Gales and heavy rain swept across large parts of the UK, causing devastating flooding in Cumbria and Lancashire, as well as parts of southern Scotland.
On the first anniversary of Storm Desmond, experts say November to January were the wettest three months since UK records began in 1910.
Review author Terry Marsh said flooding was "extensive and repetitive".
Storm Desmond began battering parts of the UK on 5 December, depositing a record month's worth of rain on Cumbria in just one day.
About 5,200 homes were flooded in Cumbria and Lancashire, while tens of thousands more lost power after an electricity sub-station in Lancaster was flooded.
The storm caused an estimated insurance bill of more than Â£1.3bn.
Major storms "Abigail", "Frank" and "Gertrude" also hit the UK last winter.
A study by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), in collaboration with the British Hydrological Society, found many rivers across northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland saw record peak flows during the three-month period.
It found the rivers Eden, Tyne and Lune in England saw record peaks of around 1,700 cubic metres per second. Experts say such levels could fill London's Royal Albert Hall in less than a minute.
Although last winter's floods were more extreme in scale, flooding in 1947 had a greater impact in terms of homes flooded and crops destroyed, the appraisal found.
However, lead author Terry Marsh from CEH said the national scale of last winter's floods were "the most extreme on record".
"The associated flooding was both extensive and repetitive, and total river outflows from Great Britain following the passage of Storm Desmond in December exceeded the previous maximum by a substantial margin," he said.

Howe, nicknamed "Mr Hockey", spent most of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup four times.
He was in the top 10 of scorers for 21 consecutive years and was named MVP six times, before finally retiring in 1980.
Howe was also named an NHL All Star 23 times and was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.
Gordie Howe died just before 08:00 on Friday at his son's home in Ohio, according to Sportsnet and CBS News. CNN reported his son Marty as confirming the news.
Gordie Howe had suffered a stroke in 2014.
He made his debut in 1946, played 26 NHL and six World Hockey Association seasons and held many of the scoring records until the rise of fellow Canadian-born legend Wayne Gretzky.
Howe retired in 1971 but made a comeback with the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80 before finally quitting at 52.
Flooding across parts of the UK last winter was the most extreme on record, experts have said.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The legendary Canadian ice hockey player, Gordie Howe, has died at the age of 88, US media say.