UK Extreme Weather

• Prolonged rainfall and flooding

  1. Persistent rainfall over a long period = river floods.
  2. Ground is completely saturated = it can no longer absorb water.
  3. More surface run off, especially steep slopes and valleys.
  4. So more water returns straight to the river than soaking into the ground.
  5. Occurs in late winter.
• Strong winds


  • UK gets battered by strong winds
  • Remnants of hurricanes travel over the Atlantic from the USA and Caribbean.
  •  Storm Eunice battered southern Britain + ripped much of the London O2's roof off.
• Drought + Heatwaves

  1. Drought = 15 consecutive days with less than 0.2mm of rain on one day.

  2. Heatwaves = Increasing in frequency.

  Hottest temperature - 40. 2 degrees
• Evidence from Met Office : Extreme Weather

  • suggests that the UK is experiencing more extreme weather events
  • all weather is subject to great variability.
• Impacts of flooding + droughts + extreme cold

  • extreme social, environmental and economic impacts
• Increase in droughts

  • UK has seen a temperature increase of 1 degrees since 1980
  • linked to hotter summers + greater chance of drought
• Effects of extreme weather

  • Disruption to Transport
  • Loss of crops + livestock
  • Burst pipes
• Beast from the East

  • Storm Emma brought winds in excess of 70mph.
  • Extreme cold air from Russia to UK
  • 15-20cm of snow fell for the course of 3 days.
• Social impacts of Beast from the East

  1. 10 people killed
  2. Thousands of homes without power
  3. Over 1000 schools across the country closed for up to 3 days
• Economic impacts : Beast from the East

  1. Cost UK economy £1 billion /day. Businesses were closed, unable to work.
  2. Airports closed + flights cancelled, impacting tourism + trade.
• Environmental impacts of Beast from the East

  1. Crop yields affected : potatoes
  2. The cold weather reduced the insect population = food shortages for birds & wildlife
  3. Sea froze in places for the first time since 1929
• How the event was managed to reduce risk?

  1. Met office issues ‘Red’ weather warning to stop people from travelling.
  2. Community centers open for homeless people to shelter from the conditions.
  3. Red Cross issued blankets/camp beds to people stranded at Glasgow Airport.