Winter precipitation — such as rain and snow — became more intense in the UK during the last 100 years. Similar increases in heavy rainfall have now also become evident in spring and, to a lesser extent, autumn. A previously reported reduction in heavy summer rainfall appears to have ended during the 1990s, with observations for the last decade indicating a return to more typical amounts of intense rainfall in summer. The results will inform other work currently being carried out on flood risk and the impact of extreme weather events. As surface run-off depends on rainfall intensity and frequency, changes in intense rainfall events will impact strongly on floods.