The Met Office has several weather warnings in place, including one for rain, as some parts of Devon and Dorset will see around 80mm (3.1 inches) of rain pummel the area
The River Axe has already burst its banks in Devon this week (Image: Graham Hunt/BNPS)
Some parts of the UK will endure one month’s average rainfall in just two days, forecasters have warned.
Flooding is likely, particularly across southern England, as a fresh band of low pressure is set to sweep across the country from the Atlantic. It has led to the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for rain, which commences at 6am tomorrow and runs until 6am on Monday.
It covers large swathes of England and most of Wales, though the heaviest of the rain – a total of around 80mm (3.1 inches) across 48 hours – is anticipated across parts of Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The biggest deluge will be on Sunday morning, and could be thundery across Dartmoor National Park. The Met Office says: “There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.”
There are two flood warnings and dozens of other, less severe alerts. The greatest concern is currently for the River Till and Middle Hampshire Avon, both of which are in Wiltshire.
The map highlights most of the flood alerts and warnings are in the south of England The weather warning stretches as far north as Nottingham and Stoke-on-Trent. The Midlands will see the heaviest downpours throughout Sunday afternoon.
Data shows Birmingham typically sees around 72mm of rain throughout a standard January. It is just 59mm for Nottingham, and 73mm for Stoke-on-Trent. Bristol also tends to see around 73mm of rain across an average January.
It means all these places could see more than their typical January rainfall total across Sunday and Monday. As a result, there are some flood alerts – not strong enough to warrant warnings as yet – for waterways as far north as Chester. Levels are rising in the River Dee catchment in England from Whitchurch in Shropshire to Chester. River levels are rising at the Wedderburn Bridge River gauge on the River Leadon catchment in Gloucestershire too.
The weekend will be wet and windy for many, particularly those living in southern counties ( Image:
Getty Images) Sarah Cook, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency said: “Following the disruptive wind and rain brought by Storm Éowyn, significant surface water flooding impacts are possible in central and South West parts of England on Sunday and overnight into Monday due to further heavy rain, with minor impacts possible more widely.
“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and will support local authorities in their response. We urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.
“People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation at by searching ‘check my flood risk’, and follow @EnvAgency on X for the latest flood updates.”