The Muckle Spate was a great flood in August 1829, which devastated much of Strathspey, in the north east of Scotland. (Muckle is a word for 'much' or 'great', chiefly used in North East England and Scotland.) It began raining on the evening of 2 August 1829, and continued into the next day when a thunderstorm broke over the Cairngorms. To the south, the River Dee rose rapidly above its normal level - 15 ft (4.6 m) in places (27 ft at Banchory). The Rivers Nairn, Findhorn, Lossie and Spey were affected, to the north.