Autumn 2000 western Europe floods

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Autumn 2000 Western Europe floods

Shrewsbury Abbey from the west - geograph.org.uk - 56158.jpg

Shrewsbury Abbey on November 1
Date mid-September 2000— mid-December 2000 [1]
Location United Kingdom, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia
Deaths 20
Property damage Estimated to exceed $2 billion [2]

The Autumn of 2000 was the wettest recorded in the United Kingdom since records began in 1766. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Several regions of Atlantic Europe from France to Norway received double their average rainfall and there were severe floods and landslides in the southern Alps. [6] In October and November 2000 a successive series of extratropical cyclones caused severe flooding across the UK. [7] [8]

Atlantic Europe

Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as a biogeographical region.

Extratropical cyclone type of cyclone

Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild showers to heavy gales, thunderstorms, blizzards, and tornadoes. These types of cyclones are defined as large scale (synoptic) low pressure weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth. In contrast with tropical cyclones, extratropical cyclones produce rapid changes in temperature and dew point along broad lines, called weather fronts, about the center of the cyclone.

The United Kingdom saw the most extensive nationwide [9] flooding event since the snow-melt of 1947. [4] Prior to 1947, three similar events occurred in the second half of the 19th century where prolonged rainfall led to widespread flooding throughout England in the month of November, namely 1894, 1875, and 1852. [3]

The combined effect of the storms across Western Europe caused flooding throughout the United Kingdom. Two storm events (Nicole and Oratia) 28 November to 3 November, and the storm Rebekka from 4 November, resulted in continuous flooding. [10] [11] 10,000 homes were flooded in 700 locations. [4] Peak flows on the Rivers Thames, Trent, Severn, Wharfe and Dee were the highest for 60 years. The River Ouse in Yorkshire reached the highest level since the 17th century. [4]

Cyclone Oratia called Tora in Norway, a 2000 European windstorm

Cyclone Oratia, was an unusually deep European windstorm which affected Western Europe early in the year for a storm of this type. The storm was the fiercest to hit Britain in October since the Great Storm of 1987, with wind gusts reaching 109 mph, and gusting at up to 90 mph over much of the south of England. Its barometric pressure fell to 941 hPa, over the North Sea making it one of the deepest lows recorded in the country in October. The lowest land-based pressure observation reached 951.2 hPa at RAF Fylingdales, which is not lower than the UK record October value of 946.8 hPa observed at Cawdor Castle on 14 October 1981. Three tornadoes were reported from this storm. The storm contributed to the ongoing Autumn 2000 western Europe floods.

In the United Kingdom a series of severe floods affected large parts of the country in the Autumn of 2000. The worst affected areas were Kent and Sussex during October and Shropshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire in November. The Autumn of 2000 was the wettest on record in the England and Wales precipitation record with several major rainfall events causing flooding in different parts of the country during October and November. England and Wales had an average of 503 mm of rain from September–November exceeding the previous record by nearly 50 mm. [12]

Kent County of England

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

Sussex historic county in South East England

Sussex, from the Old English Sūþsēaxe, is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English Channel, and divided for many purposes into the ceremonial counties of West Sussex and East Sussex. Brighton and Hove, though part of East Sussex, was made a unitary authority in 1997, and as such, is administered independently of the rest of East Sussex. Brighton and Hove was granted City status in 2000. Until then, Chichester was Sussex's only city.

Shropshire County of England

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands of England, bordering Wales to the west, Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, and Worcestershire and Herefordshire to the south. Shropshire Council was created in 2009, a unitary authority taking over from the previous county council and five district councils. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a separate unitary authority since 1998 but continues to be included in the ceremonial county.

Meteorological background

A succession of slow-moving low pressure systems crossed the UK during Autumn 2000 associated with the jet stream being in a more southerly position than average. [13] The flooding in Kent and Sussex resulted from a succession of thunderstorms passing along a near-stationary front. [14] Much of the rock in this area is impermeable and there had already been significant rainfall in the south-east allowing for increased surface flow and river levels. Several fronts passed over central and northern England in the following weeks causing flooding in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.

Jet stream Fast-flowing atmospheric air-current

Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds. Their paths typically have a meandering shape. Jet streams may start, stop, split into two or more parts, combine into one stream, or flow in various directions including opposite to the direction of the remainder of the jet.

