Yo-yoing weather – floods and drought – has led to some farmers “just treading water”
Rebecca Speare-Cole, Press Association Sustainability Reporter and Carl Eve Crime Reporter
16:54, 28 Feb 2026
Flooding in Exeter caused by Storm Chandra
Extreme weather swings from drought to persistent rain have left families battling flooding and farmers facing another bad year in the fields.
The Met Office said this winter will be remembered for its “relentless rain”, with provisional figures showing many areas of the UK suffered very wet conditions over the season.
Since November 1, the Environment Agency has issued 814 flood warnings, three of which were severe, as well as 2.562 flood alerts.
It marks a dramatic change from 2025, which saw record dry and warm conditions cause drought across swathes of the country, leading to hosepipe bans and impacts on agriculture and wildlife.
The final parts of England still struggling with drought only moved into recovery status in January as a result of wet conditions – though these led to repeated flood warnings for communities in some parts of the country.
Flooding in Bath(Image: Simon Lees)
Mike Kendon, a senior scientist at the Met Office, said that while this winter did not break any national records for rainfall, it will be remembered for its “relentless rain as much as its intensity”.
He said: “A near-continuous run of Atlantic systems over the past three months has brought persistent rain, damaging storms and few dry spells.”
The figures showed England experienced 35 percent more rain than the long-term average, Wales saw 14 percent more and Northern Ireland saw 25 percent more.
Devon and Cornwall had their second wettest winter on record and southern England had its seventh wettest but other regions have seen less rain than usual. Storm Chandra was one of a number of storms which battered the region, leaving some parts entirely underwater.
Farmers say the weather extremes in the last two years – from droughts to floods – have hit their incomes as well as their mental health, as yields suffer from the volatile rain patterns.
Rob Addicott, a mainly arable but mixed farmer based just south of Bath, said the swing in conditions have been “awful for us”.
“I think the worrying thing for me as a farmer is the frequency of these extreme weather events, whether it’s hot or wet,” he told the Press Association.
“This year’s been okay, but the previous two years we’ve had to re-establish failed crops because of poor weather conditions in the autumn/winter.
“It has a financial cost and also has the cost to your mental health every day, when you go out and see fields that are underwater rather than growing something.”
The volatility has meant the farm has been unable to plan properly, Mr Addicott added.
“Gone are the days when you plant a crop in the autumn and just take the winter off.”
The farmer said the last two years have been a “write-off” in terms of agricultural income, adding: “We’ve just been treading water.
“Fortunately, we’re a diversified business, so we’ve got other streams of income, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is a strain on finances, a strain on mental health.”
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, said the rapid shifts from one extreme to another are “placing huge pressures on farmers and growers”.
“Farmers and growers want to keep growing food for the nation, but food security must be a national priority,” he said.
“That means government backing the sector to build resilience, including investment in climate adaptation and water infrastructure, more resilient crop varieties and planning reforms that allow us to better capture and store water in times of plenty for use when it’s needed.”
Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), said the vulnerability of the UK’s food and farming system to extreme weather events “demands radical thinking about how food is produced”.
“If farms are going to thrive in these volatile and difficult conditions, transitioning to nature-friendly approaches is absolutely vital,” he said.
Floodwaters cover Mawgan Porth in the aftermath of Storm Ingrid(Image: Jam Press/Tom Hurley)
An Environment Department spokesperson said: “This Government recognises how hard extreme weather can be for farmers and we are helping the sector build greater resilience to climate shocks through our farming schemes and through our work with the National Drought Group and Floods Resilience Taskforce.
“We are also giving £91 million to internal drainage boards, the public bodies responsible for managing water levels for agricultural and environmental needs in a particular area.”
Hannah Baker, area programme manager at Groundwork South Trust, which helps communities in the South of England to defend themselves against flooding and extreme weather, said: “Sadly, serious flooding has become a way of life for so many people, particularly those within the rural communities that we work with, and it can be really disheartening.
“Every positive action, whether it be seeking the use of a tractor to help residents evacuate their homes or having an emergency flood kit ready for your family, can have a huge impact on a community’s ability to protect itself.”
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