After a lot of recent rain and a very heavy downpour on 23 December, much low-lying land along the Windrush valley was under water. Water was pouring onto the car park (above), which was unusable, and into the fields below. The fields on the north side of the bridge (below) were covered. The level of the river was so high at Burford Bridge that it reached the top of the arches (third image ), so that water was backing up towards the main road on the west side of the bridge. There was also standing water close to St John the Baptist's Church. A journey to Taynton in the morning revealed that water was still running off the sodden fields onto the road, suggesting that the peak had not yet passed.
A number of shops remained open well into the afternoon of Christmas Eve in order to get as much business as possible before having to close down under tier 4 regulations.