Prelude

The rainfall for this period in the three preceding years had been above the 1961-1990 average. [14] The previous spring was unsettled, with April and May particularly wet, [8] which increased the aquifer recharge season. [14] Heavy rain was also seen in June, leading to high river levels and some flooding in Yorkshire. [8]

September 2000 was generally unsettled, with wet periods between 14-19. This resulted in some flooding on 15 September around Portsmouth and Southsea as a pumping station at Eastney failed after 58 mm (2.3 in) of rain fell in 4.5 hours, being the heaviest rain since 1986 in the area. Total rainfall was also measured at 65mm in Havant making this a 1 in 108 year storm event. [15] Storms affected Flanders in Belgium 15 September, with tornados reported in the municipalities of Zwalm, Antwerp and Erpe-Mere. Flooding affected the regions of Ghent and Kortrijk. [16] 24 out of 27 UK Met Office regions except northern Scotland received higher than normal rainfall during the month, making this the wettest September since 1981. [5]

Ex-Hurricane Isaac, 2–4 October

Ex-Hurricane Isaac crossed the Atlantic with eye still visible on 2 October [17] and lashed the west of the British isles with near gale force winds on 3 October, before merging with another extra-tropical low on 4 October north of Scotland. [18] Early October 2000 brought more than the monthly average rainfall in the first 10 days to the southeast of England. [19]

Ex-Tropical Storm Leslie, 9–14 October

Ex-TS Leslie (Imke/Heidrun [20] )
Type European windstorm
Extratropical cyclone
Formed 7 October 2000
Dissipated 14 October 2000
Lowest pressure 963 mb (28.4 inHg) [21]
Highest gust 0 km/h (0 mph) in
Areas affected Western Europe

A complex of low pressures, named Heidrun & Imke [22] by FU Berlin formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Leslie. This formed at 30˚N 76˚W on 5 October, swept westwards and merged with a front on 7 October, and then reintensified to become a storm south of Great Britain with winds of 40-50 knots reported in the Bay of Biscay. [23] An area of convective storms stalled over Sussex and Kent.

Affected areas

Kent

Homes in Yalding and Maidstone were flooded, however there had been fears that a high tide might lead to the River Medway bursting its banks. This threat passed preventing much more widespread damage. [25] Evacuations took place in some villages in the county.

Sussex

On 12 October many roads were flooded across both West and East Sussex including the A21 and A22. A lifeboat crew rescued 20 people trapped in a supermarket in Uckfield and others were rescued by helicopter. [26]

Shropshire

Shrewsbury, Ironbridge and Bridgnorth flooded as the Severn breached its banks and reached its highest levels in 53 years. [27]

Worcestershire

The Severn breached its banks in many parts of the county, including at Bewdley, Worcester and Upton-upon-Severn. In Worcester, the Severn peaked on 3 November at its highest level in 53 years. The river remained in flood for several days however and the main road bridge in the city was closed. Homes were flooded in Diglis as well as many businesses on the city's waterfront and the cricket ground. In Bewdley, the floods led to renewed calls for flood defences in the town. [28] These were completed in 2006 and have since reduced the impact of flooding on the town.

Yorkshire

The Ouse in flood, York The Ouse in flood. York - geograph.org.uk - 126451.jpg
The Ouse in flood, York

Flooding affected York during the summer and autumn of 2000 as the River Ouse reached its highest levels since records began. The floods cost the city council in excess of £1 million and 40 people had to be moved from their homes. [29] The floods were the worst in 375 years; more than 300 homes were flooded and the army were called in to help with flood relief efforts. [30]

Aftermath

Attributing flood risk to climate change

In 2011 a team of climate scientists from the University of Oxford, the Met Office, ETH Zurich, the National Institute of Environmental Studies in Japan and Risk Management Solutions Ltd. published an article on the role of man-made greenhouse gas emissions in the Autumn 2000 floods in the UK. [31] The risk of major flooding occurring during October and November 2000 was estimated to have increased due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The team used thousands of model simulations run on the personal computers of members of the public through the Climateprediction.net project.

Warm sea surface temperatures in the English Channel and Norway, [32] along with an abnormally warm North Atlantic, added moisture and energy to weather systems as they crossed the UK. [8] September was the wettest since 1981, October the wettest since 1903 and November the wettest since 1970. Overall the autumn of 2000 was the wettest since 1872, and more rain fell in September, October and November than in any other 3-month period since rainfall records began in 1727. Climatologically it was calculated that Autumn 2000 was a 1-in-500-year event, assuming a static climate. [8]

Government report

Defra commissioned an independent review by the Institution of Civil Engineers under George Fleming. [33] The review was to consider methods of estimating and reducing flood risk and look at whether flood risk management could make more use of natural processes. Other terms of reference included the possible impact of climate change and experience of other countries. The resulting report entitled Learning to Live with Rivers specifically criticised a reluctance to use computer models and inadequate representation of the dynamic effects of land use, catchment processes and climatic variability. More broadly, the report noted that sustainable flood risk management could only be achieved by working with the natural response of the river basin and by providing the necessary storage, flow reduction and discharge capacity. It concluded that floods can only be managed, not prevented, and the community must learn to live with rivers.

