UK weather: Flood alerts issued as heavy rain and gales batter Britain

Travel chaos and flooding could hit large parts of the country this weekend

A runner is reflected in a puddle after heavy rain at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham. (PA)

Heavy rain and wind has triggered flooding across Britain, with weather warnings still in place for the worst-hit areas.

Downpours have blocked railway lines and flooded roads, with some parts of the country were hit by more than a month's worth of rain in just over 24 hours.

The rain is expected to continue into Sunday, with parts of Wales on an ‘amber warning’ and likely to be badly affected.

The warning, which remains in place until 6pm, states: “As well as heavy rain, strong to gale force southerly winds will be an additional hazard through Saturday.”

There could be almost three inches of rain falling from Pontypool, in the south of the country, to Haverfordwest, near the west coast, according to Met Office forecasts.

High ground and upward slopes in the south and south-west of the area covered by the amber zone will be hit by significantly more rain, with six inches expected "quite widely", as well as up to eight inches possible at the highest ground.

Roads could be left flooded, while power cuts and delays, as well as cancellations to train and bus services are likely to leave some towns and villages cut off, it is understood.

With an Amber #rain warning remaining in force across parts of south Wales today, here is an idea of what to expect and prepare for

Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/APNV02aZG1

— Met Office (@metoffice) February 20, 2021

Natural Resources Wales had issued 37 flood alerts and 11 flood warning by last night, while the Environment Agency issued six flood warnings and 93 flood alerts for England.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued 32 flood warnings and nine flood alerts.

In addition to the more serious amber warning in place in Wales, yellow weather warnings have also been issued across other parts of Britain.

These cover parts of west, south-west and central Scotland for the whole weekend, as well as large parts of west and south Wales.

Parts of Devon and Cornwall, but also Cumbria, are also affected throughout Saturday.

Saturday morning will see further wind and #rain spread north from the southwest into Scotland and Northern Ireland

This rain will be heavy and persistent again over western hills with multiple weather warnings in force ⚠️

Drier, brighter and milder in many eastern areas pic.twitter.com/jMgTn1QNBb

— Met Office (@metoffice) February 19, 2021

However, Met Office weather forecaster Marco Petagna said the east of the country would have a “much quieter” weekend with mild temperatures up to 16C in the south-east, although with light and patchy rain on Sunday.

He warned that more rain could be expected next week, despite the brief break in wet weather.

He said: “There's more rain to come going into next week. There will be some respite Sunday and Monday but going into Tuesday there's some more rainfall.

“Again, the west and north-west could see further rain developing."