Now brace for a week of rain
BRITAIN is battening down for another week of rain after swathes of the country were hit by flash floods in a washout weekend.
More than a week’s rain fell on parts of the South East in 24 hours, with some of London deluged with almost half an inch in an hour.
That was a sixth of the total for the whole of a typical November – but forecasters say it is only the start, with more rain tonight and over the next five days.
A yellow weather warning for heavy rain was in force yesterday over an area stretching from Chichester in West Sussex to Canterbury in Kent.
Plumpton in East Sussex was among the wettest areas in the country over the weekend.
With an inch and a half of rainfall (39mm) recorded in just 24 hours, the village was hit by more than a third of rain it usually receives over the entire month.
And across the UK just under a week’s rainfall fell within the first five days of November on average, according to the Met Office – with the South East seeing 59 per cent of its monthly average.
Southern Water is ending its three-month hosepipe ban in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, although others including Thames Water and South East Water are continuing theirs.
A cloudy start is forecast for today with spells of rain set to hit the West along with strong winds later on. Heavy squalls are expected tonight. Wednesday will be showery, but more rain is expected on Thursday and Friday.