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Torrential rain to continue across Britain Warning of floods in Staffordshire and Lancashire
(about 4 hours later)
Downpours are again set to batter parts of the UK after a month’s rain fell in a few hours and caused flooding. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of Staffordshire and Lancashire as heavy rain continues to cause disruption across swaths of the UK.
The unsettled weather will continue in northern England, southern Scotland, across Wales, the West Midlands and down towards parts of the south-west but the weekend is set to be more settled, according to forecasters. The Environment Agency called for immediate action in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Trent Vale in Staffordshire, and beside the river Spodden in Whitworth, Lancashire.
The Met Office’s Marco Petagna said: “We saw some parts of the south-east, especially towards Kent, seeing up to 40mm of rain in one hour, and totals up to about 70mm across parts of Sussex and Kent, so two to three inches. The warnings follow flooding in the south-east on Thursday after a month’s worth of rain fell in a few hours.
“The average monthly rainfall for Kent is about two inches, so more than a month’s rainfall fell in a few hours yesterday.” The south-east would become drier on Friday morning, he added. UK Met Office meteorologist Emma Sharples said: “There’s still quite a lot of rain at the moment but the emphasis is changing to across the Midlands into Stoke, Staffordshire, Manchester. It will increasingly push north into Northumberland and Scotland.”
After a dry, murky start towards the south-east in the morning, there will be outbreaks of rain pushing in from the west, and while it might brighten up in places, there is a risk of heavy showers. Related: Torrential rain prompts weather warning for south-east England
“The main trend through the day is for the rain to gradually push its way eastwards with brighter fresher conditions starting to move in from the west and that sort of sets the scene really for the weekend. Met Office yellow warnings were in place for eastern England, northern England, and southern Scotland on Friday morning. As well as the flood warnings, there were nine flood alerts, indicating possible flooding, issued by the Environment Agency, including for Gloucestershire, Stoke and Worcester.
“A much quieter spell of weather – a lot of dry, bright weather around this weekend. A few showers, mainly towards the north and west, but a lot of dry weather this weekend. Certainly a fresher feel to the weather compared to the last couple of days,” the forecaster said. The rain is expected to ease off in the south, except in East Anglia, and better conditions will gradually move in behind the band of rain as it travels from west to east. That will bring better conditions over the weekend with fewer showers, although Northern Ireland will continue to see rainfall.
A yellow Met Office warning was in place for most of England, Wales and southern Scotland, while the Environment Agency issued five flood alerts in the south-east and four in the Midlands warning flooding was possible. Temperatures over the weekend are expected to to reach the high teens or perhaps low 20s. Further north they will be in the mid to high teens.
On Thursday, there was up to 4omm of rain in one hour in parts of the south-east, and totals of up to about 70mm across parts of Sussex and Kent.
On average, 51.6mm of rain falls throughout the entire month of August. According to the Met Office, Eastbourne town centre saw 60mm of rainfall between 3am and midday on Thursday, with the majority of it falling in the last two hours.On average, 51.6mm of rain falls throughout the entire month of August. According to the Met Office, Eastbourne town centre saw 60mm of rainfall between 3am and midday on Thursday, with the majority of it falling in the last two hours.
East Sussex, and in particular Brighton, appears to have been hit by the worst of the storms, with many posting photographs on social media of calf-high water running through the street. East Sussex, and in particular Brighton, appears to have been hit by the worst of the storms, with many people posting photographs on social media of calf-high water running through the street.
Between 4.05am and 12.50pm on Thursday, the East Sussex Rescue Service was called to 32 reports of flooding, some including water affecting electrics. Kent firefighters attended two properties in the Ashford area following lightning strikes, although no one was reported injured.Between 4.05am and 12.50pm on Thursday, the East Sussex Rescue Service was called to 32 reports of flooding, some including water affecting electrics. Kent firefighters attended two properties in the Ashford area following lightning strikes, although no one was reported injured.