Storm Kathleen arrives in Wales with strong winds and heavy rainfall

Storm Kathleen arrived in Wales on 6 April 2024, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall that coincided with spring tides, with conditions particularly affecting western and northern coastal parts of Wales¹. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) described it as "an unusually severe storm for the time of year with very strong winds, especially in coastal areas"².

During peak impact on 9 April, NRW issued several flood warnings for Llanfairfechan, Penrhyn Bay, Llanddulas, Kinmel Bay Promenade and Sandy Cove, Prestatyn Beach Road, Ffynnongroyw Frontage and the community of Ffynnongroyw¹. In a written statement on 17 April 2024, Huw Irranca-Davies, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, set out the emerging picture of impacts:

NRW's later annual report for 2024/25 also records that 35 properties experienced internal flooding during the storm². The Cabinet Secretary said the full detail of impacts was still emerging and that officials would continue to receive further information in the coming days and weeks¹.

The statement said that although several locations reached flood warning levels, the existing network of flood defences prevented flooding in many areas, and that 73,000 properties across Wales benefit from NRW's flood defences on an ongoing basis¹. It also set out funding and schemes in areas affected by the storm:

The Cabinet Secretary said the CRMP programme, once completed, will have funded 15 schemes across Wales worth £240m, benefitting almost 14,000 properties¹.

Why it matters for households

The warnings issued during the storm covered specific coastal communities in north and west Wales, and internal flooding was subsequently indicated in Conwy, Ceredigion and Torfaen¹. NRW's annual report states that in Wales there are estimated to be 275,000 properties at risk of flooding, approximately 1 in 7 properties². It also reports that, as of April 2025, removing double or triple counting of properties at risk from multiple sources, there are over 274,000 properties at risk of flooding in Wales².

The Cabinet Secretary said it is impossible to stop or prevent all flooding, and urged everyone to make use of NRW's practical guidance on what to do before, during and after a flood¹. NRW's report notes that its new Flood Warning Information Service for Wales, a £5m multi-year project replacing the previous flood warning system, went live on 17 July 2024².

What happens next

The Cabinet Secretary said officials would continue to receive further information on impacts in the coming days and weeks, and that the forward work programme was targeting the areas affected¹. NRW's report records that the Welsh Government published a revised planning policy, TAN15: Development, Flooding and Coastal Erosion, on 31st March 2025². It also states that an updated Communities at Risk Register was released in January 2025, alongside the Climate Change register for the first time². No further dated steps specific to Storm Kathleen recovery have been reported.

Households can read guidance on coastal flooding and tidal surges, flood warnings in Wales and what flood alerts, flood warnings and severe flood warnings mean, as well as the wider flooding guide and storms and snow hub.