93 m	138%
Day Brook · Day Brook	1.19 m	125%
Cononley · River Aire	1.28 m	121%
Far Sawrey · Windermere	1.18 m	118%

Gauge records cover 15–17 October 2017 (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.