Flood warnings issued in parts of UK after weekend of rain and wind

Flood warnings are in place across the UK after a weekend of heavy rain and high winds.

As sunshine and scattered showers moved in on Monday, flood warnings were issued across much of Wales, the south and south-west of England and a few in central Scotland.

The Met Office had issued an amber weather warning for heavy rain and deep flood water that was lifted at 6am on Monday, covering south and mid-Wales, from Newport to Carmarthen and north to Brecon.

Yellow weather warnings were in place in south-west England and much of the rest of south and mid-Wales until 8am on Monday.

By 9am on Monday, Natural Resources Wales had four flood warnings in place, along with 14 flood alerts. The Environment Agency had 14 flood warnings and 98 alerts in place for England, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had three warnings and six alerts in place.

The Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said rain would gradually make its way eastwards across the UK, adding that Monday would largely be a “day of sunshine and scattered showers”.

Snell said: “By the time we get to lunchtime on Monday, the rain band should have cleared most parts of the UK.

“It’s certainly a much brighter day, a little bit less windy, especially in the south, and that will allow temperatures just to climb a little bit.

“So, for example, in the south-east, it could get up to about 13 or 14 degrees.”

He said Tuesday would be another day of “generally sunny spells and scattered showers”.

The Met Office said the westerly pattern for the UK was likely to continue through the week, with showers and possibly longer spells of rain and windy conditions likely at times.

Andrew Morgan, the leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, said Sunday had been a “close call” after thousands of sandbags were distributed to high-risk areas.

The Met Office has said the climate crisis will bring warmer and wetter winters, while climate scientists have said the recent apparent worsening of flooding in places such as Wales is in line with previous predictions for the effects of a heating climate.

Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area were flooded in November by Storm Bert.

Sarah Cook, a flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said heavy and persistent rain had brought “a risk of significant inland flooding in parts of south and mid Wales”.

She added localised flooding was also possible in south-west England and Cumbria on Monday morning.

Cook said: “Impacts could include river flooding and surface water flooding from urban watercourses, drains and channels.

“Please plan journeys carefully and do not drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”