Construction and interpretation of a 60-year flow record for the River Tay at Kenmore

The backward extension of a river flow record for the River Tay, based on daily water level observations from 1937-76, has created the third-longest sensibly continuous daily flow record for any Scottish river based on direct observations. The paper describes the derivation of the record, and assesses the variability of the Tay discharge over the 60-year period covered. Unprecedented winter, spring and flood flows in the late 1980s/1990s are reported, in the context of improving the understanding of hydroclimatic variability.