The UK's rainiest autumn places revealed as major El Niño could bring wetter and stormier weather

Neath is the UK's rainiest place during autumn, averaging 616.6mm between September and November. Eight of the 15 wettest locations are in Wales, including Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda, Bridgend and Swansea. Clacton-on-Sea is the driest place in the study with 199.6mm, although just 0.4mm separates the top three. The parts of the UK that usually receive the most rain during autumn have been revealed, at a time when the country could be heading into a much wetter end to the year. The Met Office has warned that the El Niño developing in the Pacific may be the strongest for more than a century. Its effects are expected to be felt around the world and, for the UK, forecasters are seeing signs of increased rainfall and stormier weather around November. This follows an exceptionally hot and dry summer which left much of England and all of Wales in drought. While a wetter autumn would help replenish water supplies, sudden or sustained rainfall after months of dry weather may also bring issues for homeowners. With this in mind, leak detection specialists ADI Leak Detection analysed average September to November rainfall across 305 UK cities and large towns, using figures from 2020 to 2025. The 15 wettest UK places during autumn Rank Place Country Region Average September-November rainfall 2020-2025 (mm) 1 Neath Wales Wales 616.6 2 Merthyr Tydfil Wales Wales 568.4 3 Kendal England North West 553.4 4 Rhondda Wales Wales 550.0 5 Bridgend Wales Wales 534.7 6 Llanelli Wales Wales 528.0 7 Swansea Wales Wales 526.4 8 Barrow-in-Furness England North West 522.1 9 Irvine Scotland Scotland 519.3 10 Lancaster England North West 514.4 11 Greenock Scotland Scotland 503.2 12 Kilmarnock Scotland Scotland 474.4 13 Ebbw Vale Wales Wales 472.0 14 Morecambe England North West 470.5 15 Pontypool Wales Wales 451.6 Neath is the UK's rainiest place during autumn, receiving an average of 616.6mm between September and November. It is the only location in the study to pass 600mm and receives 48.2mm more than anywhere else in the ranking. Second place goes to Merthyr Tydfil, where an average autumn brings 568.4mm of rain. This is around 8% less than Neath, but still 15mm more than the highest-ranking location outside Wales. That location is Kendal, which places third overall and first in England with 553.4mm. The Cumbrian town narrowly finishes ahead of Rhondda in fourth. Rhondda averages 550mm, leaving only 3.4mm between the two. Another two Welsh locations come next. Bridgend places fifth with 534.7mm, while Llanelli ranks sixth on 528mm. The difference between them is only 6.7mm across the whole three-month period. Nearby Swansea follows in seventh place, averaging 526.4mm. That puts three South Wales locations in a very close group: less than 8.5mm separates Bridgend, Llanelli and Swansea. Barrow-in-Furness is the second English entry in the table and ranks eighth overall with 522.1mm. It receives around 31mm less than Kendal, the other Cumbrian location in the top 15. The highest-ranked Scottish location is Irvine, which places ninth with an average of 519.3mm. It is followed by Lancaster in tenth on 514.4mm, meaning less than 8mm separates the locations in eighth, ninth and tenth. At number 11, Greenock receives 503.2mm during a typical autumn. It is the final location in the ranking with an average above 500mm and records 28.8mm more than Kilmarnock, which places 12th with 474.4mm. The next two are almost level. Ebbw Vale ranks 13th on 472mm, with Morecambe just 1.5mm behind on 470.5mm. Morecambe is also the fourth North West location to appear, alongside Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster. Pontypool completes the top 15 with an average of 451.6mm. Its inclusion means eight of the 15 rainiest locations are in Wales. Four are in North West England and the remaining three are in Scotland. There is a fairly obvious westward pattern to the results, but the small gaps between some locations are important. Places such as Kendal and Rhondda, or Bridgend, Llanelli and Swansea, have very similar averages and should not be treated as having dramatically different autumn conditions simply because they sit a few positions apart. The 10 driest UK places during autumn Rank Place Country Region Average September-November rainfall 2020-2025 (mm) 1 Clacton-on-Sea England East of England 199.6 2 Cambridge England East of England 199.9 3 Ipswich England East of England 200.0 4 Colchester England East of England 204.9 5 Bury St Edmunds England East of England 206.5 =6 Canvey Island England East of England 209.3 =6 Ely England East of England 209.3 7 Letchworth Garden City England East of England 213.2 8 Chelmsford England East of England 213.7 9 Basildon England East of England 214.7 10 Sittingbourne England South East 215.4 At the other end of the study, Clacton-on-Sea is the UK's driest place during autumn with an average of 199.6mm. However, there is almost nothing between the first three places. Cambridge follows with 199.9mm, while Ipswich receives an even 200mm. Only 0.4mm separates Clacton-on-Sea and Ipswich when rainfall is averaged across six autumns. In practical terms, the three locations experience extremely similar levels of rain, even though the table has to place them in an order. Colchester ranks fourth driest with 204.9mm, followed by Bury St Edmunds on 206.5mm. Both remain close to the 200mm mark, with Bury St Edmunds receiving only 6.9mm more than Clacton-on-Sea across the season. Canvey Island and Ely share sixth place, each averaging 209.3mm. Their identical figures reflect separate weather grid cells that returned the same six-year average, rather than the two places sharing one reading. The figures remain close further down the table. Letchworth