By the afternoon of Friday 22nd June, the tops above the Upper Calder Valley couldn’t absorb any more rain from the relentless downpour that had been falling all day. Roads to the valley turned into torrents, as water gushed out of field gateways and off the moors. According to Steve Sweeney,  Calderdale Councillor for Todmorden Ward, this runoff caused the Burnley Road flooding in Todmorden.