A total of 5,800 homes have flooded over the last six weeks as England experienced its wettest January since 1766, part of an unprecedented series of record-breaking wet weather.

“The country has faced an extraordinary period of severe weather and flooding since the start of December, with the wettest December in 50 years in central southern and southeast England as well as the biggest east coast storm surge in 60 years followed by the wettest January on record,” writes the Environment Agency. Insurance experts say total costs could hit £1 billion (us$1.67 billion).

The Met Office, Britain’s official weather forecasting agency, noted: “Although no individual storm can be regarded as exceptional, the clustering and persistence of the storms is highly unusual.”

“For England and Wales this was one of, if not the most, exceptional periods of winter rainfall in at least 248 years,” the office continued in a paper it produced to document “how unusual” the recent storms “were in the terms of past records.”

Britain’s winter of wetness began on the evening of Dec. 4, 2013. In a North Sea storm surge, 1,400 properties were damaged by strong winds and a low pressure system that caused sea levels to rise during one of the highest tides of the year.

More bad weather arrived on December 24, as weather stations recorded “potentially the lowest land station pressure record since 1886,” leaving hundreds without power. The Somerset Levels, an area of moors and wetland in southwest England, were among the worst affected. Some areas are still flooded over a month later.

As January arrived, North Atlantic storms meant that Western Europe recorded some of its highest ever waves. These storms weakened Britain’s sea defenses in time for another storm to hit at the start of February.

These storms did more damage, including £4 million worth in the county of Cornwall, with 2,300 homes left without power. The powerful waves severely damaged a key stretch of railway, effectively cutting off Cornwall from Britain’s railway system.

During the last week, 850 homes have flooded. It’s still raining, and the flood seems certain to continue.

The British Geological Survey is warning that even if the rain stopped right now, so much water has soaked into the ground that water levels will continue to rise. It estimates 1.6 million properties in England and Wales are at risk of groundwater flooding.

This means that the Somerset Levels—where 100 properties are still flooded—may not dry out until spring, even without any extra rain.

Without modern flood defenses, the damage caused by all this wind and water could have been much, much worse. The Environment Agency claims that these defenses have saved 1.3 million homes from flooding. Without the Thames barrier, the waters would have covered large areas of London.

Why all this unusual weather? Britain has gone from serious drought to record rain in just a matter of months. Is there any hard evidence for what is causing this? For answers to these questions, see the cover article of our September 2013 Trumpet edition, “Are You Causing Climate Change?”