UK weather forecast: Flood warnings cover Britain as heavy rain causes mass disruption

Fast-flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life, forecasters warn

Downpours and flooding will continue to blight the UK over the coming days ahead of drier, brighter weather this weekend.

Weather warnings and flood alerts remain in place for Wednesday and Thursday as heavy rain continues to cause disruption across the country.

A yellow warning of heavy, persistent rain is in place for north Wales and large parts of central, eastern and northeast England until the end of Wednesday.

The Met Office also has a warning of thunderstorms covering London and southern England in place until 11pm.

As of 7pm, the Environment Agency had issued 49 flood alerts, advising flooding was possible, and 10 flood warnings, which mean flooding is expected and immediate action is needed.

Transport for Wales warned travellers that rail services were being severely disrupted due to flooding.

The lines between Shrewsbury and Chester and Crewe and Chester were closed, with attempts being made to provide road transport.

Rail operator Thameslink said a burst water main flooding the railway between Petts Wood and Orpington in London meant trains were running at a reduced speed on all lines.

An amber alert in Scotland warns of potential danger to life caused by fast-flowing or deep floodwater on Thursday.

Yellow alerts for rain also cover parts of northwest and northeast England on Thursday.

Met Office forecaster Luke Miall warned parts of southeast Scotland could see up to 100mm of rain.

He said: “As this system pushes up from the South East through the course of the night it will re-intensify and continue through much of Thursday.”

The Scottish Government said that the Multi-Agency Response Team, based at the National Traffic Control Centre in South Queensferry, will be monitoring the situation.

According to the Met Office, the wettest ever June for the UK as a whole was in 2012 when an average of 149mm of rain fell.

Mr Miall said this month’s rainfall so far was “still a long way off” breaking that record.

There are currently no Met Office weather warnings in place for Friday and the weekend, with conditions forecast to be calmer.

The weather is expected to be drier, warmer and sunnier, but with the risk of heavy and thundery showers in some places.

Additional reporting by Press Association