When did the Sheffield floods of 2019 take place?
A slow-moving front brought persistent heavy rainfall across Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster as well as parts of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on November 7, 2019. Rainfall also continued into the following day, November 8, 2019.
How much rain fell during the Sheffield floods of 2019?
Data from the Met Office shows that 82.2mm fell in Sheffield over a 24-hour period, running between 3am on Thursday, November 7, 2019 and 3am on Friday, November 8, 2019, this being 104 per cent of the November 1981-2010 long-term average rainfall in Sheffield. This equates to a whole month’s rain falling in 24-hours.
How does this level of rainfall compare to previous years?
The Weston Park weather station has been recording the city’s weather patterns since 1883. November 7, 2019 was the wettest November day it has ever recorded, with 63.8mm falling in just 24 hours; and the seventh wettest day on record, exceeding 61.4mm from Storm Bronagh on 20 September, 2019. All historical events which exceeded November 7, 2019 occurred in the summer months (June, July and August), and six of the 10 highest daily totals for the month which exceeded 60mm have occurred since 2000.
November 2019 was also the wettest month on record.
How much damage was caused during the Sheffield floods of 2019?
The city was battered by the flooding, with many roads – including stretches of the M1 closed – and over 100 warnings in place. A danger to life warning was also issued. Railway travel was also disrupted as a result of the floods. Homes in Flockton Park and Whiston, near Sheffield, were flooded. Hundreds of shoppers were stranded at Meadowhall shopping centre overnight, and were forced to sleep in the shopping centre and buy pyjamas from Primark to sleep in overnight. In nearby Doncaster, 500 homes were flooded, and the impact of the floods were felt in the village of Fishlake, Doncaster for months afterwards.
1. Car sits in floodwater
This picture was taken near Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield where some people were forced to stay overnight after heavy rain and flooding caused local roads to become gridlocked. Picture date: Friday November 8, 2019. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
2. Cleaning up
Staff pictured cleaning up after the floods around the Meadowhall Shopping Centre after a month's worth of rain fell in just a day on November 7, 2019. Photo: Scott Merrylees
3. Road blocks
Police closed roads across Sheffield, diverting traffic away from areas where floodwaters were rising dangerously high. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
4. Flood damage
Homes were severely flooded by raging flood water in the village of Whiston near Sheffield. Photo: Photo: Tom Maddick / SWNS