Garden City ranks seventh driest with 213.2mm, Chelmsford follows in eighth on 213.7mm, and Basildon places ninth with 214.7mm. Sittingbourne completes the bottom ten, averaging 215.4mm between September and November. It is the only South East location in this section, with each of the other ten entries found in the East of England. Only 15.8mm separates the whole group. The contrast with Neath is much larger: the Welsh town receives 417mm more rain during an average autumn, or just over three times the total recorded in Clacton-on-Sea. Peter Jones, Director at ADI Leak Detection, said: 'Going from such a dry summer into a potentially wet and stormy autumn is something homeowners should take seriously. It does not mean every forecast downpour will cause a problem, but it is much better to find a loose roof tile or blocked drain now than during several hours of heavy rain. 'The El Niño reports are especially relevant because the signal for the UK appears to be stronger around November. That gives people some time to prepare. Gutters will also begin filling with leaves during the same period, so a drainage system which coped perfectly well in summer may struggle once rain becomes heavier and more frequent. 'After a prolonged dry spell, the ground may be hard and less able to absorb a sudden volume of water. Rain can then run towards the house, collect near external walls or overwhelm a drain surprisingly quickly. Check that gullies are clear and that downpipes are actually carrying water away rather than spilling it beside the property. 'I would also look around windows, doors and visible roof areas for small gaps, worn seals or damage. You do not need to climb onto the roof yourself. A visual check from the ground can still pick up a slipped tile, and anything higher up should be left to somebody with the right equipment. 'Indoors, the early signs are not always a dramatic stream of water. It may be a faint damp mark, paint beginning to bubble, a musty smell in one room or a patch which returns after being cleaned. If it appears after rain, make a note of the weather and take a photo. That timing can help narrow down where the water is entering. 'Even the places at the dry end of this table still average around 200mm over autumn. More importantly, an average says nothing about how quickly that rain falls. One intense storm can expose a weakness in any home, so residents in Clacton, Cambridge or Ipswich should not assume the El Niño warning only matters to traditionally wetter parts of Wales, Scotland or North West England.' ENDS If using this data, we would appreciate a linked credit to our client https://www.adileakdetection.co.uk/, who provided the insights. A linked credit will enable us to continue supplying you with more stories that you might like in the future. Methodology ADI Leak Detection analysed September to November rainfall totals from the ERA5-Land climate reanalysis for UK cities and large towns. Each location's average was calculated using the six autumn periods from 2020 to 2025. ERA5-Land uses weather grid cells of roughly 9km. This means neighbouring places can sometimes share a cell and return the same rainfall reading. Of the original 360 locations, 104 shared a grid cell with at least one other place. Only the largest settlement in each shared cell was retained, leaving 305 independent locations in the final ranking. Locations with equal averages from different weather cells are shown as ties. Very small differences between other locations have also been noted in the release and should not be interpreted as a significant difference in their typical weather. The ranking is based on historical average rainfall and is not a forecast for autumn 2026. The 100 wettest UK places during autumn Rank Place Country Region Average September-November rainfall 2020-2025 (mm) 1 Neath Wales Wales 616.6 2 Merthyr Tydfil Wales Wales 568.4 3 Kendal England North West 553.4 4 Rhondda Wales Wales 550.0 5 Bridgend Wales Wales 534.7 6 Llanelli Wales Wales 528.0 7 Swansea Wales Wales 526.4 8 Barrow-in-Furness England North West 522.1 9 Irvine Scotland Scotland 519.3 10 Lancaster England North West 514.4 11 Greenock Scotland Scotland 503.2 12 Kilmarnock Scotland Scotland 474.4 13 Ebbw Vale Wales Wales 472.0 14 Morecambe England North West 470.5 15 Pontypool Wales Wales 451.6 16 Saint Davids Wales Wales 449.1 17 Plymouth England South West 447.2 18 Bangor Wales Wales 444.7 19 Pontypridd Wales Wales 441.2 20 Ayr Scotland Scotland 433.3 21 Barnstaple England South West 410.5 =22 Oldham England North West 406.7 =22 Colwyn Bay Wales Wales 406.7 23 Blackburn England North West 405.4 24 Cardiff Wales Wales 402.9 25 Ashton-under-Lyne England North West 402.7 26 Bolton England North West 402.1 27 Rochdale England North West 401.2 28 Darwen England North West 399.8 29 Chorley England North West 396.0 30 Paisley Scotland Scotland 394.5 31 Dumfries Scotland Scotland 393.3 32 Cumbernauld Scotland Scotland 383.7 33 Blackpool England North West 383.1 34 Preston England North West 382.6 35 Weymouth England South West 381.3 36 Southport England North West 380.1 37 Middleton England North West 379.8 38 Leyland England North West 379.4 39 Lytham St Annes England North West 378.3 40 Tyldesley England North West 377.3 41 Cwmbran Wales Wales 376.1 42 Wigan England North West 371.7 43 Barry Wales Wales 368.5 44 Glasgow Scotland Scotland 368.2 45 Truro England South West 365.4 46 Saint Asaph Wales Wales 362.9 47 Burnley England North West 362.0 48 Redruth England South West 359.8 49 Stirling Scotland Scotland 358.6 50 Coatbridge Scotland Scotland 356.5 51 Skelmersdale England North West 355.8 52 Newport Wales Wales 352.7 53 Falmouth England South West 349.1 54 Birkenhead England North West 349.0 55 Urmston England North West 348.6 56 East Kilbride Scotland Scotland 346.4 ...