In September 2024 the NRFA released version 13 of the Peak Flow Dataset. Please see the NRFA website for more details https://nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/peak-flow-dataset

In summary, there are two versions of the dataset with slightly different formats. Version 13.02 has the same format as previous datasets whilst 13.03 has a revised format.

The updates in version 13.03 include:

a) Timestamps are added to the .AM and .PT files – this will resolve issues with events on 1st October being assigned the wrong water year and the subsequent year being rejected erroneously.

b) Flow values consistently rounded to 3 decimal places.

c) Addition of the IHDTM easting and northing.

d) Addition of the station name to the file names.

WINFAP 5.1 is compatible with Peak Flow Dataset 13.02. WINFAP 5.1 will not be able to use Peak Flow Dataset 13.03. Note that results are not valid when used with WINFAP 5.1 and ‘empty’ tables will be produced.

WINFAP 5.2 will be able to read in either format of the Peak Flow Dataset, as well as projects created using WINFAP 5.1. If WINFAP 5.2 is used with Peak Flow Dataset 13.02 (or older), or a project created in WINFAP 5.1 is opened, and this is subsequently saved, the internal time stamp for events will be set to 12pm. In this way results will be consistent with those generated using WINFAP 5.1.

In general, we recommend that all users upgrade to the latest installation.

For users who may access WINFAP via third party software products e.g. Flood Modeller, please ensure that the third party software is compatible before upgrading.