The report found that damage was reduced by flood defences and by timely warnings and evacuations where the defences could not hold back the water. As a result, 280,000 properties were protected from the floods, but over 10,000 properties were still flooded at an estimated cost of £1 billion.

Related Research Articles

Climate of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom straddles the higher mid-latitudes between 49° and 61° N. It is on the western seaboard of Afro-Eurasia, the world's largest land mass. Since the UK is always in or close to the path of the polar front jet stream, frequent changes in pressure and unsettled weather are typical. Many types of weather can be experienced in a single day. In general the climate of the UK is cool and often cloudy, and high temperatures are infrequent.

Pineapple Express A strong and persistent flow of moisture associated with heavy precipitation from the waters near the Hawaiian Islands to the Pacific coast of North America

Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of moisture and associated with heavy precipitation from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America. A Pineapple Express is an example of an atmospheric river, which is a more general term for such narrow corridors of enhanced water vapor transport at mid-latitudes around the world.

Northeast U.S. flooding of October 2005

In October 2005, remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy and Subtropical Depression Twenty-Two merged with incoming continental cold fronts to produce torrential rains over interior New England, as well as over parts of New Jersey and New York. Particularly hard hit was the state of New Hampshire, which saw roads and bridges wiped out, several reported deaths, and whole buildings destroyed. Rain lingered over some areas for several weeks. Rainfall from both rain events totaled well over 20 inches (510 mm) in some areas.

Climate of Sydney

The climate of Sydney is humid subtropical, shifting from mild and cool in winter to warm and hot in the summer, with no extreme seasonal differences as the weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, although more contrasting temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. Despite the fact that there is no distinct dry or wet season, rainfall peaks in the first half of the year and is at its lowest in the second half. Precipitation varies across the region, with areas adjacent to the coast being the wettest. The city receives around 20 thunderstorms per year.

Floods in the United States: 2001–present

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2007 United Kingdom floods June-July 2007 floods series in the UK

A series of serious floods occurred in parts of the United Kingdom during the summer of 2007. The worst of the flooding occurred across Scotland on 14 June; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire on 25 June; and Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and South Wales on 28 July 2007.

In Australia, the Federation Drought is the name given to a prolonged period of drought that occurred around the time of Federation in 1901.

The 1950 rainfall records for the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland reported probably the most remarkable record high rainfall totals ever recorded anywhere in the continent. Averaged over both of these states, 1950 is clearly the wettest year since adequate records became available circa 1885. Queensland recorded a statewide average rainfall of around 1,125 millimetres (44.3 in) as against a mean since 1885 of around 640 millimetres (25.2 in), whilst New South Wales recorded around 930 millimetres (36.6 in) as against an instrumental mean around 520 millimetres (20.5 in). Australia's wettest town, Tully also recorded its highest annual rainfall total in 1950 with 7,898.0 millimetres (310.9 in).

Between 1979 and 1983 almost all of eastern Australia was affected by a major drought.

Climate of south-west England

The climate of south-west England is classed as oceanic (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification. The oceanic climate is typified by cool winters with warmer summers and precipitation all year round, with more experienced in winter. Annual rainfall is about 1,000 millimetres (39 in) and up to 2,000 millimetres (79 in) on higher ground. Summer maxima averages range from 18 °C (64 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F) and winter minima averages range from 1 °C (34 °F) to 4 °C (39 °F) across the south-west. It is the second windiest area of the United Kingdom, the majority of winds coming from the south-west and north-east. Government organisations predict the area will experience a rise in temperature and become the hottest region in the United Kingdom.

October 2009 North American storm complex

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Tropical Storm Octave (1983)

Tropical Storm Octave was considered the worst tropical cyclone in the history of Arizona. The origins of Tropical Storm Octave were from a tropical disturbance that formed south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec on September 23, 1983. Steered by a deep layer high over Mexico, the disturbance moved west for four days before becoming a tropical depression on September 27 off the southwest coast of Mexico. Over an area of warm sea surface temperatures, it was able to quickly strengthen to peak winds of 50 mph (85 km/h), through wind shear prevented much further development. By September 30, Octave was accelerating to the northeast, steadily weakening due to cooler waters. That day it weakened to tropical depression status, and on October 2, Octave dissipated.

