Flood warning issued ahead of heavy rain

FORECASTERS have issued a 54-hour-long weather warning for Derbyshire as Storm Christoph approaches.

The Met Office is warning there is likely to be flooding in the county after it put an amber warning for heavy rain in place for large parts of Derbyshire.

The warning came into force at 6am today and is set to continue until 12pm on Thursday as rainfall batters the county.

Areas covered by the warning include the Peak District, Buxton, Glossop, Chesterfield, Derby, Matlock, Long Eaton and Bolsover.

They are expected to see up to 70mm of rain, with some parts of the Peak District seeing up to 120mm during this period.

The Met Office said this, combined with melting snow, is likely to lead to flooding, causing treacherous conditions on the roads. Areas not covered by the warning, such as Ashbourne and Swadlincote, do have a yellow warning for rain in place during the same time frame.

It is expected that the rain will be accompanied by strong winds, particularly in higher-lying areas and places that are more exposed.

Neil Armstrong, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, has urged people to be prepared.

He said: “A wide area of rainfall will move across central parts of the UK on Monday evening and bring heavy rain for the following 36-48 hours.

“The rain will be heaviest across western facing hills, in particular parts of the southern Pennines and northern Peak District where we could see up to 120mm over the course of the warning period with 40-70mm of rain widely across the whole Amber area.

“Heavy rain will impact the whole of England and Wales by Wednesday with yellow warnings for rain in force. By Thursday 100-150mm of rain could fall over high ground in Wales and northern England. As well as rainfall, rapid snow melt will add to these accumulations, adding 5-10mm in the worst affected areas.” ■■Weather map: Page 22