January Hydrological Outlook published

Summary

The one-month outlook is for January river flows to be above normal across most of northern and western Britain, with flows likely to be much higher than the normal range in some areas, particularly in north-east Britain where flows may be exceptional (major flooding has already occurred in early January in eastern Scotland). In south-east England, flows are likely to be normal to above normal. January groundwater levels are also likely to be normal to above normal. These expectations are largely a result of the very wet start to January, which has seen exceptional rainfall in many areas; much of north-east Britain saw more than the January average in the first week. Meteorological projections do not show any strong signal for wet or dry conditions over the next three months, implying normal river flows and groundwater levels will predominate, although the wet start to 2016 may result in seasonally high levels in some aquifers.

For further information see here.