Two yellow weather warnings run almost consecutively as the Met Office anticipates heavy rain and flooding for large parts of England and Wales, including Somerset and Devon
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An entire month’s worth of average rainfall is expected to lash parts of the UK in just three days – and there are fears of widespread flooding.
The barrage of rain is finally expected to come to an end on Friday night, by which time two consecutive weather warnings will cease. The Met Office has issued them for heavy rain and says the worst of the weather will be across Southwest England throughout Thursday. Friday’s showers will be thundery, especially across Southeast England, forecasters say.
Communities could be cut off by flood by the end of the week, the Met Office added. Its first weather warning started at 9pm last night and ends at 11.45pm tonight. The second warning, covering similar areas across southern England and Wales, starts at midnight and elapses at 11.59pm tomorrow.
The Met Office says: “Some parts missing the worst, but heavy rain becomes more extensive Wednesday night and especially Thursday, with some flooding impacts… Heavy rain may lead to some travel disruption and flooding in places across southern England and southern Wales during Friday.”
Typically, around 60mm to 70mm of rain falls across the whole of an average September. Up to 100mm (4 inches) of rain expected to fall during each period the weather warnings cover this week. The Met Office recommended households to stockpile six items – including batteries and bottled water – in preparation for flooding.
The weather service added: “Where heavy downpours occur, 20-40 mm are possible within an hour or two. Over a longer period a few places could see more than 50-60 mm, possibly even as much as 80 to 100 mm if repeated batches of heavy rain affect the same locations – this perhaps more likely during the second half of Thursday.
“Outbreaks of heavy rain are expected widely across southern England and southern Wales on Friday. Heavy rain will be persistent for some and may be particularly heavy in a few places. Rainfall totals of 15-30 mm are expected widely, however, the wettest areas are likely to see 40-60 mm through the whole of Friday with a lower likelihood of a few areas seeing as much as 75-100 mm. This heavy rain follows on from an expected wet day across some similar areas on Thursday which will increase the likelihood of impacts. There is also the potential for further spells of heavy rain across parts of the south over the weekend.”
But the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to see a final burst of summer – with fine, dry sunny weather predicted until the weekend. Temperatures across Merseyside are believed to reach 25C by Friday, and Scotland should see highs of 23C.
Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, said: “What we’re seeing is a development of a bit of a split in the weather between the north and south. We could even be fringing on the possibility of nudging into heatwave thresholds in parts of western Scotland by the end of the week.”
In order for the UK, or parts of it, to experience an official heatwave, temperatures must hit a particular threshold for at least three consecutive days. It is a different temperature for each region – so 27C for London and the Southeast of England, dropping to 26C for other parts of southern England and the Midlands, for instance.