England experienced its wettest week in two years recently, according to provisional statistics from the Met Office and the Environment Agency. This period of stormy weather brought the first two named storms of the season, Austen and Boelo, delivering much-needed rain to the UK. Rainfall totals varied, with central England receiving 38mm and the southwest seeing up to 87mm.
Despite this significant rainfall, which marked the wettest week across England since October 2024, much of the country remains in a drought. Parts of southern England are experiencing severe drought conditions, and even areas that received nearly 50% more rainfall than normal throughout October are still affected. Overall, England has recorded 111% of its long-term monthly rainfall average for October.
The National Drought Group has cautioned that these recent rains are insufficient to fully resolve the drought. They emphasize that it will take sustained, above-average rainfall over a seven-month period for conditions to return to normal. Reservoirs across England remain at very low levels, reflecting the ongoing impact of the drought despite the recent wet spell. This underscores the severity of the water deficit accumulated over a longer period, which the recent precipitation has not been able to fully rectify.