UK weather: Met Office warns of power cuts & flooding as sheet of heavy rain set to batter Brits – is your area hit?

POWER cuts and flooding could wreak havoc today as forecasters warn of heavy rain across swathes of Britain.

A yellow weather warning covering much of the country has been in place since 6pm yesterday, and lasts until 12pm today.

The Met Office warns that spells of heavy rain may lead to some travel disruption and flooding in places.

There is a chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses, forecasters say.

And there is a “small chance” that some communities will be temporarily cut off by flooded roads

Homes and businesses may also be flooded, causing damage to some buildings

Where flooding occurs, this could mean delays or cancellations to train and bus services.

The downpour may also lead to difficult driving conditions and road closures.

But mild weather is forecast for parts of the country today, with highs of 20C or 21C in the south – about 5C warmer than the average for this time of year – while 13-18C is forecast for most.

Meanwhile swathes of North West England, Wales, South West England and the West Midlands are covered by the yellow weather warning.

It stretches from Manchester in the north down through Cardiff, and covers Plymouth in the south.

Areas of heavy rain are expected to develop and push north across the warning area, the Met Office warns.

Many places will see around 10-20 mm of rain, but there is a chance some locations may see considerably more than this over a six-hour period, most likely parts of southwest England and south Wales.

A few places may see 50-80 mm of rain fall in 6 hours.

Isolated thunderstorms are also possible in the south of the warning area, with lightning an additional hazard.

People in affected areas should check if their property could be at risk of flooding.

If so, they should consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “Outbreaks of rain have been pushing north across the night, the weather warning is in place until midday.

“The rain is quite extensive across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the west of England, and when it’s not raining it’s cloudy, misty and murky.

“It will stay pretty similar in terms of the areas that will see the outbreaks of rain, it could be heavy at times.

“The driest will likely be across the east and south-east of England.
“It will start to become drier across the south-western parts overnight.

“By the end of the night it will be more restricted to parts of Scotland and north-east England.

“Tomorrow there will be rain first thing across Scotland and north-east England. It will quickly clear and be a much brighter day for everyone.

“There will be a few showers but lots of places will stay dry and temperatures will be between 16-19C.”

The forecaster added that on Friday there will be a west and east split developing with cloud and rain in western parts of the UK while central and eastern areas will be dry with sunny spells. Temperatures will be between 13-16C.

The warning comes after heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across the UK in September and early October.

Some counties of England saw their wettest September on record, receiving three times the normal rainfall, and Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire had their wettest months ever – although the rain came after a drier than normal summer for much of the UK.

Check road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance.

Forecaster advise gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

Also be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly, the Met Office said.