The River Takes Over: Images of the River Thames near Abingdon

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Abingdon Weir looks fully open as high flows of water from Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire make their way along the River Thames by Abingdon.

The River Thames has risen dramatically over the past 24 hours. After breaching the bank near Abingdon Bridge, much of the water now bypasses the usual route, flooding the cricket field instead of curving around by St Helen’s Church.

Not only the cricket field but also the football ground finds itself underwater as the unbound River Thames takes over.

Some cars have been caught out by the sudden inflow of water to Rye Farm Carpark.

The water has risen to submerge the step of the stone building used by West Waddy Architects. Their flood gate shows the water level. It is still below the level reached in January 2024.

Yesterday, I praised the flood wall’s success in safeguarding St Helens Mill. Today somebody was pumping water over the wall away from the mill.

At sunset, the floodwaters look calm, reflecting the sky and trees near the Abbey Meadow pool.

But the river itself is anything but calm, overflowing the path to Abingdon Weir.

Unprecedented Flooding hits South Abingdon in 2024

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The rainfall in Abingdon between Saturday 23rd November and Sunday 24th November was 48.3 mm, with the heaviest fall of 5.5 mm between 6 pm and 7 pm on Sunday.

The Vale of White Horse, where the River Ock and its tributaries converge, may have had even heavier rainfall. The flooding peaked at 1.48 meters between 3:30 AM and 9:15 AM on Tuesday, November 26th. This is higher than the flood levels of September and January. The unprecedented three floods in a year are due to climate change, where once-in-a-century events are becoming more frequent.


The flooding in Mill Paddock looks more severe than September 2024, but less severe than the January 2024 flood, which was exacerbated by the flooding of the nearby River Thames.

The road flooding in Healey Close is worse then September and January.

The flooding on Chaunterell Way appears to be as severe as it was in September.

This area, including parts of Nash Drive and Orpwood Way, is the most severely affected.

Medlicott Drive has road flooding, and some residents have sandbagged their driveways.

With Chaunterell Way flooded, this road became the only way out of the estate. To prevent water washing towards garages and houses, residents patrolled the road to slow down traffic.

On the other side of Drayton Road, there is road flooding, and possibly property flooding in Tower Close.

The River Ock has also flooded the gardens in Meadowside.

The demolition of the footbridge and construction of a wall near St. Helen’s Mill has so far protected it from flooding. However people upstream are still looking for solutions as their lives are devastated by flooding again.

River Ock Flood Warnings

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At 6:44 pm there was a flood warning for Tesco and properties close to the River Ock. It said

‘Property flooding is expected. River levels are rising steadily on the River Ock following heavy rainfall from Storm Bert. Therefore, flooding of property and roads is expected overnight 25/11/24. Peak levels could reach similar levels to those seen in January 2024. Areas most at risk are properties located on Nash Drive, Meadowside and Chaunterell Way.’

By 8:15 pm Nash Drive had road flooding and the River Ock Monitoring Station level was at 1.37 meters and continued to rise. Flooding can happen above 1.31 meters.

This is the second flood in just two months, making it even harder for people who are still recovering from the last one.

There was a second flood warning. If the level goes any higher than 1.47 meters, even more properties could be flooded. It got to 1.46 meters on 25th September 2024 and watching the graph levels, it could get near that level again.

Storm Bert Sweeps through Abingdon

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After a week away, we’ve returned to find that Abingdon has had snow and frosts while we were away, and this weekend, the Local Excellence Market was cancelled due to a storm forecast.

Wreaths have been removed from the war memorial to prevent being blown about.

Heavy rain has swept across the town. Storm Bert, a deep low-pressure system affecting much of the UK, brought 3.3 cm of rain in the 24 hours up to 7:00 PM, according to data from the monitoring station at the Abingdon Sewage Works: Abingdon Rainfall Data.