Britain deluged by rain for 40 days straight – how bad is it and how long will it last?
Like some sort of biblical punishment, rainy old Blighty looks rainier than ever; 40 consecutive days of rain falling from slate-gray skies make every day rainy so far in 2026.
And more to come. “We’re starting the week with more rain once again in places where we’ve seen a lot of rain over the last few weeks,” Met Office meteorologist Aiden McGivern said, adding that “for some this means it’s the 40th day of rain this year.”
While the Environment Agency has issued more than a hundred flood warnings and the Met Office has issued yellow rain warnings for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the south-west and Scotland will take the brunt as severe weather continues, while another band of heavy rain is expected across much of the rest of the country.
Mr McGivern added that all of this was accompanied by “extensive low cloud and fog with patches of fog”.
This made for “an extraordinarily wet start to the year”, Met Office saidin many places it leaves the feeling that “winter is happening again and again”.
How wet was it?
It’s very wet. Cornwall and County Down in Ireland recorded the wettest January in history, while Northern Ireland experienced the wettest January in 149 years.
While 26 stations across the UK set new monthly rainfall records, some daily records also fell – Plymouth saw its wettest January day in 104 years, Hurn in Dorset by 74 years and Dunkeswell in Devon by 57 years.
Figures show that 2026 has rainfall intensity and frequency to rival some of the most extreme periods ever observed in the country.
Just think of the sated souls living at North Wyke in Devon, Cardinham in Cornwall and Astwood Bank in Worcestershire (places that recorded 40 consecutive rainy days from 31 December to 8 February).
Meanwhile two other places – Liscombe in Somerset and Camborne in Cornwall – saw 37 days of rain in a row over almost the same period.
But perhaps the bleakest news is this: Aberdeen hasn’t seen a minute of sunshine in two weeks and counting – the longest period for the region since records began in 1957.
The UK has already achieved 89 per cent of average winter rainfall, while England has exceeded the seasonal norm of 111 per cent. Wales was above average at 94 per cent and Northern Ireland was above average at 101 per cent. In Scotland the figure is lower at 69 per cent, but this national figure masks sharp regional differences in weather conditions this winter. Met Office said.
What triggered the flood and when will it end?
According to the Met Office’s chief forecaster, Neil Armstrong, the incessant droning, drizzle, rain and showers across the country are being “driven by the strong, southward-shifting jet stream that is directing low pressure systems directly into the UK.”
“Cold air currents over North America energized the jet, strengthening the temperature gradient across the northwest Atlantic, while a blockage high over Northern Europe prevented the air fronts from opening, causing them to stall over the UK.
“The result has been persistent waves of rain, strong winds and snow on the hills in parts of Scotland,” he added.
His colleagues also shed light on when the rain will stop, but also warned that it will come another day and soon.
“If you’re tired of this type of weather, there’s some hope on the horizon, with slightly less wet weather on our way for the week and weekend,” Mr McGivern said.
However, this break may be short-term. Deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates added: “Towards the end of the week we will see a transition from wet and windy weather to cooler, more stable conditions, with Saturday looking like a good day for many. But this reprieve will not last long as the next Atlantic weather fronts look set to move in from the west by the end of the weekend.”
As average temperatures rise due to the climate crisis, forecasters have previously warned that the likelihood of wetter weather will increase as a warmer atmosphere can hold more water.
What was the impact?
The impact of this for people; despair resulting from increased flood risk, chaotic travel, farmland saturation and constant gloom.
Meanwhile, for wildlife, unusually wet weather also means great difficulties for some species.
Experts at the Wildlife Trusts have warned that extreme weather could already harm many creatures as saturated farmland leaks pollutants into Britain’s already environmentally at-risk waterways.
As well as river-dwelling species, riverine dwellers such as water voles and kingfishers are also at particular risk due to unusually high river levels.
Eleanor Johnston, climate change manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said: Independent: “As global temperatures rise, we can expect extreme weather events such as floods to increase further as warmer, wetter winters are dominated by heavy rainfall.
“This affects the places we live and public safety, as well as farmland and our natural world. For example, heavy rainfall can affect sensitive ecosystems by pushing more pollutants into our waterways and fields, while water voles, kingfishers and other wildlife can have their riverside homes flooded or washed away.”
This could mean loss of eggs and nestlings, which could impact further up the food chain, affecting birds such as owls and larger mammals, he said.
“Flooding also increases the spread of invasive non-native species [such as] “Himalayan balsam signals crayfish and related diseases… helps disperse seeds downstream,” he added.
But it’s not time to fire up the ship just yet. The organization is calling for more nature-based solutions to tackle the increasing risk of flooding in the UK, including the restoration of bogs, wetlands and peatlands, all designed to retain more water on the landscape, slowing runoff (reducing the impact of flooding) as well as providing much-needed habitat for species such as sandpipers, golden plovers and green-furred butterflies.
