The Environment Agency and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) have successfully deployed a mobile weather radar in Cumbria. For the next 12 months, the NCAS X-band radar will provide data that will help improve the Environment Agency’s rainfall detection capability and should lead to an improvement in our flood forecasting and warning services.

The deployment is a collaborative research project between the Environment Agency, the University of Leeds and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, called Radar Applications in Northern England (RAIN-E).

The radar will be used to:

• Improve the weather radar coverage in north Cumbria for up to a year

• Provide information to support the development of a long term weather solution for Cumbria

• Further understand the challenges associated with collecting high quality data over mountainous terrain

• Learn more about bringing multiple sources of rainfall data into the national weather radar

Weather radars are the most effective way to collect real-time rainfall information and NCAS operates the only mobile weather radar in the UK. The radar measures rain, wind and other parameters. Importantly, the location of the radar will improve the observations of rainfall over Cumbria, helping to make flood forecasting in the area more accurate.

Data collected by the radar will provide evidence for the need to invest in a permanent solution and help researchers better understand the type of extreme rainfall that sometimes affects Cumbria.

A separate partnership project between the Environment Agency, Met Office, National Resources of Wales, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Department of Infrastructure Northern Ireland is developing a national strategy for the UK’s radar network over the next 15 years and data from the radar will help to support the development of a long term radar solution in Cumbria.

Tim Harrison, Senior Advisor for the Environment Agency said:

The deployment of the NCAS radar will help us to build a strong case for investment where it’s needed. We’re seeing many benefits from the collaboration including a greater interest from all parties to integrate data from deployments like this, and other third party radars into the national Met Office rainfall products.

Ryan Neely and Lindsay Bennett, scientists at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science added:

The NCAS mobile X-band radar is able to make observations of rain in areas that are inadequately covered by the UK’s permanent radar network. We are happy to be working with the Environment Agency to provide them with high resolution data in this under-observed region so that they may improve their flood forecasts. For NCAS, we are excited to make observations in a new region that will allow us to explore many scientific questions about the rainfall processes in mountainous terrain.

Notes to Editors:

Radar Applications in Northern England (RAINE) data collected by the NCAS X-band radar in Cumbria is available for researchers and members of the public to view.

The latest data and more information about the research agreement is available on the Cumbria weather radar website.

The National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) is a world-leading research centre dedicated to the advancement of atmospheric science, and is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

For media enquiries please contact the press office on 0800 917 9252. For out of hours please call 0800 028 1989 and ask for the duty press officer.

The Hull+ scheme – a collaboration between Hull City Council and the Environment Agency – will see an investment of up to £5 million in environmental enhancements to the Dock Office Row area, as well as reducing flood risk to businesses, providing greater economic and job security in the area.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Environment Agency, it is envisaged that the work will generate additional investor confidence in the area.

It will complement the £27.4m Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project being delivered by Hull City Council. A grant of £15 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped enable the project.

The Dock Street area is identified as having potential to be used as a tourist destination in the local plan and includes improved footpaths to the waterfront.

Hull+ project manager Paul Ahdal, of the Environment Agency, said:

As well as improving flood defences in the area we hope the scheme will help provide a springboard for development and help continue to attract tourists to the city following the success of Hull 2017 City of Culture.

Councillor Daren Hale, Hull City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment and Regeneration, said:

It is great to see work starting in this area. It marks the beginning of an exciting journey ahead as we embark on an ambitious project to reconnect this part of the city centre with the waterfront, offering a new visitor centre and dry-berth for the Arctic Corsair telling the maritime story and important role this area played.

Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth Minister, Jake Berry MP, said:

I am really pleased to see this vital scheme coming together, delivering jobs and flood improvements for local businesses. It’s a great example of the Government working in partnership with the Council to stimulate growth through infrastructure and heritage investment in the Northern Powerhouse.

The first phase of work will see the removal of silt from the dry dock area off Dock Office Row.

This will allow the Arctic Corsair to be relocated to the area after being renovated by contractors for Hull City Council.

The silt removed will be sent for recycling and used in the manufacture of building blocks.
The Hull+ scheme compliments a number of other projects in the area which include the River Hull Defences, delivered by the Environment Agency, and the Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project, delivered by Hull City Council.

From Cleveland to Northumberland, there are groups of flood wardens in communities in the North East.

On Tuesday November 6, the Environment Agency hosted an event to say thank you, to bring groups together in one place and show how by working together they can be more resilient to flooding.

Flood wardens – from areas including Corbridge, Morpeth, North Tyneside and Croft-on-Tees – were also given a tour of the new state-of-the-art North East Area Incident Room, which opened a year ago, where it was explained to them the steps the Environment Agency takes during an incident.

Phil Taylor, the Environment Agency’s Flood Resilience Team leader for the North East, hosted the event along with the four Flood Community Engagement Officers who work across the region to support communities in preparing for flooding. He said:

The event was really successful and was our chance to say thank you to them for taking the time out of their busy lives to support their communities in preparing for and during and after a flood.

By bringing the different flood warden groups together, they were able to share ideas about their community flood plan, and learn from each other’s experiences. And it was an opportunity to talk about the work we are doing to recruit more wardens and set up new groups in communities at risk.

The local knowledge flood wardens can provide on the ground is invaluable. They complement our work by implementing their community action plans and offer a key point of contact for us to be able to warn and inform.

Northumbrian Water also attended the event with some of their volunteer Water Rangers as the two organisations work together to understand how both sets of volunteers can join forces.

The Environment Agency’s four Flood Community Engagement Officers – Taryn Al-mashgari for Tyne and Wear, Sarah Duffy for Cleveland, Anna Caygill for Durham and Darlington and Colin Hall for Northumberland – work together with local authorities to help communities understand the different types of flooding, whether they are at risk, and how to prepare in the event of a flood.

The Environment Agency is encouraging people to learn how to Prepare Act Survive in a flood to reduce the impacts of damage.