Storms Austen and Boelo cause England's wettest week in two years

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.

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. Read more: Wind warning still in place for parts of UK as major clean-up under way after Storms Austen and Boelo batter Britain Read more: Fresh weather warnings as more strong winds and heavy rain on the way after two storms batter Britain killing two 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. River levels have increased at all but two of the sites the agency monitors.

Communities were still recovering from Storm Boelo earlier this week after Storm Austen swept across southern England, Wales, and the Channel Islands. Off the coast of the Isle of Wight, a woman in her 50s died after being pulled from the sea. Two people were killed by falling trees on Sunday – a man in his 20s in Finchley, north London, and Richard Baines, 60, in Dumfries and Galloway. Two women were also taken to hospital after they were hit by a falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross.

On Tuesday, a separate yellow wind warning for western areas of England and parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland expired at 3am. As of 9.30am on Tuesday, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had 13 flood alerts and 39 flood warnings in place while the Environment Agency in England had issued five flood warnings that flooding is expected and 41 alerts that flooding is possible.