UK should increasingly expect record winter rains, says Met Office

Aided by a supercomputer, meteorologists find 34% chance of record monthly rainfall being set, raising fears about major flooding

Fears have been raised that the UK could soon see a repeat of the sort of flooding that has hit in recent years after forecasters predicted a one-in-three chance there would be a new record set for monthly rainfall during coming winters.

The Met Office used a supercomputer to simulate possible extreme weather conditions to help build up a picture of what was likely to befall the UK. Forecasters found a 7% chance of a monthly rainfall record being set in the south-east. This rose to 34% once other regions of England and Wales were taken into account.