How the last Super El Niño hit London - and what it could mean for the capital this winter

The last “super” El Niño to hit London a decade ago brought devastating storms and freezing weather, with experts fearing this winter’s will bring even worse.

Storm Desmond killed three people and destroyed over 5,000 homes during the winter of 2015/16, the last time there was an El Niño of similar magnitude affecting the UK.

The national forecaster is forecasting a stormier start than usual to autumn and winter, and colder spells at the end of winter.

How have previous ‘El Niño’ events impacted London?

London has been battered by El Niños in a number of previous winters, most significantly in 2015 and 2016.

The event brought Storm Desmond to the UK in early December, with severe gales and record-breaking rainfall hitting much of the country.

Rescue teams evacuate people from their homes after Storm Desmond caused flooding in Carlisle

Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Though the worst affected areas by Storm Desmond were in northern England, Scotland, and Wales, the capital also felt the force of the storm’s severe winds.

A 90-year-old man died near Finchley Central station in north London, when a gust of wind apparently blew him into the side of a moving bus, according to a Met spokesperson at the time.

The high winds were also blamed for the 60ft Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree leaning at a noticeable angle.

Inspectors had to carry out checks on the tree to ensure it was not a risk to the public.

Elsewhere in the UK, the record-breaking rainfall caused severe flooding across Lancashire and Cumbria, affecting around 5,200 homes.

Several major roads across the north of England and Scotland were also flooded, and there was major disruption to rail services in the north due to a landslide closing a section of the West Coast mainline between Preston and Carlisle.

Over 100,000 homes in northern England lost power due to the storm.

Rubble strewn across the road outside The Duchess public house in Battersea after Storm Katie in March 2016

John Stillwell/PA Wire

The El Niño-related storm that hit London the hardest was Storm Katie, which impacted the capital over Easter 2016.

The storm brought intense gale-force gusts which peaked at over 100 mph along the southern coast of England and up to 85 mph inland.

High winds bent a construction crane in Greenwich, and dozens of roofs were damaged across the capital.

A construction crane that was damaged overnight in high winds brought by Storm Katie in London in March 2016

AFP/Getty

One X user shared a photograph of a trampoline which had been lifted from a garden by high winds and landed upside down at a bus stop in Rotherhithe.

There were widespread transport suspensions and power cuts across South and Southeast London, with over 100,000 power outages recorded across the south of England.

This winter’s outlook

Professor Adam Scaife, Head of Long Range Prediction at the Met Office, said: “We have been signalling for months that the developing El Niño will be an unprecedented event.

“The fact that it has already exceeded previous records - with several weeks to go before it peaks later this year - shows the enormity of this El Niño.

”Scientists are still assessing whether the impacts will be in proportion to its magnitude, but we are already seeing expected effects worldwide.”

The El Nino is developing over the Pacific Ocean

aapsky - stock.adobe.com

As the El Niño approaches its winter peak, there is an increased likelihood of wetter and stormier conditions across the UK during autumn and early winter, with an increased risk of cold snaps during the late winter.

Grahame Madge, a Met Office climate spokesman, said: “The El Niño event is still developing in the tropical Pacific and already it has surpassed the magnitude of previous events including the one in 2015/16.

“Globally, an El Niño event has several impacts, including altering rainfall patterns and increasing global temperature overall.

“There are known teleconnections between El Niño and the UK autumn and winter period. For example, there is a tendency towards a stormier start to autumn and winter and similarly there is a trend towards colder spells at the end of winter.”