European windstorms bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds caused damage and flooding to the south of Great Britain on 13–14 November.

[11] Over the night of 19–20 November 2009, a forecast depression tracked northwest over Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway.

[17] The Met Office predicted that an area of low pressure would "explosively deepen close to the UK on Sunday 1 November,"[18] which resulted in heavy rain across the country.

[19] In Scotland on 1 November, Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by flooding, causing transport disruption, burst pipes and the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

The coastal town of Arbroath was one of the worst affected, being virtually cut off by severe flooding In Northern Ireland, villages near the County Tyrone-County Londonderry border were hit by heavy rainfall the night of 4 November causing several families to be evacuated, and more than a dozen homes flooded.

[21] Passage West in County Cork was subjected to a thirty-minute flash flood on 12 November, causing an estimated €100,000 worth of damage and wrecking ten cars and several homes.

[22] The area of low pressure affecting southern Great Britain on 13–14 November caused some surface water flooding and damage from gales.

[26] In Haywards Heath, West Sussex, people were rescued from units on an industrial estate which was 60 centimetres (2 ft) deep in water.

[24] In Lancashire, firefighters had to rescue schoolchildren trapped in a bus stranded by floodwater at Sawley, and flooding occurred in Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Burnley and Rossendale.

Workers at Kippax Mill in Crawshawbooth were evacuated when the building was hit by a landslide as the hill collapsed under the weight of water.

Water levels in the town centre were reported to be as high as 2.50 metres (8 ft 2 in), resulting in the collapse of Lorton Bridge,[12] and over 1,200 properties losing their electricity supply.

[30] Several homes were also flooded in the town after the River Greta burst its banks, rising 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above normal.

[45] In Wales, a woman was reported missing in Brecon on 21 November, having apparently fallen into the River Usk after crossing a bridge that had a 1.83 metres (6 ft) gap in the railings.

Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service started a search which was called off overnight.

The centre of Cork was flooded by the River Lee to a depth of 1 metre (3 ft 3 in),[50] and the nearby towns of Bandon, Clonakilty, Dunmanway and Skibbereen were inaccessible.

[57] In Northern Ireland, the low-lying areas around the River Bann in County Armagh as well as the Strabane, Ards, Cookstown, Lisburn and Magherafelt districts were affected by flooding.

[61] Farms and housing estates were isolated, with the west side experiencing some of the worst flooding and a school being forced to close for several days.

[65] Towns in County Kildare which were near the Liffey, were damaged by floods, including Ballymore Eustace, Kilcullen, Newbridge, Clane, Celbridge, Naas and Leixlip.

[68] The Gloucester to Newport Line through Wales and England was closed at Chepstow after heavy rain caused a rockslide on 13 November.

In the Republic of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann rail services were suspended between Galway and Athlone; Limerick and Ennis; Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford; Dublin and Maynooth; and Wicklow and Gorey.

[70] On 21 November, Irish Ferries cancelled all sailings due to have been performed by HSC Jonathan Swift on the Dublin – Holyhead route.

Diverted traffic was thus forced to pass through the county town of Enniskillen, itself sited on an island in the lough, causing major delays.

[79] My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected and whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged.What you've done in the last few days is tackle one of the greatest rainfalls we've seen in our country and you've done it with such superb organisation.We have been told this is a once-in-800-years event.On 21 November, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Cumbria Police headquarters, near Penrith, to meet members of the emergency services before travelling to Cockermouth where he met people who had been evacuated from their homes.

[84] In Republic of Ireland, the Taoiseach Brian Cowen stated that the Government's priority was the provision of shelter and safe drinking water for those affected by the flooding.

[86] The Taoiseach, taking a further half-day trip around Galway, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath to inspect flood-affected regions on 26 November, was confronted by the angry residents of Athlone who said he was using their plight as a "publicity stunt".

[87] Cowen refused to visit some of the most badly flooded areas of Athlone despite being offered a pair of waders and even a rowing boat.

[88][89] On 21 December, President Mary McAleese embarked on a two-day visit of flooded areas, praising the "utterly selfless" acts of those who were assisting.

People living in that part of town were finding it difficult to access the main store, which lies south of the River Derwent.

[101] In Ireland's Budget 2010, delivered by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan on 9 December 2009, a further minimum amount of at least €70 million was put towards those affected by the floods and to the prevention of similar disasters in future.

[102] The Irish Red Cross stated that it expected to raise €1 million for survivors of the flooding and that it was starting to take applications for assistance from them on 12 December 2009.