MONTH OF RAIN TO FALL TODAY
Flood alerts as storms sweep in
BRITAIN is on flood alert as storms threaten to dump a month’s rain in some areas today.
More than three inches is set to drench southern England, triggering a severe weather warning from the Environment Agency last night.
London, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, parts of the East Midlands and northern England are all in the firing line.
The far South-east will bear the brunt of the onslaught, with one and a half inches of rain likely in a just few hours, according to the Met Office.
Chief forecaster Steve Ramsdale said: “Some transport routes may be affected by localised flooding leading to longer journey times. Flooding of homes and businesses is possible.”
The atrocious weather is due to two storm systems which have been dragged into Britain by an unusually strong jet stream.
The second will sweep in from the Atlantic today, causing delays on roads and transport networks. The worst of the weather is expected
However, the clouds will part leaving a sunnier picture for much of the country by the weekend, he added.
He said: “A brief ridge of high pressure on Thursday is quickly replaced by a strengthening westerly flow on Friday, bringing some rain.
“Pressure builds again over the weekend and southern Britain may then see a run of drier and warmer days heading into next week.
“However, further fronts moving in from the Atlantic bring a risk of rain at times for the west and north.”
Today’s bad weather will coincide with high tides along the East coast where large waves overtopping flood defences are a risk.
Alerts were also put in place near Nottingham and Oxfordshire where river levels have risen due to intense rainfall.
In a statement the Environment Agency said: “We are constantly monitoring river levels.
“Remain safe and be aware of your local surroundings, flood waters may be deep and fast flowing.”
Hannah Findley, forecaster for The Weather Channel, blamed the bad weather on a tangled mass of systems battling over Europe and the UK.
She said: “A complex area of fronts in north-western Europe will bring cloud and rain to France and southern Britain.” She confirmed “localised flooding is possible”.
A spokesman for independent forecasters Metcheck added: “Cool temperatures, brisk winds and some heavy rain will affect the south and east making for another miserable spell of weather.”