Yuri Pekar
Brits face a weekend washout amid amber and yellow weather alerts warning of heavy rain, travel chaos and ‘threats to life’ from fast-flowing rivers.
Parts of western Scotland and northwest England are set to experience ‘heavy and persistent’ rain as forecasters issue flooding warnings through to Sunday.
The Met Office has warned the washout will likely lead to power cuts, travel delays as well as ‘deep and fast’ flowing rivers causing a danger to life.
Yellow weather warnings are in place from Saturday afternoon until Monday evening, with over 100mm of rainfall expected in some areas.
Cumbria is expected to be the worst-hit area amid an amber weather warning with over 200mm of rainfall expected in just 48 hours in some parts of the region.
Meanwhile, western Scotland is also set to battered by rain as well as gusts of up to 60-70mph along coastal areas.
The Met Office warned of possible power cuts ‘and loss of other services to some homes and businesses’ amid the rainfall.
Weather warnings have also been issued for north Wales, north-westerly parts of England, western Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday.
Outbreaks of rain are also expected to impact Northern Ireland, including Belfast, as the forecaster warned some communities could be cut off by flooded roads.
‘The rain will be heavy and persistent at times with accumulations of 20-30mm expected to develop widely,’ the Met Office said.
‘Over 50mm could accumulate across higher ground.’
And while the weather is expected to clear by Monday morning, some areas of northwest England will continue to experience showers well into the afternoon.
Elsewhere, the weekend weather will be notably different with the southern half of the UK set to be dry and bright, with much lighter winds.
The Met Office said cloudless skies, patches of frost, mist and fog are expected in the south of England on Saturday morning.
While Sunday will remain dry during the day, a band of rain and cloud expected to move through the south east overnight into Monday.
Met Office chief meteorologist Rebekah Hicks said: ‘The north west of the UK is set for a very wet weekend.
‘We have issued numerous severe weather warnings for rain, and it is possible that these could be upgraded so I’d advise people to keep an eye on the forecast and for Met Office weather warnings.’
Jonathan Day, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘Significant surface water flooding impacts are possible in parts of the north of England on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
‘There are also possible significant river flooding impacts in parts of the north of England on Sunday and Monday, with minor flooding impacts possible more widely across northern England over the weekend.’
It comes after Storm Bram battered Britain with 90mph gusts unleashing travel chaos as commuters complain of overturned vehicles, closed roads and four inches of rain.
Flights and ferries were cancelled earlier this week amid the torrential downpours – with further disruption expected tomorrow.
The Met Office issued a raft of amber and yellow warnings for rain and wind across the UK, while environment agencies imposed 325 flood alerts or warnings.
Northern Scotland were particularly badly hit with Network Rail saying a number of train services in the region have been suspended.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk | Read the Full Story…
