Contrasting weather maps show the UK’s lucky escape so far compared to devastating floods elsewhere in Europe.
Heavy rain in Poland, Austria, Romania and Czech Republic has already claimed lives, with over 10,000 people evacuated, a dam bursting and waters filmed carrying debris half a storey high.
Unusually for the UK, a satellite image from yesterday afternoon shows the country almost without a cloud, after an unseasonably cold snap last week.
An anticyclone above Britain is giving us fine, sunny, and settled weather, which may make it difficult for many to even conceive the torrential scenes on the continent, where towns have been left wrecked including parts of the Austrian capital Vienna left without power.
While solar panels in the UK worked overtime, the weather map was a mass of rainclouds across central Europe.
Storm Boris will be making its way north towards the end of the week, with thunderstorms expected by day across the south by Saturday, although it will have weakened by the time it reaches us.
Thankfully we are not expected to see the worst of the weather as has been seen further south, and the storms are likely to be followed by another ‘short-lived settled spell’.
The low-pressure system in central Europe has triggered downpours from Austria to Romania, leading to some of the worst flooding in nearly three decades in hard-hit areas in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Last week’s cold weather is partly to blame for the torrent, as the cold air from the Arctic met warm and moist air from the Mediterranean containing enough water for such a deluge.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk announced a state of natural disaster in the flooded areas to facilitate evacuation and rescue operations, as well as expedite financial support for the victims.
Water levels have subsided, leaving streets covered in debris and mud, damaged bridges and some burst dams and embankments.
Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed on Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks.
In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by this morning.
Such storms have been made more likely by our warming climate, with warmer air able to contain more moisture which can then pour down from clouds.
Britain is certainly not immune from flash floods and extreme weather. Last winter, the country was hit with bad flooding with farming particularly affected.
This year, a rainier than average September is expected to usher in another wet winter, with the government already meeting to discuss emergency response should it be needed.
The British Red Cross says that 1.9 million people across the UK currently live in areas at significant risk of flooding, a number that could double by the 2050s.
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