The Met Office has extended a yellow weather warning across significantly more of England, now covering the Midlands, south west, and eastern regions in addition to London and the south. The warning for heavy rain and strong winds runs from 9am until 10pm on Thursday, with forecasters warning of potential flooding and travel disruption as rain falls on already saturated ground.
Between 20 and 30mm of rainfall is expected widely across the warning area, with isolated spots potentially seeing 40 to 50mm. Wind gusts could reach around 50mph along some exposed coasts in southern and south east England, with speeds of 35 to 45mph forecast for other parts of the south.
The Environment Agency currently has three flood warnings in place where flooding is expected, alongside 40 flood alerts where flooding is possible across England. Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: «An area of low pressure is going to bring heavy and persistent rain to parts of southern England and will be accompanied by some gusty winds at times.» He added: «There’s the possibility of travel disruption for some and the possibility of flooding in a few places as well.»
Recent weather disruption
The warning comes just days after Storm Goretti brought gusts of almost 100mph and a rare red warning for dangerous, stormy winds to south-west England. Around 30,000 properties in Kent and Sussex were left without water supply due to burst pipes and power cuts.
The UK Government triggered its cold weather payments scheme on Monday, providing £25 to pensioners and low-income households for every seven consecutive days of very cold weather. The scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.