Impact of storms sees wettest week in England for two years

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.2 findings

England has experienced its wettest week for two years, thanks to heavy rain from two named storms, Austen and Boelo. An average of 55mm of rain fell across England in the seven days to October 27, with as much as 76mm in the North West and 87mm in the South West . River levels have increased in many areas, with the Dart at Austins Bridge near Buckfastleigh in Devon classed as “exceptionally high”. Much of the country remains officially in drought, however, with a severe drought in place across parts of the South West and Sussex.

A downed tree in Gladstone Park, north-west London, following strong winds brought by Storm Austen (Martin Evans/PA) PA Wire The impact of Austen and Boelo led to England seeing its wettest week since October 2024, the Environment Agency said on Thursday. Austen triggered an amber warning from the Met Office for strong winds and rain across Cornwall and parts of Devon on Friday October 23, along with a yellow warning for much of central and southern England.

Gusts reached nearly 80mph on the Isle of Wight, flights were cancelled and thousands of homes were left without power. Boelo arrived the following day, Saturday October 24, this time prompting an amber warning for wind over Scotland, with a yellow warning covering northern England. There was further travel disruption and many more homes lost power, with some still cut off on Wednesday. The downpours mean England has now received 11% more rainfall than the long-term average for October, according to the Environment Agency.

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

The article lists the storms' effects as gusts, cancelled flights, power cuts and travel disruption, but never says the storms killed two people. LBC reported this the same day. Without it, a reader believes the harm was limited to disruption.

How we know

LBC reported“two storms batter Britain killing two”Storms Austen and Boelo cause England's wettest week in two years (opens in a new tab)

River levels have increased at all but two of the sites the agency monitors.

Read the original article on standard.co.uk

What we found (2)

The Evening Standard reports England's wettest week in two years, with storms Austen and Boelo bringing heavy rain, gusts near 80mph, power cuts and travel disruption. It never says that a warming climate makes heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense, so a reader takes the downpours as weather alone. It also lists the storms' disruption without mentioning that LBC reported the storms killed two people.

Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“England has experienced its wettest week for two years, thanks to heavy rain from two named storms, Austen and Boelo.”
Why this matters
The opening line puts the wettest week in two years down to "heavy rain from two named storms" and nothing else. No sentence in the article mentions climate change or warming.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking this extreme rainfall is ordinary weather, with nothing to do with a warming climate.
The context
Human-caused warming has made heavy rainfall more frequent and more intense. The article reports a week of extreme rain, rivers classed as "exceptionally high" and October rainfall 11% above average, but never carries that line.
How we know
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.
- On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
- Elsewhere in the article“classed as “exceptionally high””
Show it in the article
Written straight
England has had its wettest week for two years after heavy rain from storms Austen and Boelo. Climate change is making heavy rainfall like this more frequent and more intense.
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
The article lists the storms' effects as gusts, cancelled flights, power cuts and travel disruption, but never says the storms killed two people. LBC reported this the same day. Without it, a reader believes the harm was limited to disruption.
How we know
- LBC reported“two storms batter Britain killing two”Storms Austen and Boelo cause England's wettest week in two years (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs

How other outlets reported it

LBCStorms Austen and Boelo cause England's wettest week in two years (opens in a new tab)

Spot something we missed? Report this article

More from Evening Standard

Everything we scored from Evening Standard

Impact of storms sees wettest week in England for two years

Leaves out the climate link

Leaves out what changes the picture

How other outlets reported it

More from Evening Standard