Looking back at what caused record winter storms that led to widespread disruption in Worthing nine years ago

Residents were warned to stay away from Worthing seafront in the first week of January 2014 as high seas sent waves crashing over the top of the beach. Temporary barriers were installed after over-topping of the sea caused problems along the promenade. The A259 near Brooklands was worst hit, as the sea flooded the westbound carriageway, covering it in shingle. Further breaches were experienced between Worthing Pier and the beach office and at the old Half Brick Pub, in Brighton Road. The beach office was flooded as a result, and repairs were made to the pier after grating was lifted by the high water levels.

The Met Office reported unusual conditions in the tropics and stratosphere, which gave rise to the very wet months of December 2013 and January 14. Climate change made a secondary contribution by increasing the moisture holding capacity of the atmosphere.

The national meteorological service said: "The winter of 2013-14 will be remembered for many years for remarkably widespread and persistent flooding that affected many parts of England, including the low-lying Somerset moors and the Thames Valley. Rainfall between December 2013 and February 2014 smashed previous winter records in numerous regions – including for the UK as a whole and for Southern England. Some of these rainfall series extend back more than 250 years. The seemingly unprecedented nature of events – and further exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding in winter 2015-16 – has led to questions about whether the UK is beginning to witness a dramatic change in its climate."

In February 2014, the Met Office noted that weather patterns globally were unusual and that this could be linked to the very wet weather. Over the course of a season, even influences from the other side of the globe can change the weather experienced in the UK. A study published in 2017 concluded that weather conditions in the tropics and stratospheric wind patterns were largely responsible for creating the succession of winter storms that brought record rainfall between December 2013 and February 2014. While all tropical regions appeared to have some influence, conditions in the tropical Atlantic sector look to have had a particularly important role.

Jeff Knight, the study’s lead author, said: “During winter 2013-14, there was very heavy rainfall over the Western Amazon - even greater than usual. This effectively created a disturbance to high-level wind patterns that propagated outwards from the tropics. At the UK’s latitude, it resulted in a southward kink in the jet stream that was very long-lived and brought storm after storm across the country.”

The first storm was on December 5, 2013, bringing strong winds to Scotland and northern England. The storm of December 18 to 19 again resulted in travel disruption and several thousand homes without power across western Scotland and Northern Ireland. The storm of December 23 to 24 caused widespread flooding across southern England and extensive power cuts, with around 50,000 homes remaining without power through the Christmas period. Rail services were cancelled due to fallen trees and Gatwick Airport was affected by flooding. There was further stormy weather with heavy rain and strong winds on December 26 to 27 and again around December 30 to 31. Flooding impacts continued into the new year period, and in early January included large-scale river flooding in Gloucestershire and sections of the River Thames. In a repeat of the exceptionally wet weather of November 2012, the Somerset Levels were also inundated.

Workers at West Sussex County Council were praised in Parliament for working flat out to help people affected by storms and floods across the county. A total of 750 incident calls were dealt with outside normal working hours between December 23 and January 7. Of these, 250 were flooding related, while another 250 were to do with fallen trees. Another 250 calls were received to deal with other incidents. Sir Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West, told the House: “Some 20,000 homes are exposed to flood risk in Worthing and district.”