2012 Great Britain and Ireland floods event

The 2012 Great Britain and Ireland floods are a series of weather events that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland periodically during the course of 2012 and on through the winter into 2013. The beginning of 2012 saw much of the United Kingdom experiencing droughts and a heat wave in March. A series of low pressure systems steered by the jet stream brought the wettest April in 100 years, and flooding across Britain and Ireland. Continuing through May and leading to the wettest beginning to June in 150 years, with flooding and extreme events occurring periodically throughout Britain and parts of Atlantic Europe.

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The 2018–19 European windstorm season is the fourth instance of seasonal European windstorm naming in Europe. Most storms form between September and March. The first named storm, Ali affected primarily the United Kingdom and Ireland on the 19 September.

References

  1. ↑ "The UK record-breaking wet Autumn 2000" (PDF). UK Universities Global Atmospheric Modelling Programme Newsletter. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Rising Temperatures Bringing Bigger Floods". Science Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Preliminary Report of U.K. Flood Damage From Increased Rainfall in November 2000." (PDF). Risk Management Solutions. Retrieved 24 February 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The wet autumn of 2000". UK Met Office. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  5. 1 2 "The Autumn 2000 Rains and Floods" (PDF). UK Parliament briefing paper. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Blackburn, M.; B. J. Hoskins (2001). "Atmospheric variability and extreme Autumn rainfall in the UK" (PDF). met reading. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "unknown" (PDF). NERC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Paul Hudson. "The 10th anniversary of the Autumn 2000 floods". BBC. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "The 2000/01 Floods — a Hydrological Appraisal: Introduction and Overview". NERC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "What is a flood? Defining flood loss occurrences for reinsurance purposes" (PDF). Munich Re Group. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "Lessons Learned: Autumn 2000 floods". Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  12. ↑ Marsh T & Dale M (2002). "The UK floods of 2000-2001: A hydrometeorological appraisal". Journal of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environment Management. 16 (3): 180–88. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.2002.tb00392.x.
  13. ↑ Blackburn M & Hoskins B (2001). "Atmospheric variability and extreme Autumn rainfall in the UK" (PDF).
  14. 1 2 3 "The UK Autumn 2000 floods". WWF/climateprediction.net. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment" (PDF). Portsmouth City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Inondations" (in French). Royal Meteorological Institute Belgium. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  17. ↑ Donguy, Patrick; Daniel Pochic (May 2001). "Les photos du mois:De la ligne de grains à la tempête - Octobre 2000" (PDF). La Météorologie (in French). 33. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Hurricane Isaac Tropical Cyclone Report". National Hurricane Center. NOAA. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "U.K. Floods, October 13-14, 2000" (PDF). Risk Management Solutions. Retrieved 24 February 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. ↑ "Rétrospective Des Catastrophes Naturelles Survenues en 2001" (PDF) (in French). Munich Re Group. Retrieved 4 March 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  21. ↑ "British Isles weather diary". reading.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  22. ↑ "Schauer werden von stürmischen Böen begleitet" (in German). rp-online. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  23. ↑ Mariners Weather Log(PDF). 45 (1). April 2001 http://www.vos.noaa.gov/MWL/apr2001.pdf . Retrieved 9 March 2012.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ↑ "Uckfield Case Study: What caused the heavy rain of 12 October 2000?". Geographical Association. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  25. ↑ "Relief as flood threat eases". BBC. 14 October 2000. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  26. ↑ "Floods cause chaos". BBC. 12 October 2000. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  27. ↑ "Time shift: 2000 Floods". BBC Shropshire. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  28. ↑ "Floods Round-up". Worcester News. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  29. ↑ "York counts cost of 2000 flood". BBC. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  30. ↑ Dennis, I. A.; MacKlin, M. G.; Coulthard, T. J.; Brewer, P. A. (2003). "The impact of the October-November 2000 floods on contaminant metal dispersal in the River Swale catchment, North Yorkshire, UK". Hydrological Processes. 17 (8): 1641. Bibcode:2003HyPr...17.1641D. doi:10.1002/hyp.1206.
  31. ↑ Pall P, Aina T, Stone DA, Stott PA, Nozawa T, Hilberts AG, Lohmann D, Allen MR (2011). "Anthropogenic greenhouse gas contribution to flood risk in England and Wales in autumn 2000". Nature. 470 (7334): 382–385. Bibcode:2011Natur.470..382P. doi:10.1038/nature09762. PMID   21331040 . Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  32. ↑ Benestad, R. E.; Melsom, A. (2002). "Is there a link between the unusually wet autumns in southeastern Norway and sea-surface temperature anomalies?". Climate Research. 23: 67. Bibcode:2002ClRes..23...67B. doi:10.3354/cr023067.
  33. ↑ Fleming, George; et al. (November 2001). "Learning to live with rivers". Institution of Civil Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
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