Britain faces torrential downpours and flood risk
TORRENTIAL downpours could bring flooding and travel disruption to parts of the UK over the next two days, the Met Office has warned.
Two yellow weather warnings for rain are in place for much of the south of England today, with the one for the South East carrying into tomorrow thanks to a band of low pressure.
The weather will be “fairly unsettled” over the next few days, particularly today and tomorrow, according to Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst, who urged people to “take care if you are travelling through the day on Sunday across southern counties”.
A yellow warning for rain covering the South West from 6am to 6pm today suggests there could be downpours of up to 40mm in some places, with the potential to lead to “some flooding and disruption”.
The warning says: “Rain is expected to move north-eastwards across parts of south-west England on Sunday morning, persisting through much of the day before slowly dying out later in the afternoon.”
It adds that 15mm to 25mm of rain is “likely quite widely” and up to 40mm in a few places, and that “with saturated ground, this may lead to some flooding and disruption”.
The first yellow weather warning for today is from 6am to 6pm along much of the south coast from Cornwall to Hampshire. The second covers most of the south-east of England from Canterbury to Brighton and parts of south London from 3pm today to 9am tomorrow.
Further north is expected to stay dry today into tomorrow although remaining cold.
The Environment Agency had issued 57 flood warnings and 188 flood alerts in England by yesterday morning.
Persistent rain is also on the cards for London and the South East, where a yellow rain warning running from 3pm today to 9am tomorrow suggests downpours of up to 40mm locally.
Mr Dewhurst added: “We are keeping an eye on this area of low pressure as it moves into southern counties of England and Wales over the course of Sunday and into Monday. It will bring some heavy rain and some strong winds as well.”
Today’s temperatures are set to reach around 45F-48F (7C-9C).