100 Flood Warnings In UK; Wettest January In N. Ireland In 149 Years - Warming Driving Storms And Rainfall Intensity

[hatrack]

In a “miserable and relentlessly wet” start to the year, rain has fallen somewhere in the UK every single day for weeks on end. With more than 100 flood warnings in force across the country and further downpours forecast this week, scientists say the atmospheric forces behind Britain’s endless drizzle are the same ones driving devastating floods across Spain and Portugal.

Northern Ireland has recorded its wettest January in 149 years according to the UK Met Office, while southern England has endured its sixth wettest January since records began in 1836. Rainfall in the south-west was 56% above the long‑term average, rising to 88% above average across the south-east and central southern England. North Wyke in Devon, Cardinham in Cornwall and Astwood Bank in Worcestershire have recorded rain every day so far this year, the Met Office said on Monday.

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Scientists think fossil fuel pollution is making the jet stream more erratic, allowing extreme weather systems – from heavy rain to heat domes – to become stuck over the same areas for prolonged periods, amplifying their impacts. These so-called blocking systems are expected to become more frequent under medium- and worst-case emissions scenarios.

At the same time, global heating is intensifying rainfall. Warmer air can hold about 7% more moisture for every 1C rise in temperature, a shift that has contributed to increasingly wet UK winters arriving roughly two decades earlier than regional climate models had predicted. In January, however, Arctic air led to slightly cooler temperatures than usual, with high monthly rainfall totals more a result of persistence and duration than intensity.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/09/why-is-the-uk-so-rainy-this-year-and-how-is-the-climate-crisis-making-matters-worse

[stollen]

1. I'm in the UK. It's been raining for weeks.

Snowfall at New Year was heavy in Scotland, breaking some sort of record. Everyday it’s gloomy, but Portugal has really taken the brunt of bad weather with all its storms.