It has been raining so much lately mainly because of a persistent storm track bringing a long series of Atlantic low‑pressure systems, on top of already wet ground and a warming climate that supercharges heavy rain events.

Quick Scoop: What’s Going On?

1. A “conveyor belt” of Atlantic storms

Over the past few months, the weather pattern over the North Atlantic has been stuck in a mode that repeatedly steers low‑pressure systems toward places like the UK and nearby regions.

  • A strong jet stream has been flowing straight across the Atlantic, guiding one storm after another over the same general areas.
  • Each low‑pressure system brings its own burst of rain and wind, but because they keep arriving with little break, it feels like it “never stops.”
  • Some areas saw well above their normal rainfall in November and December, so January and early February rain fell on land that was already soaked.

One meteorologist described this as a very persistent Atlantic pattern, with the jet stream “repeatedly steering low‑pressure systems towards the UK.”

2. Saturated ground = faster flooding

When it rains on dry ground, much of the water can soak in; when the ground is already waterlogged, new rain has nowhere to go.

  • Repeated storms over winter left soils saturated and rivers running high.
  • Even a “moderate” rainfall can now cause standing water, surface flooding, or drains backing up, because the system has no spare capacity.
  • People often notice this as: “It didn’t even rain that hard, but the streets flooded in minutes.”

So it’s not just how much rain falls, but the fact that it’s piling onto an already soaked landscape.

3. The blocking pattern making it worse

On top of the storm conveyor belt, the large‑scale pressure pattern over Europe has been unusual.

  • High pressure over eastern Europe and Scandinavia has acted like a wall in the atmosphere.
  • This “block” slows or redirects Atlantic weather systems, meaning some fronts stall or move more slowly.
  • When a rain‑bearing system slows down instead of sweeping through, the same place sits under bands of rain for many hours, boosting totals.

That’s how some regions ended up with roughly double or even triple their usual January rainfall.

4. Climate change is loading the dice

No single rainy spell is “caused” entirely by climate change, but a warmer world changes the odds.

  • Warmer air can hold more moisture (roughly 7% more water vapour per degree of warming). When storms form, they can wring out heavier downpours.
  • Long‑term data show rising global temperatures and an increase in extreme rainfall events in many regions, even if the total number of rainy days doesn’t always rise as much.
  • So if you feel that when it rains, it pours more than it used to, that lines up with what many climate records are showing.

Think of it as the climate system rolling the dice more often for intense rain, especially when the jet stream and storm tracks line up just right.

5. “Is this the new normal?” – different angles

People online are asking the same question you are.

  • Weather enthusiasts point out that rainfall goes in cycles: some months or years are wetter, others are much drier, and personal experience can exaggerate how unusual it feels.
  • Climate researchers emphasize that, on top of those natural swings, the background trend is toward more frequent and intense heavy‑rain events in a warming climate.
  • Local experience matters too: an area accustomed to drizzle may now be seeing repeated heavy showers and thunderstorms, which stands out even if averages only shifted modestly.

A simple way to view it: natural variability is still running the show day‑to‑day, but climate change is quietly turning up the volume knob on the biggest downpours.

6. Is there any upside?

Oddly, some water managers actually needed a wetter winter after a very dry 2025.

  • Parts of England were warned about potential drought risk if winter rains didn’t reach at least average levels.
  • This winter’s deluges have helped refill some reservoirs and groundwater, which could reduce the chance of hosepipe bans later in the year—though flooding is a steep price to pay.

So you get this frustrating paradox: the same rain that’s topping up water supplies is also causing repeated floods and disruptions.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.